<p>Any posters familiar with Cape Town, South Africa? I’ll be traveling there very soon + am looking to cover “advice”-bases before I go. I’m open to any and all information, but safety is a primary concern. I’m hoping for balance and candidness, since I’ve heard a lot of both “It’s so beautiful and wonderful!” and “Don’t go without a bodyguard,” but I suspect that the advice I really need is somewhere in the middle. </p>
<p>I’m a young female + will be traveling alone (not study abroad). I’ve seen so much good travel advice given here that it seemed wise to check in! So if any of you have any thoughts + opinions, they’ll be greatly appreciated. Thanks, CC-ers :)</p>
<p>I was there about 10 years ago. I spent a few days with a study group, then was there about 6 days on my own. It is a beautiful place, and the people are very friendly and nice. However, it also is very dangerous, and I was advised by people who lived there not to go out by myself after about 5 p.m. in the evening even though I was staying in a guest house in a safe appearing part of town.</p>
<p>Thanks, NSM. It was similar advice that spurred me to post a thread. I was told not to walk in the city (alone or in a group) outside of business hours. Not walking alone at night is common sense, but staying off the streets on a sunny Saturday afternoon caught me off guard. Good to know in advance, though…</p>
<p>And just to be clear, when I said that I was looking for balanced advice, I hope that didn’t sound discouraging! It doesn’t need to be sugar-coated…it’s just that I’ve heard a fair bit of “You want advice? Don’t go,” which isn’t an option, so…not so good. </p>
<p>I recommend you check out the Fodor’s travel website discussion forum at Fodors dot com. We had a wonderful trip to Capetown after getting great advice from the folks on the forum. Good luck!</p>