South Africa

[angstybaby]

My DH wants us (me and our 3 kids - 12, 10 and 8) to go to South Africa for a safari holiday. We'd fly to Port Elizabeth, visit national parks near there then, maybe, drive to Cape Town. We spend a few days in Cape Town then fly home. It wouldn't be an organised trip so we wouldn't be collected from the airport and we'd be getting hire car and driving ourselves around. We'd have guides in the parks. No camping, just hotels.

My worry is - and this may be irrational because all I know of South Africa is scary stuff I've seen in the UK media - that it's too dangerous. I'm worried about crime (and a bit about bite-y animals) and we're white British so we'd stick out like sore thumbs. We've been camping in bear territory before and it was not a relaxing holiday for me. I wouldn't do it again. Mind you, we also stayed in an apartment block in a Canadian town and I practically fell over a bear outside our apartment so there's no guarantees.

What do you think? Should we go? Has anyone done similar? Am I being irrational?!

Thanks

Thousands of tourists visit SA every year and have an amazing time. I’ve been and never felt unsafe.

There are certain areas which it may be best to steer clear of - just like most countries of the world. But they are not the main tourist areas anyway.

I think it sounds like an amazing trip.

Just go! One of the best holidays we ever had was in South Africa. Plus, I also went to Cape Town on my own, and was absolutely fine.
You will be so well looked after, and your kids will love it.

We went 18 years ago for our honeymoon and organised most of it ourselves, picked a car up at the airport then drove between various hotels and guesthouses. We went in the opposite direction, flew to Cape Town then drove through the wine region and Garden Route to PE, then flew via Jo’burg to safari.

The only times we felt unsafe was when we probably took unnecessary risks which in hindsight was really stupid. We walked from our hotel in Cape Town to the V&A docks which was apparently a bit unsafe (hotel had a minibus shuttle) and at one point we found ourself in a dodgy bit of Cape Town centre but came to no harm. The really stupid time was driving to the southern most tip of South Africa, getting lost and the roads got worse and worse. We didn’t have a huge amount of petrol left and didn’t have a hotel booked that night so no one was expecting us. I’ve never been so glad to see tarmac again! As long as you listen to local guides / hotel staff, don’t flaunt our wealth (leave jewellery etc at home) and don’t take silly risks, you’ll have a fabulous time. It’s a beautiful part of the world with lovely people and the number of times we pulled up at the side of the road to watch dolphins, whales, penguins, monkeys, ostriches was amazing.

It's the Cape, there are plenty of white people there, including tourists from all over the world. The Garden Route and wine region are well resourced for protection from crime for people with the money to stay away from under privileged areas.
But I do advise you to leave valuables at home, leave nothing on display in the car when parked, and read up on common scams.
For family entertainment, I recommend visiting the area around Oudtshoorn, and the area around Nature's Valley, as they have many high quality attractions.
As you are wary of animals it makes sense not to venture north for the big cats. We have stayed at Buffelsdrift and enjoyed it but there are plenty of other options. The semi-arid areas are extremely beautiful.
Remember to tip generously!

But I do advise you to leave valuables at home, leave nothing on display in the car when parked, and read up on common scams.

Bit like most places in the UK then 😁

I’m afraid I’ve heard of a car being broken into for some magazines. Also a necklace snatched off a woman at a traffic stop.
I keep windows up and doors locked in towns. Never had a bad experience but I am vigilant and prefer not to minimise the risk too much.
Very beautiful though, the sound of all the animals and birds waking up each morning is amazing.

It's a very popular tourist destination but I agree the foreign travel advice on gov.uk makes it sound horrendous and less safe than other countries in Africa (e.g. Kenya seems better).

Have you watched Africa Rising with Afua Hirsch on iplayer, it's all about the cultural renaissance happening in various countries in Africa (last episode is in South Africa) and it made me want to go. Might reassure you to see how middle class parts of places even as notorious as Soweto look.

thank you! I may not be able to stop DH from wanting to see big cats though. do you have to go north for that?

Thanks so much. I'm feeling more positive about it now

I’ve been to Cape Town three times. First time I had a 2 year old, then 3 & 6 year olds then 15 & 18. I absolutely love it. Stick to tourist areas and it’s safe but like others said be vigilant. We stayed in the most gorgeous Airbnb (3 bedroom) if you need a recommendation. It was just outside the centre on a street full of shops & restaurants, very quiet though. Uber to the V&A was £2 in 2019! I’d go back in a heartbeat.

