A string of grim headlines has put South Africa's safety record back under the spotlight. The bodies of a South African couple, Ernst and Dina Marais, were found stabbed in crocodile-infested waters near Crooks Corner in Kruger National Park. Months earlier, 71-year-old British tourist Lorna McSorley vanished during a walk from her lodge in KwaZulu-Natal on a Tui package holiday; officials suspect she may have been killed in a so-called dark muti killing, in which human body parts are harvested for witchcraft. The daughter of another couple who disappeared from their home in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in 2023 has warned that such cases are not as rare as authorities suggest.
So should this stop you going? The numbers look alarming on paper. In the year to March 2025, South Africa recorded 24,692 murders and more than 655,000 crimes against the person — among the highest rates in the world, driven largely by extreme wealth inequality, organised crime and violence concentrated in townships and residential areas far from any tourist trail.
Yet the people who actually bring visitors into the country paint a very different picture. Cape Town tour operator JD van Zyl of The Travel Cafe says his company has hosted thousands of guests over nine years without a single safety incident. Dominic Chadbon, a licensed guide known as The Fynbos Guy, points out that criminals target anyone who looks wealthy rather than tourists specifically, and that crime is heavily concentrated in areas visitors never go. Heavy-footfall spots like the V&A Waterfront, Boulders Beach and the winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are, in his words, secured more tightly than a military installation.
Security experts agree preparation is what matters. International SOS, which manages travel risk for corporate and personal trips, says the vast majority of the millions who visit each year do so without incident, and that problems usually stem from poor awareness rather than deliberate targeting. The practical advice is refreshingly ordinary: keep valuables out of sight, avoid walking at night in unfamiliar areas, use reputable transport, stay alert in slow traffic, and trust your gut. Avoid known no-go zones such as the Cape Flats and downtown Johannesburg.
The one consistent piece of local advice: use a local operator. Unlike Europe, where a wrong turn might reveal a hidden gem, in South Africa it can lead somewhere genuinely unsafe. Guides can handle bookings, transfers and route planning door to door.
It's worth noting the country's tourism has fully rebounded — 2025 arrivals hit 10.5 million, up 17 per cent year on year and above pre-pandemic levels. The UK Foreign Office lists extensive precautions for South Africa but does not advise against travel. The consensus from those on the ground: be aware, not afraid. Travellers who plan sensibly and lean on local knowledge tend to come home talking about Table Mountain, penguins and wine, not crime.
