Nothing in that link justifies a silly statement like this:
Of course, citizens of many countries could cite homicide rates to show that it is incredibly stupid and dangerous to visit the US, which has over 8 times the homicide rate of Japan.
Strawman PC Mod.
We’re not talking about traveling to the US or Japan, but the RSA, please per your post cite your “homicide rates” showing traveling to the RSA is safer than to the US or Japan. Otherwise don’t tread on me.
IOW SHOW ME RSA IS NOT AMONG THE MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. You’ve just called me “silly,” surely as a Mod you have to do better than that.
I called your statement silly, not you. Which it was. And also extremely naive. (I would also point out that attacking me for being “PC” doesn’t exactly support your your argument in any way.)
Yes, South Africa has relatively high crime rates overall. That does not make it “stupid” to visit there, which is your contention. As in any other country, some areas are more dangerous than others. By staying away from the high-crime areas, and taking reasonable precautions, a visitor is not likely to have any problems.
Besides South Africa, I have traveled in Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico, all of which have substantially higher homicide rates than the US. I’ve never had any problems in any of them.
May I ask what is your experience traveling in such countries?
But you didn’t merely say that RSA is “among the most dangerous countries in the world”. You claimed that the OP’s proposed trip there was as dangerous as “hiking the Iraq/Iran border, crossing from China to NK”, which is ridiculous.
Yes, RSA has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, but that doesn’t mean that the risk to the average affluent tourist is much higher than in other parts of the developed world. Similarly, the US has a higher homicide rate than Iran, Bangladesh or freakin’ Niger, but that doesn’t mean that visiting the US is unsafe overall.
The US State Department doesn’t even have a current travel warning for South Africa, although it does for Mexico, Nepal and Israel, for example. Do you think the State Department is just being “PC”?
Oh… you’re staying in the east. Well the good news is you’re not far from the airport, the bad news is I don’t think there are any buses running in that area (the bus route serving the Gautrain station there is very limited :().
However a taxi to that station (Rhodesfield) should be quite affordable, and from there you can catch our spiffy new train to Sandton - that’s about $3 each way- from Sandton you have more public transport options.
Actually if you have a family it will likely be easier and cheaper to just taxi it door to door.
I thought it would be north east from the airport. 
Well, I thought I’d better stay close to the airport since we have to fly back and forth between JHB and Port Elizabeth twice. Less chance of a missed flight due to traffic.
It will be just me and my girlfriend. So, if we use public transportation, best choice is from Rhodesfield station? (A car seems to be more and more convenient to me now…BTW, how is the traffic there?)
There is a restaurant (can’t think of its name now at work) in a shopping mall that I’d like to visit; I believe it’s somewhere between Sandton and Midrand (closer to Midrand I think).
Is there any areas you think we should skip for safety reason? Besides Gold Reef City and the Cradle of Mankind park, any other interesting places would you recommend? And thanks a bunch for your advices!
I still cannot get to the Kirstenbosch Gardens link for some reasons. It just shows a simple map for me.
Weird. 
Try this shortened link: http://bit.ly/bKgXsq. Does that work?
No…Still the same simple map: no image, no direction etc…nothing like the other link. Really strange.
Very odd - I’ve just checked again and it definitely works for me. What about this one?
The freakin’ State Departmentis issuing warnings, open your eyes MOD.
Have you actually read the Travel Alert?
Anyway, there is a difference between a Travel Alert, which is issued for all sorts of short-term situations, and a Travel Warning, which is what State issues for long-term danger.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1766.html:
(bolding mine). I’d call the World Cup a fairly high-profile event, no?
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html:
There is no Travel Warning in effect for South Africa, unlike (since you made the comparison) Iran or Iraq.
Newbie error on my part :smack:, I’m using Firefox, and didn’t clear out cache. After I purge the cache and force FF to reload, the link works like a charm. Thanks!
As ctnguy has pointed out, that is NOT a Travel Warning, but a Travel Alert. That demonstrates pretty conclusively that the State Department does not regard South Africa as “one of the most dangerous countries in the world,” since it has not issued a Travel Warning for South Africa.
These countries would all be regarded as more dangerous than South Africa by the State Department, since they have current Travel Warnings:
Afghanistan 05/25/2010
Nigeria 05/24/2010
Burundi 05/19/2010
Cote d’Ivoire 05/12/2010
Niger 05/11/2010
Mexico 05/06/2010
Georgia 05/03/2010
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 04/21/2010
Philippines 04/02/2010
Algeria 04/02/2010
Lebanon 03/29/2010
Iran 03/23/2010
Kenya 03/16/2010
Haiti 03/15/2010
Colombia 03/05/2010
Eritrea 03/02/2010
Central African Republic 02/26/2010
Yemen 02/25/2010
Iraq 02/25/2010
Saudi Arabia 02/18/2010
Pakistan 01/07/2010
Sudan 12/31/2009
Somalia 12/31/2009
Mauritania 12/02/2009
Chad 11/23/2009
Mali 11/19/2009
Nepal 11/19/2009
Guinea 10/17/2009
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza 08/14/2009
Uzbekistan 06/16/2009
Just wondering, would you regard visiting Cancun in Mexico equivalent to crossing the North Korean border? Because by your criteria it seems it would be.
