Recent experience re safety in central Johannesburg?

I'm an 86-year-old white male experienced solo world traveler (always using LP guides) who will be in Johannesburg in December. I would like to stay in the city center rather than in a suburb such as Sandton, one consideration being that from the info I have been able to gather (including from this Forum), public transportation is virtually useless to tourists. The Reef Hotel, which looks nice from info/photos and most reviews is only a few blocks from Ghandi Square, where I could board the hop-on/hop-off bus to the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, etc. LP's 11/12 guide says that "it's not particularly safe to walk around alone at night" in the City Centre, which I have no need to do, but how about during the daytime? Being within walking distance of Ghandi Square, Standard Bank Art Gallery, etc., is no good if I can't walk there, and most reviews of the hotel seem to have been written by people who were driving. There is no recent info about safety in Johannesburg on this Forum, and posts on the Internet, many of them old, vary greatly. Some reports say that conditions in central Johannesburg have improved greatly from the time when it was said to be too dangerous to visit. If anyone has recent experience regarding safety during the daytime in central Johannesburg, I would greatly appreciate their sharing it with me.

During the day is fine.....Joburg is not very exciting (IMHO)but you can walk around the centre! Just don't carry a load of valuables with you...

By far the most interesting things (for me) are the Apartheid Museum and Soweto.

BTW good on you! I hope I am still travelling at 86 ;-)

I agree with 2 (and 3 :-)!), Johannesburg CBD is very busy on working days, quite safe, just pay attention to your valuables.
After sunset it's better to avoid to walk alone. If you can have dinner at the hotel there will be any problem for you.
Apartheid Museum and Soweto are the most interesting places (but I haven't been at Consistution Hill).

If you want to go out for dinner, take a taxi.

This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines.

I stayed just north in De Koorte Street on business in June

Whilst I felt safe walking around during the day, my hotel weren't happy about it & arranged free transport for the 500m trip down the same street ... I walked back to the hotel on the last day as the driver didn't show and he got a lot of grief from the Transport manager, despite my saying that I didn't feel threatened and wasn't worried he hadn't turned up.

As a female I felt fine, I'm used to Africa but always on the lookout for potential 'trouble' ...

You should be ok, as someone else mentioned, don't take your valuables out with you (although I did have my laptop with me!)

Kira

I want to thank all those who replied to my inquiry. (I am, of course, intensely curious about the reply that was removed and my imagination is running wild about it.) FYI, the LP guide recommends a hotel on De Korte St. and also one on Anderson St., only four building numbers away from the Reef Hotel where I am planning to stay, which may mean that I can walk safely to at least one other restaurant! I am relying principally on the LP guide for places I should visit. I abhor group guided tours and only take them when there is no other option, which seems to be the case in Johannesburg. So I will be taking day tours to Soweto, Pretoria (Voortrekker Monument and Freedom Park), and the Cradle of Humankind. Fortunately, the hop-on, hop-off bus tour of central Johannesburg goes to both the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill, so that I won't be limited to guided tours to those sites. I am greatly looking forward to my visit to South Africa, which I have wanted to visit for a very long time.

The reply that your imagination is running wild about is 'usually' advertising, some tout posted something possibly

Nothing to worry about, follow the rest of the advice & have a good trip

When/If I'm 86 I'll be thinking of you!!!

Kira

JHB can be an awesome place.
The inner city revival means that large parts of JHB is much safer than a year ago.
You can use the gautrain or rea vaya busses to get around town and to and from places.. or an uber or orange taxi.

I love joziville and I hope you will as well.
I study in the city and live about 10 minutes away from jhb central.
Ive also lived in Pretoria.

Ill gladly give you some more information if you want.

You don't need to have a group tour to go to Soweto, you can arrange a private tour for yourself (or with 1-2 people more). Prices are not so expensive.
My advice is to look for a company working in responsible-tourism sector, that give job opportunities to local people; it is better to avoid that kind of tour where you go to the township looking at poor people from the bus, as they were animals during safari!
Many companies do that kind of tour and they say that it is dangerous to walk around. It is false. If you go with a good "responsible" company and local guides there aren't any risks.
I had a Soweto tour in 2007 and an Alexandra and city centre tour in 2013 with “Taste of Africa”: Cedric - the owner - is skilled and reliable, the guides live in the township, so they are the best guides you can have there.
You can find more here:
http://tasteofafrica.co.za/
https://www.facebook.com/vww.tasteofafrica.co.za
On Tripadvisor you can read 8 excellent review (out of 8), mine included.

Agree with flavia......we had a local guide,and went in his car.Walked around all over,and had a chance to talk to local people,go into their houses etc.Much better thana group bus tour IMHO,and not very expensive.

Thanks for suggesting a private tour to Soweto, but the private tours I saw on the Internet were significantly more expensive for just one person, me, than the group tours--and tasteofafrica wanted me to stay in Melville, whereas I will be at a hotel in Central Johannesburg. Before I received your reply I had booked an afternoon tour with moafrika tours, which, unlike other group tours will permit me to visit Mandela House (and will pick me up at my Central Johannesburg hotel). I also booked a tour to the Cradle of Humankind with them, because it was the only tour I found that guaranteed time at both Maropeng and the caves (and would pick me up in Central Johannesburg).

Thanks. The National Geographic Traveler had an article some time ago on the revitalization of inner city Johannesburg, "Brash and Brilliant," which contributed to my decision to go there and stay in the city center. I'll be taking an all-day tour to Pretoria, where I especially want to visit Freedom Park. (The group tours I've found visit only the Voortrekker Monument and do not include Freedom Park, so it appears that I will have to take an expensive private tour for that.)

If you're there over a weekend, get yourself to Arts on Main and Neighbourhood Goods Market. Some great independent traders and food stalls from all over Africa, well worth a walk around. Like any big city, Joburg requires a common sense approach to safety, but is also buzzing and a great place to explore. Hats off to you for staying in the "real" city and not Sandton. You will get a far more real, and African experience because of this.