While every destination you plan to visit has something to offer, a few cities require “extra” caution (think – hold onto your bags at all times). Within many of these cities, high levels of crime are rampant despite having beautiful landscapes, rich cultures, and wonderful histories.
In fact, most people only check the weather when preparing for a flight. However, every year, new risk reports are published on global hotspots for criminal activity. With that being said, here’s a dose of reality about the shocking truths which are probably new to you.
Importance of Knowing What To Expect
Safety should always be one of the top priorities when planning a vacation, along with budget and itinerary. If you plan to travel to a location with a high level of crime, gang activity, or instability in public security, you’ll find that your holiday experience may be a total disaster. Likewise, some cities continue to live with severe long-term burdens that raise the chances of death well above the worldwide average.
For an important entryway to the prime tourist sites around Honduras, San Pedro Sula is known to have some of the highest murder rates (outside of areas involved in active wars) in the world. Unfortunately, the violence is on the rise due to long-term issues like gang competition and lack of sufficient law enforcement presence. Prior to even setting foot in San Pedro Sula, travelers are heavily warned about its dangers.
Established travel advisories have painted a bleak picture of Caracas, Venezuela. Travelers are generally advised not to visit unless they absolutely have to. There is lots of good in Caracas—the history, the culture, the vibrant neighbourhoods—but this good gets drowned out by constant threats of armed robbery, gang warfare and homicide that far exceeds local law enforcement’s ability to contain.
In 2025, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, achieved the highest crime score in the world with a score of 82. Within five continuous years of increasing crime levels, Pietermaritzburg became the world’s most dangerous city due to violence; drug trafficking; serious armed robbery/hijacking; etc. and because of this an individual would never consider walking at night —both locals and visitors.
Johannesburg is a really busy, huge, and growing metropolitan area full of opportunities for advancement; however, it is equally well-known for stolen vehicles and armed assaults/mugging. The area most notorious for crime is the Central Business District. Many people enjoy living in Johannesburg, but millions of people refer to Safe City Guides; these guides are normally numerous due to safety concerns.
Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, is a beautiful city with its coastline and colourful culture. However, Port Moresby has an extremely high level of criminal activity. This means that people visiting or living in Port Moresby should remain cautious and vigilant, and should not travel alone, especially during the evening hours.
Pretoria (South Africa) is another location that suffers from high rates of violence. Pretoria is also famous for its daytime robberies and assaults, although they have a crime score of approximately 82, which means they are very much comparable with Pietermaritzburg in the level of violence that occurs. Interestingly, Pretoria has experienced many rolling blackouts, resulting in increased criminal activity during these periods of darkness.
South Africa, Durban is a beautiful coastal city but it is also considered to be very unsafe due to its high levels of violent crime, especially gang-related violence and carjackings. Gang activity occurs frequently, even targeting motorists at stop lights. The Durban CBD area has been identified again as the most dangerous area in the city.
So Should I Avoid These Locations Entirely?
The answer is no; there are many reasons why people may choose to visit dangerous locations, whether they are travelling for business, research, volunteer work or for adventure. However, being aware can help you be better prepared when you travel to these regions and can enable you to make smart decisions about how and when to travel, be more cautious while travelling and help determine what types of safety measures you may want to take with you.
