South Africa guide › Cape Town
Is Cape Town safe?
Cape Town is not a city where you wander anywhere at any hour, but the vast majority of visitors have a trouble-free stay. The risks are concentrated in specific situations: bag snatching, break-ins on cars, and muggings on some hiking trails.
Most of the city's crime hits the Cape Flats townships, where gangs operate, far from the tourist areas. For visitors, the points to watch are:
- Trails in Table Mountain National Park: the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) warns of attacks on hikers, including on Lion's Head and Signal Hill, and several robberies were still reported in 2026. Hike in a group, in daylight, with no valuables on show.
- Your car: "smash and grab" (a window broken at a red light to grab a bag) happens. Nothing on the seats, bags in the boot, doors locked.
- Your sat-nav: it takes the shortest route, sometimes straight through a township. From the airport, stick to the main roads (N2, then the M3 or the city centre).
- After dark: don't walk far along empty streets, even for a short distance. Take an Uber or a Bolt.
- Cash machines: use the ones inside shopping centres, and turn down "help" from strangers.
Day to day: the Waterfront, the City Bowl, the Sea Point promenade, Camps Bay and the winelands are relaxed places in daylight. Before a hike, share your route: local hiking groups run a free tracking service over messaging apps. To see a township (Langa, Khayelitsha), go with a guide who lives there.
Useful numbers: 10111 for the police, 112 from a mobile. For the rest of the country, see "Is South Africa safe for tourists?".
Verdict: a safe city if you adopt three habits (Uber at night, nothing visible in the car, group hikes), a risky one if you treat it like a European capital.
Tip: check the FCDO, US State Department or Smartraveller advice just before you leave: they flag the areas and trails where recent incidents have been reported.
Information checked in November 2026. The situation can change: check official travel advice before you go.
More landmarks in this section
- What are the best things to do in Cape Town?
- How many days do you need in Cape Town?
- Where to stay in Cape Town, and which areas to avoid?
- How do you get around Cape Town without a car?
- How to get up Table Mountain: cable car or hike?
- How do you hike Lion's Head in Cape Town?
- Is Kirstenbosch Garden worth visiting?
- How do I visit Robben Island and book tickets?
- What are the best beaches in Cape Town?
- Boulders Beach: where to see penguins in Cape Town?
- What to see at Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope?
- Cape Winelands: Stellenbosch or Franschhoek?
- What to do in Cape Town with kids?
- What to do in Cape Town when it rains?