Im not sure why you think a white British person looks any different from a white South African? You won’t stick out!!

One you’re not going to stick out 🫤

Two in the game reserves the camps/lodges are in secured areas so there’s no lions or hyenas prowling around. Don’t get out your car when driving in the reserves. If you’re going on guided drives they will likely show the big five although you can do more specialist ones (e.g. birds or walking trips although these are more likely in the private game reserves). The national reserve camps can be quite basic. I wouldn’t go to any “sanctuaries” that do close encounters unless I’d done a heck of a lot of research first.

hire a comfortable 4x4. It’s expensive but makes the reserves a much nicer experience.

i wouldn’t wear fancy jewellery (I have a cheap wedding band I wear instead). It’s a beautiful place.

We went last year following a failed booking pre-COVID and I was so anxious beforehand! We had booked with a company but we were essentially driving ourselves from Cape Town along the garden route and back to Cape Town. We were picked up from the airport and taken to our first hotel which wasn't the nicest but Cape Town itself and the food was incredible! We were told to be careful, not to walk around at night, always take a taxi etc. which for the most part we did but on the Saturday night we walked to the restaurant for dinner and then walked back, the area was full of people all doing similar to us and there was no feeling of being out of place or in danger. Great restaurants and so cheap!
The Sunday night however, it was quiet, a little dark out and we decided to stay in the hotel and have drinks after our evening meal rather than going out for a walk.
We then travelled on easy roads out of Cape Town and through the most beautiful countryside and saw incredible sights! I have never jumped out of a car so fast because we had our first glimpse of a giraffe! (they weren't supposed to be in the area we were in so I assume they're in a private reserve but were spotted behind a fence on a main road)
I would go back in a heartbeat if there wasn't so many other places to see! We're off to Malaysia this year.
If you want any advice or information on some of the places we stayed, please message me and I'll share our route. We did have one amazing hotel and one fabulous "tent" that we stayed in along with a rather unappealing 3* hotel and a couple of BnBs.
It was a trip of a lifetime and the memories will stay with me forever. I absolutely loved it!

Sorry, meant to add that you won't stick out as a white person! You also wouldn't be at risk of coming in contact with a wild animal. We saw far more animals in the wild in Costa Rica than in South Africa. The reserves are all extremely well managed.
We didn't have a big car, it was just a standard hatchback but it was comfortable and we didn't have issues seeing the animals when we did drive round the reserves. We did a day and night drive with a private company which was fun and worthwhile but otherwise we drove round ourselves in the national parks.

We did this and it was absolutely fine. Flew to Port Elizabeth via Johannesburg and then drive to Amakhala which was great for kids (DD was 9 and one of several similar aged kids, and the rangers were great with them).

Then drove to Cape Town via many stops along the way (can highly recommend the zip wire experience near Plettenburg if your kids like that sort of thing) and honestly geeky perfectly safe the whole time. It's maybe a bit unnerving, but just lock the car doors and you'll be good.

It's a great holiday - go for it!

We have done South Africa 7 times. Absolutely love the place. Only issue was once walking through Cape Town city centre (which was stupid of us). Have done garden route/ Kruger/ Durban area and love it all. As a first trip Cape Town, winelands (vineyards are amazing for food and also many well geared up for picnics and kids) and garden route is a good starting point. It’s relatively inexpensive compared to U.K. (although is more expensive post covid) but by and large is clean, high standard of accommodation, good roads and fantastic food and wine. It’s probably my favourite place to visit (ad pretty easy- Same language and drive on same side)

i’ve been to Cape Town twice and loved it. But had a couple of hairy moments and have heard a couple of other horror stories.

I think my conclusion is it’s a great place to visit but you can’t afford to make any silly mistakes. If you’re in a hire car, make sure you know exactly what route you’re taking and don’t deviate from it. Don’t get drunk and end up out on your own outside of the main touristy areas.

If that doesn’t concern you, go for it. If it does, there are loads of other amazing destinations.

Don’t drive, get the reserve to arrange a hire car with a driver for you. It’ll be much safer as people tend to use drivers they know personally.

We did this exact route in 2019 - it was amazing.

Flew into Johannesburg, then on an internal flight to Port Elizabeth. Picked up a hire car at the airport and from there went to Addo Elephant Park (amazing) and then for three nights of safari at Shamwari (pricey but totally worth it).

