Exercise caution — there are real risks that travellers should plan around. Public health and infrastructure are well developed.
Regional breakdown
Risk in South Africa varies sharply by place and time of day. Cape Town remains a major draw for visitors. But official advisory guidance has recently flagged road attacks on the route to and from Cape Town International Airport. Travellers are pointed towards using the main N2 during daylight and avoiding stops on the hard shoulder. Johannesburg sees the highest reported rates of violent street crime. The central business district, Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville are areas where muggings and carjackings are reported often. Sandton, Rosebank and Melrose Arch are the districts most visitors stick to, and even there opportunistic theft happens. Pretoria sees similar patterns in its inner city. Durban and the wider KwaZulu-Natal coast have calmed since the 2021 unrest, but official advisory guidance still lists civil disorder as a background risk. Informal settlements around Cape Town, including parts of Khayelitsha, Nyanga and Philippi, are off-limits to US government staff outside narrow daytime windows. Kruger National Park, the Garden Route and the Winelands around Stellenbosch see far fewer incidents, though road conditions and wildlife rules still demand attention.
Recent advisory changes
The official advisory guidance last updated its South Africa guidance on 31 March 2026. The headline change was new wording about road attacks to and from Cape Town airport, plus refreshed notes on illegal drugs and cannabis laws. The official advisory guidance holds South Africa at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution. The current text was reissued on 27 May 2025. That revision kept the level unchanged but added a Terrorism (T) indicator alongside the existing Crime, Civil Unrest and Kidnapping flags. The department notes that extremists linked to al-Qaida, al-Shabaab and ISIS have used the country as a base. Though no recent attack on tourists has been recorded. Neither government has placed any part of South Africa under ordered departure or a Level 4 do-not-travel notice.
What travellers should know
Plan transport in detail. Most incidents flagged by both governments happen on the road or just after arrival. Pre-book a reputable transfer from O.R. Tambo or Cape Town International rather than walking to a rank. Keep doors locked and windows up at traffic lights in cities. Try to avoid driving between towns after dark, especially on rural stretches of the N1, N2 and N3. Keep valuables out of sight and carry a small amount of cash for handover if confronted. The official advisory guidance advises against resisting an attacker. Use ATMs inside banks or shopping centres rather than on the street, and watch for card-skimming. Mobile signal is generally good, so download offline maps and share your location with someone at home. Check your travel insurance covers self-drive, adventure activities and medical evacuation. Private hospitals in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban are well-equipped, but public facilities are stretched. Tap water is treated in major cities but quality varies elsewhere. Load-shedding can knock out traffic lights and security systems for hours, so factor power cuts into evening plans.