South Africa travel safety: what experts advise for visitors in 2026

Trips to South Africa can be carried out safely when visitors are well prepared and supported by local expertise, tour operators and a travel risk specialist say, after recent cases in which tourists went missing or were found dead in the country.

The advice from people working on the ground is to stay alert rather than avoid the destination altogether, even though South Africa records some of the highest crime rates in the world.

Key facts

• April 2024 to March 2025: 24,692 murders and 655,416 crimes against the person were recorded, including assault, robbery and sexual offences
• 2025: international arrivals reached 10.5 million, more than 17 per cent above the previous year and almost three per cent higher than 2019
• The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has no notices advising against travel to South Africa
• Areas identified as places to avoid include the Cape Flats and downtown Johannesburg

What has prompted concern?

The bodies of a South African couple, Ernst and Dina Marais, were discovered with multiple stab wounds floating in crocodile-infested waters near Crooks Corner in Kruger National Park last month. That followed the disappearance at the end of last year of British tourist Lorna McSorley, 71, who vanished on a walk from her lodge in KwaZulu-Natal province during a Tui package holiday. Locals and officials believe she may have been killed and her body parts taken for "muti" — traditional medicine, the dark form of which uses human body parts.

Two years before Ms McSorley went missing, British couple Tony and Gillian Dinnis, who had emigrated to South Africa three decades earlier, disappeared from their remote home in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Their daughter Kate Anderson said such cases are not rare and warned that tourists could also be targeted.

What do the crime figures show?

South Africa counts crime by financial year. In the annual report covering April 2024 to March 2025 there were 24,692 murders and 655,416 crimes against the person. The report showed another decline in crime, but no significant drop compared with recent years. Police minister Firoz Cachalia said in May that serious crime was down but still at an "unacceptably" high level, citing organised crime as well as societal issues such as violence in the home and alcohol abuse.

JD van Zyl, founder of Cape Town-based tour operator The Travel Cafe, said national statistics do not reflect what tourists experience. His advice to nervous visitors is "be aware, but not afraid". David Vorster, Africa's regional security manager at International SOS, said travel in the country can be conducted safely when tourists are well informed and supported, and that the vast majority of the almost nine million travellers who visit each year do so without incident.

What safety precautions do experts recommend?

Mr van Zyl's advice is to be aware of your surroundings, avoid walking alone at night in unfamiliar urban areas, use reputable transport providers, ask locals or accommodation staff for area-specific advice, and trust your instinct. Tourists are also advised to keep valuables out of sight, stay alert in slow or stationary traffic, avoid going out at night and drive rather than walk to nearby places.

Licensed Cape Town guide Dominic Chadbon said crime is concentrated in areas tourists are unlikely to visit, and that criminals tend to target anyone who looks wealthy rather than tourists specifically. He described tourist hubs such as the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, the Boulders Beach penguin colony and the winelands as extremely well secured. He urged travellers to get local help with bookings and transfers, saying that wrong turns in South Africa can be dangerous.

What this means for travellers

Travellers planning a trip should take advice from local guides or companies, stick to well-frequented tourist areas, avoid places such as the Cape Flats and downtown Johannesburg, and follow the ordinary precautions listed above. The FCDO's safety and security advice for South Africa covers airport crime, road attacks, taxi app crime, scams, hiker attacks and unwanted attention for solo and female travellers, but the office does not advise against travel to the country.

Safety concerns were the most frequently cited reason for visitor dissatisfaction in the tourist board's annual satisfaction survey. No new travel restrictions or entry rule changes for South Africa are announced in the guidance described.