Soweto Township Cultural Tour incl Apartheid Museum and Nelson Mandela House
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Overview
where Nelson Mandela grew up or what Apartheid is or even what makes Soweto Township to be internationally acclaimed? Well, here's tour that will teach & touch you! Your visit to South Africa will never be complete without a taste of the culturally-rich Soweto Cultural Township. This popular half-day (5hrs) Soweto Tour covers visits to the following heritage sites:
• Apartheid Museum (entry fees excluded)
• Nelson Mandela House on Vilakazi Street
• Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum
• Orlando Twin Towers and Bungee Jumping (own expense)
• Soweto slums/shacks
Requests to include or exclude certain sites or routes will be accepted within reasonable limits. A private tour guide can be hired for an additional fee. Driver is not a professional tour guide but will share his deep local knowledge and experiences of Soweto with you.
Inclusions
- Bottled water
- Driver/guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transport by private vehicle
What to expect
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Apartheid Museum, Northern Park Way and Gold Reef Rd, Johannesburg 2001 South Africa
A first time visit too the Apartheid Museum is sure to bring tears to many as its a rough emotional journey on how man who are made in God's image can mistreat each other as if there are different species. The brutality, the torture, the mercilessness is beyond what words can describe. The driver need not go inside the museum as the place is self-explanatory and leads you from one section to the next logically but you can pay for him to go in with you should you so wish otherwise he'll be waiting by the car till you're done.
NB: Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Duration: 2 hours
Pass By: Soweto, Soweto, Johannesburg, Greater Johannesburg, Gauteng
Soweto is South Africa's largest township and is hometown to one of the world's greatest leaders ever- Nelson Mandela! There's so much history to be learnt here and very emotional indeed. But over the years a lot has changed and the township is becoming more cosmopolitan though the slums are still to be found in certain areas.
Driver will highlight these as you drive along
Stop At: Orlando Towers, Soweto, Johannesburg South Africa
Here tourists can see the huge Soweto Cooling Towers which stands out in the skyline of Soweto. Tourists can just enjoy seeing the towers or they may be hands on and get their Adrenalin pumping by jumping from in between the 2 towers 100m down!
There's also mountain climbing, scad freefall, Johannesburg city viewing from the top of the towers, etc.
Entrance to see the Soweto Tours is free only the activities are paid for.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial, 8287 Khumalo St, Soweto, Johannesburg South Africa
Your driver will take you to the Hector Pieterson Museum to understand what happened during the 1976 Soweto Uprising by the youth of South Africa who got fed up with the rising racism fuel by Apartheid. Driver need not go inside the museum with you but you can pay for him to go in should you desire his company as museum staff are always helpful to all tourists.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Mandela House, 8115 Orlando West Street, Soweto, Johannesburg 1804 South Africa
Here you catch up with memories of Mandela as a young boy who was passionate and had strong convictions of what is right and what is not. Driver will typically not join as there are guides inside the house that will show you around the house.
You can also buy curios and souvenirs outside Mandela House to carry back home to share the memories with friends and family.
Duration: 30 minutes
Additional information
- There may be a waiting surcharge, should wait extend past 1-hour, at a rate of R200/hour (or part thereof)
- Wheelchair accessible
- Private Cultural Tour (not shared)
- Emergency Contact (Phone/WhatsApp): +27 73 748 7204 or email: [email protected]
- Children and Pensioners are welcome
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Most travelers can participate
- Face masks required for travelers in public areas
- Face masks required for guides in public areas
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Social distancing enforced throughout experience
- Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
- Temperature checks for travelers upon arrival
- Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
Cancellation
This day visit of Johannesburg / Soweto was excellent, and most of it had to do with the high professionalism and kindnbess of our guide Elvis. We first met him at the OR Tambo airport where he was waiting for us, and he knew our flight had been delayed. He took us through the city centre of Jo'...
