Despite the events of the last few weeks, we’ve got it pretty good here in Sydney in terms of safety and low crime rate both by Australian and world standards. Now the annual State of Travel Insurance Safest Destinations report by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP) has dubbed the Emerald City one of the safest in the world for travellers. The diverse list also featured European, Asian and South American cities with Sydney moving up the ranks from the 10th position last year to number 4 in 2024. The Hawaiian capital Honolulu claimed the first spot despite being prone to natural disasters followed by Montreal which was lauded for its transportation safety and Reykjavik at the third spot. Sydney and Amsterdam rounded out the top 5 safest cities in the world to travel in 2024.
The study noted that “Sydney receives extremely consistent safety marks from American travelers who have visited the city” adding that aside from “the occasional typhoon or peaceful demonstration,” there wasn’t much to worry about in the city in regards to safety.
Safest cities in the world for travel
To determine the results, the study surveyed actual travellers, along with third-party data sources like The Economist and city ratings from GeoSure Global to evaluate factors such as terrorism, weather emergencies, health measures and the safety of underrepresented groups.
Here are the top 15 safest cities in the world to travel in 2024:
- Honolulu
- Montreal
- Reykjavik
- Sydney
- Amsterdam
- Dubai
- Copenhagen
- London
- Seoul
- Venice
- Tokyo
- Berlin
- Paris
- Barcelona
- Orlando
According to the same report, Sydney also ranked among the safest cities for women at number 8 and for mature travellers at number 3 and also ranked highly in terrorism safety and transportation safety.
Conversely, Australia was ranked as the fourth safest country in the world last year but has dropped to number 10 with the report stating that “Australian fauna can be dangerous. From jellyfish to crocodiles, sharks, poisonous insects, and snakes, the continent and its waters host wildlife that merits awe and respect in equal doses.”
Read the full report here.
In the meantime, the most Instagrammable restaurant in the world and some of the world’s best street art can be found right here in Sydney.