Johannesburg

I had the opportunity of visiting Johannesburg in a very different light in January of this year, as a tourist. For you see I was born and raised there, but my boyfriend is very much English and had never been to Africa. When you are born somewhere you tend to disregard alot of the tourist stuff (much what my boyfriend does in London) which I can now see I missed out. Johannesburg is a thriving bustling city with its great history, and vibrant people it is very captivating, and holds you in its grips long after you have left. Yes there is a safety aspect to life in Johannesburg, but so is ... more

I went to Johannesburg with my husband an 4 month old daughter in November 1999. It was summer there which means moderate heat (25 C) during the daytime and stormy showers in the evening. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel in a "posh" (read white) area of the city but visited poorer areas (read black). Although being black, I didn't experience any problems with the "white South Africans" - everyone was very friendly. However reading the newspapers, watching the local TV and visiting different areas of the city it is clear that this is a divided city. Safety is the main issue for the traveller in ... more

Safety is always one of the major aspects of any tourist visiting Johannesburg. Like any major city there are the dangerous areas but in the case there are more than other major cities. Tourists will be very safe if they stay on well troden paths and do not decided to walk anywhere alone at night. A major factor of the crime there is that it is conducted on locals and tourists are generally pretty well protected (the are instances though). If you have limited time in South Africa Johannesburg has little to offer in terms of the beauty and activites that the rest of the country is reknown for ... more