This day visit of Johannesburg / Soweto was excellent, and most of it had to do with the high professionalism and kindnbess of our guide Elvis. We first met him at the OR Tambo airport where he was waiting for us, and he knew our flight had been delayed. He took us through the city centre of Jo'burg and showed us the places that mean the most to him, which was very nice. We visited the apartheid museum and Mandela's house and he took us to a wonderful local restaurant in Soweto where we had a delicious meal. After another ride around the city to see the stadium and the Soweto towers, he took us back to the airport in time for our final flight. Overall, communication was made extremely easy with Sandton Taxi cab, and in particular with Elvis - who is very knowledgeable on the history of Jo'burg - , and I would warmly recommend this company to every traveller who is keen to discover Johannesburg. If you are lucky enough to have Elvis as your guide, then you are in for a treat! Also, Elvis was very keen to fully adapt the route of our tour based on the time that we had at our disposal, and based on our own centers of interest. Thank you again Elvis!My second time here and was as emotional as the first alot of history great tour guide very informative
My second time here and was as emotional as the first alot of history great tour guide very informativeWe were in S.Africa for 2 week. We were skeptical about hiring transportation. We are so glad we did. Bongani transported us from the airport to our hotel. We just instantly clicked with Bongani. We hired him for 2 tours on the same day. We spent 12 hours with Bongani covering Joburg, Soweto...
We were in S.Africa for 2 week. We were skeptical about hiring transportation. We are so glad we did. Bongani transported us from the airport to our hotel. We just instantly clicked with Bongani. We hired him for 2 tours on the same day. We spent 12 hours with Bongani covering Joburg, Soweto and Ledisi Cultural Experience. Bongani is VERY knowledgeable about the history and sights of Joburg area. Through our conversations....he would adjust and say I think you would love to see this or that. I honestly don't think we would have had this experience had we not had Bongani as our driver. He was prompt, safe driver and we totally forgot we were actually strangers. It was as if he was part of our trip. We started out with a driver and ended up with a dear friend for life. If you are in S.Africa and need a driver---you need to BOOK Bongani!! We are a military couple and my husband instincts from trainings makes him guarded about most things. He was not guarded the entire time with Bongani. By the way we visited other countries on this trip and hired drivers and the experience was not the same. Also, I only read reviews - normally do not post but I had to post about Bongani!Unser Guide Moses war nicht nur äußerst kompetent was Soweto, Johannesburg, Südafrika sowohl historisch als auch tagespolitisch anbelangt, darüber hinaus hat er uns auch im nachhinein unverzichtbare Tipps für die ganze 3 wöchige Rundreise durch Südafrika gegeben. Vielen Dank nochmal, lieber Moses.
Unser Guide Moses war nicht nur äußerst kompetent was Soweto, Johannesburg, Südafrika sowohl historisch als auch tagespolitisch anbelangt, darüber hinaus hat er uns auch im nachhinein unverzichtbare Tipps für die ganze 3 wöchige Rundreise durch Südafrika gegeben. Vielen Dank nochmal, lieber Moses.This was a fantastic tour giving a real insight into Soweto life. Our guide was Nkululeko who was amazing, made sure we always felt at ease, was friendly and very knowledgeable. We were on a tight schedule (between flights in Johannesburg), we were met at the airport and returned at the agreed ti...
This was a fantastic tour giving a real insight into Soweto life. Our guide was Nkululeko who was amazing, made sure we always felt at ease, was friendly and very knowledgeable. We were on a tight schedule (between flights in Johannesburg), we were met at the airport and returned at the agreed time for our onward flight home. Really good use of our free time, would highly recommend this tour.Thambo was an excellent and very knowledgeable tour guide. Mandella’s House, the Hector Pieterspn Museum, the Regina Mundi Church, and Chaf Pozi were all very historically interesting.
Thambo was an excellent and very knowledgeable tour guide. Mandella’s House, the Hector Pieterspn Museum, the Regina Mundi Church, and Chaf Pozi were all very historically interesting.