We are a group of 3 couples in their 60’s traveling to SA next April. We will do a driving road trip along the Garden Route and with all the advised precautions such as not to drive at night and keep your doors locked etc., I feel this is quite safe.

After we reach Gqeberha, 4 of the group are going home and my husband and I are planning to continue on to the Wild Coast. We are planning to stop at a lodge in the Chintsa area to do some coastal hiking; a lodge in Coffee Bay for coastal hiking and a lodge in the Drakensberg for hiking. Just wondering about the safety along the roads in this area in regards to car jackings.

Any info you could provide would be much appreciated.

Abby

Stick to main roads and avoid driving after dark, as rural roads can be iffy.

In Chintsa, Coffee Bay, and the Drakensberg, keep your doors locked and valuables out of sight and you should be fine.

Pre pandemic my wife and I spent three months on a road trip around South Africa and encountered no problems whatsoever. We didn't drive after dusk, not because of the fear of car jackings, but mainly because of the state of the roads, most of which seemed to be riddled with potholes, some quite large. We even found this on many of the main highways,

Our main concern was really on parking up in towns and villages where I would invariably be asked for cash to "watch our car"

I am from South Africa and we recently travelled the Wild Coast and my advice would be :
- as mentioned above..... only drive in daylight hours as the roads are bad
- don't believe the times shown on google maps as travel is far slower than shown (check with your Wild Coast accommodation hosts for time frames around your travel route)
- keep everything out of sight in the car
- draw whatever cash you think you may need beforehand
- if you are planning on hiking, definitely do it in a group
- we recently hiked the Wild Coast Pondo trail and it is incredible and I would highly recommend it. Several companies offer trips (this is by far the safest way to do it). I am not in any way affiliated to any company but I would say that Wild Child offers the best experience (we actually used another company that I would not recommend but I know many folk who have gone with Wild Child and absolutely rave about them)
- "Car Guards" are a thing all over South Africa - not formally employed but simply doing it as a way to earn money. Most times you would tip the "car guard" when you return to your car as a way of saying thank you. Also, an incentive for them to hang around until you return to your car