Leaving Shamwari took four nights to drive through to Cape Town, staying at airbnbs along the route and eating out every night - Knysna, Swellendam, Gansbaii, Hermanus - and three nights in Cape Town. Walked around each place and never felt unsafe.

Go for it, you will love it!

If you’re in a hire car, make sure you know exactly what route you’re taking and don’t deviate from it.

Agree with this and don't rely on "oh haha if we take a wrong turn Google maps will get us back!". Cape area is relatively safe by South African standards but there are still areas where you would probably not want to end up. Leave a bit more slack time in your schedule to make sure you arrive at your destinations before dark particularly once you leave central touristy Cape Town / main garden route roads. Harden your heart a bit towards people approaching you that you're not expecting - better that a kindly stranger is a bit offended that you locked the car doors / drove off without speaking, than you get robbed at gunpoint.

By the way, it's possible to find a middle ground between total self-drive and organised tour - if there are any areas e.g. a big long drive through an area you're uneasy about, you can always arrange transfers just for that bit.

OP I'm sure you'll have a great time, just wanted to point out that I've heard from several people that you would need to bring your children's birth certificates with you, as passports aren't enough apparently (unless this has changed recently).

We did a self-organised trip to SA a few years ago. Flew to Cape Town for a few days, then picked up a car and went to Franshoeck (stopped in Stellenbosch on the way, but loved Franschoeck and was glad we stayed there), then on to Sanbona reserve for amazing game drives, then Hermanus for whale watching (saw just 1!), then back to Simonstown (just outside Cape Town).

We loved it all. The drives between the wine and Sanbona and Sanbona to Hermanus were long, but stunningly beautiful. Really easy roads to drive, and great views.
We saw all the big 5 in Sanbona, and so much more too. We stayed in a mix of B&Bs and AirBnB - all fine.

Agree with a PP about not deviating from your planned route. We took a wrong turn on our way back to the airport at the end of the trip and found ourselves on the edge of an area we didn't want to be in. We turned around and went back rather than waiting for google to reroute.

Our AirBnB host in Simonstown told us to leave NOTHING on show in the car. She said even a jumper left on the backseat could be temptation enough. That was the only accommodation where we parked on the street - everywhere else was gated.

We got taxis in CT (in the evenings), but Hermanus and Franshoeck felt very safe all the time (we didn't stray from the centre). I remember going out running too, but I can't remember where.

It's a lovely country- I'd go back in a flash.

@BookShark We'll be in Amakhala in two weeks - tell me more! Expectations are high and I'm nervous. Family of 4 going, kids aged 15 and 12.

We're doing Cape Town first, then safari. Can't wait!

I have been twice and loved it. It is mostly very safe, but there are hot spots of crime with guns, including car jacking. On one trip, I was there with one of my adult daughters. We drove from Port Elizabeth up through Zwaziland, then back into SA to Hazyview, staying at various places on route. It was all safe and friendly. After Hazyview, we were going to Kruger to stay on a ‘private concession’ on safari for 6 days. We didn’t need our own vehicle whilst there and some of the roads into the Kruger have been hotspots for car jacking against tourist hire cars in the past, so we chose to leave our hire car at Hazyview and pay for a car and driver to get us there and back to Skukusa Airport when we left. My second trip was with my husband. All of us loved it and DH and I are going again this coming September.

Most countries in the world have dangerous areas. When travelling, it’s important to educate ourselves about these and organise our trip with that in mind. South Africa is fabulous with lovely friendly people, gorgeous coastlines and the best, most accessible wildlife in the world. There are dangerous areas in parts of Cape Town, parts of Johannesburg and some off the roads into Kruger. It’s not difficult to avoid them, or have a car and local driver if you need to pass through there (they would be ‘on the ball’ if need be). You’d face the same issues in parts of the US and several other places. Go, be sensible and have the best time of your lives (easy to do there).

Don't be nervous, you'll have a great time! Really nice lodges and friendly guides, I'd recommend it to anyone. We saw pretty much every animal we wanted to, including an elephant coming to drink from the hotel pool!

I used to live in South Africa and we did lots of travelling around when we were there.
Everything about South Africa is truly amazing apart from the bits that aren't (crime, poverty, corruption etc).

You really do need to keep your wits about you when you are there and you need to be careful not to take risks. The level of crime is high and the type of crime is very very nasty. That's a fact but it shouldn't stop you from going.

If you can make it to Kruger you won't be disappointed. It's incredible.

You need to watch out for drink or druggy drivers. The road accident death rate is shocking.