Wise move.
Yup. Note that going from Rhodesfield to Sandton will cost about $3 each, going from the airport (which is only a few minutes from Rhodesfield on the train) will cost ~$13. The pricing is structured to hit airport commuters hardest.
Traffic on the highways can be quite horrendous. There has been a lot of work done on improving highways only recently completed, so between that and the influx of traffic bound to result from WC travellers it’s hard to predict how bad it will be in the next month.
There are a lot of restaurants in that area 
if you can remember the mall name that would help.
Pretoria (Tshwane) has some historic government buildings and monuments if that’s your thing. Joburg doesn’t have much in the way of sightseeing interest unless you like mall-browsing (in which case you’re very much in luck!).
As for areas to skip… I don’t know, there are some areas some people rate as quite fearful but unfortunately crime can happen anywhere. Generally the Jhb CBD and its surrounds are to be avoided if possible. Pack a lot of common sense and apply liberally. Don’t expose cash or expensive gadgets (and don’t leave them lying around in hotels), keep your car windows rolled up unless you’re required to have them down for something, don’t leave valuables in the car, stay around people.
I just finished watching the opening ceremony on ESPN3 site: seems that there weren’t too many people there, and the parking lot was only half filled, if that. Streets and lots looked newly constructed, and not much traffic on the highway nearby (from the helicopter shots). I hope this pattern holds.
I would really appreciate it if you could lower your voice lets my girlfriend hear this. 
I can carry only so much.
Incidentally, my Kaiser Travel adviser just told my over the phone that there is a “measles epidemic” over there, and that I might need vaccination before going. I find this hard to believe but is there any truth to her statement? I’m pretty sure I’m vaccinated against it, but it was so long ago I don’t remember exactly (probably have to call my Mom and ask).
That’s probably because, except for FIFA bigwigs and so on, private cars aren’t allowed anywhere near to the stadium on match days; you have to use one of the Park & Ride services or other public transport. Here, for example, is the City of Jo’burg’s advice about getting to Soccer City.
Per the (South African) National Institute for Communicable Diseases: (link is a PDF)
Anecdotally, the measles outbreak has not been mentioned in the local media since late April, so the mass immunization campaign may be having some success.
Thanks! I’m waaay more behind in the preparation curve than I thought…
I’m sure it’s taken care of by now. (Man, it’s amazing to have your confirmation 15 minutes after getting the information here… :))
Here are some websites that may be useful for transport info:
[ul]
[li]Cape Town - Transport[/li][li]Johannesburg - Getting to the game[/li][li]Find your way - Port Elizabeth[/li][/ul]
Now, some advice for Cape Town. Assuming you’re travelling to the stadium from Caxton Manor, there are basically two options. The first is to drive to the Park-and-Ride site at the University of Cape Town (route), and then take the free shuttle bus from there to the Civic Centre bus station in the city centre. From there, depending on your mood and the weather, you can either walk along the “Fan Walk” to the stadium, or catch a shuttle bus.
The second option is to take a train from Diep River station (here), which is about 750 metres (say half a mile) from Caxton Manor, from which trains run to Cape Town station in the city centre; trains will be free on match days to ticket holders. The scheduled time for the journey is 35 minutes. Generally speaking, trains to the city stop at Platform 1, i.e. on the west side of the tracks. (Timetables are here; Diep River is on the “Cape Town-Wynberg-Simon’s Town” line.) From Cape Town station, you can either walk to the stadium, or the short distance to the Civic Centre bus station and take a shuttle. For returning after the match you’d want to catch a train with destination “Fish Hoek” or “Simon’s Town”; the electronic noticeboards will show the platform number.
Personally, I’d choose the train, because it avoids the hassle of driving to, and finding parking at, UCT. Also I can imagine that after the match it will take a while to get off the university campus, since there are only two exit roads.
The advice that the city authorities have been giving is that you should start travelling at least three hours before kick-off: one hour to travel to the city centre, another hour to get to the stadium, and a third hour to get through security and find your seats, etc.
Now you are going to argue traveling to Mexico is safe?
Define “safe”? There is a difference between “not perfectly safe” and “as dangerous as hiking the Iran/Iraq border or crossing from China to North Korea”.