Durban Warnings Or Dangers

I have travelled to many places east and west and have not encountered such a dangerous place as Durban, a recent conference took me there and in a week 46 of the delegates got mugged, the large majority in the day time. You may think well...they were wearing jewellery, exhibiting money or being careless but from those I spoke to...the story often was as such: One lady walked out of her hotel in the early morning to get into a prearranged taxi and as she walked from the hotel to the taxi she was knocked over and her bag taken. Another man took his security guard (from his hotel) to the bureau de change, as a precaution, he was mugged on the way back and the security guard hurt also. The problem is, even if you dress down, strip yourself of jewellery and make safe choices like organisizing transport ahead of time or taking a security guard to a bank with you, it will not make much of a difference. For those of us who really were very careful we saw a lot of the inside of our hotels! We felt like prisoners. This is a place where people enlist 3 separate security companies to monitor their houses, and this is also in areas where it is supposedly less dangerous i.e not downtown or near beachfront. It is such a shame because the South African people we met who worked in the hotel and restaurants, conference centre etc were so nice and hospitable. Unfortunately the crime, mostly from street/beach kids, makes Durban a unlikely tourist haven unless its for an overnight stay before you head to one of the national parks or go on 'safari'.

Crime is very much a reality in South Africa. As with most countries, common sense is needed when traveling: Keep your valuables out of sight, don't walk around alone at night and make sure you are alert and watchful at all times. If you happen to be driving around, keep your doors locked. Carjacking and high jacking is an every day occurence. Don't leave valuables on the seat next to you, or sit chatting on your mobile phone while stopped at a red traffic light - if your window is open, you are inviting someone to reach in and snatch your phone.

Most, if not all houses have armed response, burglar bars on windows, electric gates and barbed wire topping garden walls. We have had three cars stolen in the past five years - two taken from our driveway, one at gunpoint - and the other outside a friend's house. Our house has also been broken into more times that I can recall. We are not isolated in this; crime has touched almost everyone in one form or another.

It is a very sad state of affairs because South Africa is an incredible country, bursting with potential and untapped resources. Although tourism and the economy is thriving like never before, the high crime rate and increased violence is a gray cloud overshadowing much of the optimism and promise this country holds.

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We had a brilliant time strolling along the beachfront on Sunday afternoon...the sun was warm, the sand was soft and the waves drummed hypnotically against the shore...all was perfect apart from the slightly strong north easterly wind that whipped up the ocean and blew in the bluebottles.

Bluebottles are the common name for the Portuguese man-of-war, a jellyfish with an aerial float (air bubble) and a long stinging tentacle.

North easterly winds bring in the bluebottles and you want to watch where you put your feet as you wander the tide line, these nasty beasties get washed up onto the sand and if you happen to step on them all hell breaks loose: it hurts like nothing on earth! Be very wary about swimming when bluebottles are in evidence, their tentacles can wrap around limbs, necks and fingers, stinging you dreadfully.

The life guards are on hand to provide a soothing balm should you be stung, but it is best to avoid them altogether. If you are badly stung, it is definitely recommended you seek medical attention.

The hotel I stayed at was on the beach in Durban and after walking outside I noticed I got these little red bumps on my neck. They weren't painful, but they were a little annoying. I asked some locals I knew what the deal was and they informed me that people who are new to the area sometimes get them because of the bacteria in the air. Beyond that, I never got an overly indepth explanation as to what precisely it was. I was just told it was nothing serious and that it would go away after time.

For some reason, Indian girls love the sound of American English accents. I discovered this when I was in a mall and found many, many, many beautiful Indian girl's faces light up after the first word came out of my mouth. Their eyes get all wide like they just fell in love with you, and it is an instant conversation piece. So if you are a shy and nervous type..get over it! And get ready to be popular.

Durban is renowned for its hot climate and humidity. This attracts tourists throughout the year. Sadly the high temperatures have been known to encourage certain characters who are that way inclined to flash thouse around them at random. This problem has also been known to exist in Cape Town.
You have been warned!

I am reading a lot of writings about Durban being dangerous - hence my advise and five pence to that subject.
Durban is a large bustling city and as safe or dangerous as any other place on earth.
One of the main reasons people are getting mugged is because they are careless.
Do not carry large sums of money with you - do not flash jewellery and ask locals for advice as to where to go.
If you are cautious and travel with your eyes open you will find Durban as pleasant and SAFE as any other city or region in the world.

I just recently returned from Durban South Africa and I wanted to share some of my experiences. It is very unsafe there. Four people from the conference that my friend was attending were held up over a 4 day period. One in front of his hotel during daytime, His wife and children were with him at the time. They were staying at a very nice hotel. We were staying at a very nice hotel as well (4 *)and there was a bullet whole in the window. You cant walk on the beach at night or on the streets and a lot of time not even during daytime. I just returned and found out that someone got a hold of my credit card number while I was there and made purchases up to $3,000. Although I feel that this was not a very safe place I would like to mention that all of the people I did meet in the service industry were very nice and bent over backwards to make sure we had wonderful service. Well except for the person that stole my credit card information.