Travel to South AfricaSouth Africa is full of amazing travel experiences, but (like many places) it is not without its problems (including the drought currently punishing Cape Town). A recent alert from the U.K.’s travel advisory service (I recommend signing up even if you’re not British) offered a warning about a growing risk of kidnapping in the country:

“There’s an increasing threat of kidnap throughout South Africa. Kidnaps can be for financial gain or motivated by criminality. In recent years several foreign nationals, including British nationals, have been kidnapped. British nationals can be perceived as being wealthier than locals and may be at particular risk of kidnap for financial gain.”

That last point can be assumed applicable to most tourists. If you travel to South Africa soon, stay alert—as you should anywhere you travel.

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4 Comments On "A Warning for Travelers to South Africa"
  1. Ronald Smith|

    Hi Johnny
    I have been a subscriber of your website for years and always enjoy your travel tips. In regards to South Africa, I would expect more civil unrest in coming days due to the government decision to confiscate all farm lands owned by whites without any form of compensation.

  2. Murray|

    Hi Johnny,

    I own a tour operating business in South Africa – http://www.giltedgeafrica.com and have been subscribing to your newsletters ever since I heard your story at a Preferred Hotel Group conference. I really enjoy reading the information you share, but this one in particular really irks me! Please don’t report information when you don’t have the facts and purely relying on other sources. There has been one isolated incident in a very rural area of South Africa regarding two British Citizens. No normal tourist would be in the area they were and this email makes it sound like that someone can be kidnapped in a major city. These sort of negative emails have a major impact on our business especially when it comes from someone like you who is respected in the travel trade.

    Thanks Murray

  3. Murray Gardiner|

    Hi Ronald … further to your comment on land expropriation, please read this article – http://www.themessenger.global/2018/03/06/expropriation-what-the-constitution-says/. It is not something that will happen easily and we as a travel company are not expecting any civil unrest. Thanks Murray – Giltedge Africa

  4. Marian Rainey|

    Wow, what a surprise. Do you have any specific information about the most risky areas? I’m just planning a trip to SA for the upcoming summer. As a solo female traveller, I’m a bit concerned now. To be honest, your warning message is not what I expected of Africa. I do like travelling alone for better chances of meeting new people, but probably this time I’ll go with a friend. Anyway, such news can’t beat my urge for adventures.

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