Quote:
Originally Posted by cardsharkk04
Some downsides - There's lots of pockets of sketchy areas that you'll have to watch out for.
Well, I would qualify that as follows.
Most importantly, the personal safety issue arises only in the metro area of major cities. In my experience, other places such as Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Hermanus etc. are perfectly safe. An exception to that rule of thumb is that I wouldn't recommend driving certain highways at night even outside the big cities.
And even in a major city such as Cape Town, you have to differentiate. There are certainly no-go zones in the surrounding townships but you probably wouldn't wanna visit them anyhow.
Now, in Cape Town itself, at the places you actually want to be at, it is perfectly safe during daytime.
There are areas which are perfectly safe during nighttime as well (e.g., V&A waterfront). However, in general, you want to stay alert at night. You don't wander into deserted areas alone. You don't hike alone. You don't appear lost. If you're in an area which gets a tad more shady at night such as the CBD, you stay near the restaurant/hotel/club/building security until your taxi arrives.
But OP seemed interested in a quiet and relaxing environment. So I didn't imagine him partying on Long St for a week. I was thinking he'd be more likely to travel into the Winelands, the whale-watching spots, the quieter beach towns, the nature reserves/national parks, or the like. And most of those places are perfectly safe day and night.
In some parks, baboons may pose a greater threat than criminals.