Soweto Township Cultural Tour incl Apartheid Museum and Nelson Mandela House
Description
Did you know Soweto is the largest township in South Africa? Ever wondered 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.
Tour Options
Itinerary
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Soweto Cultural Tour is a private half-day tour lasting a maximum of 5hrs & 100km. Extra chrages will apply thereafter. Choose a pick-up time from your hotel or from the airport anytime between 8am and 5pm. Travel time to Soweto is about 45mins. You can customize the tour itinerary as you desire. Specify both pick-up time & pick-up address/hotel name. For any changes in address or pick-up time please send a WhatsApp to: +27 78 396 4115 or email: customercare@sandtontaxicabs.co.za.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- There may be a waiting surcharge, should wait extend past 1-hour, at a rate of R200/hour (or part thereof)
- Private Cultural Tour (not shared)
- Emergency Contact (Phone/WhatsApp): +27 71 880 0531 or email: customercare@sandtontaxicabs.co.za
- Children and Pensioners are welcome
Reviews(36)
The hotel organised a trip to Soweto including a visit to Nelson Mandela's house museum. Built in 1945, the small single-storey red brick house served as the family home from 1946 to the 1990s. Now a museum it showcases bullet holes, scorch marks original paintings furnishings memorabilia and photographs celebrating Mandela's life. An English-speaking guide provided an informative tour of the exterior and interior. Archbishop Desmond Tutu's house is just over the road making this street the only one in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners have lived in close proximity. The surrounding area has become a tourist destination with markets performers and restaurants. We paid R60 per adult entrance fee; taxis take approximately 30-35 minutes from the NH Johannesburg Sandton hotel. Typically takes about 40 - 60 minutes for a guided tour. The small house doesn't take very long to walk around.
Thank you for taking time to share your experience. We are thrilled to hear that you had a great time.
We had a great private rides and tours via Sandton Taxi cabs, Jo Berg. We also took their services for pick up from Sudwala and for airport transfers. Very reliable services, safe and our driver throughout was Nkululeko (KO). He was extremely helpful, reliable, knew all routes and tour places. He had knowledge of all areas and places along with history. We really enjoyed touring with Ko via Sandton taxi.
Hi Pragati, Thank you so much for a positive feedback! We're thrilled that you were satisfied with our service, and that the driver made your experience enjoyable. We'll be sure to share your compliments with him. Hope to hear from you again in the future.
A very amazing experience. Our tour guide Sydney made it a distinguishable trip to us. He was very informative and passionate about the culture and the history of SA. Highly recommended.
Hi Bassam Darwish, Thank you so much for taking your time to share your great experience in the hands of Sandton Taxi Cabs. We are thrilled to hear that you were happy with our service and tour guide. We look forward to hear from you again in the future.
What a Top Day!!! We have seen everything we wanted to see and more. Nkululeko is a great guide. He's told me a lot. Afterwards I also received pictures of him. ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED!!!
Hi Sandra, Thank you so much for the the feedback. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour. Hope to hear from you again in the future.
Worth doing while in Johannesburg, seeing all the main sights in one day. Our guide was very accommodating and informative
Thank you so much for an amazing feedback. We are happy you a great time. Hope to hear from again in the future.
Went on the Soweto tour My driver , thebe was extremely knowledgeable ,easy to understand and very personable Would highly recommend this driver and company
Hi Peter, Thank you so much for such a great feedback. Hope to hear from again in the future.
Accompanied our overseas clients. As a local it was my 1st time visiting this location. It's very clean and has a party vibe with all the restaurants easily accessible within walking distance. The guides are amazing definitely worth a visit
Happy to hear you had a great time and thank you.
A museum to visit, imperatively, to try to understand this terrible history of apartheid, decades of struggles, already the visit begins with your ticket "white" or "non-white" each separates for a small course of explanations and an immersion begins of what was the regime of racial segregation in South Africa...and Nelson Mandela, released after 27 years spent in prison .., that horrors, a system of oppressions, domination, institutionalized by laws, policies and above all discrimination, we all emerged upset.
Such a touching history it is. We do understand why you came out upset. Hope you to hear from you again. Thank you
This online service misrepresents itself. This is not actually the tour. This is only the car that you book to get to the three locations. We would’ve been better off, ordering an Uber. Also, they did not tell us that the first two locations were closed, would not recommend.
Hi Rebecca, I'm deeply sorry to hear about your bad experience. We will look into this and fix it going forward. Our customer care team will be in touch.
I was a little worried that this would just be a taxi guide, but this wasn’t the case at all. I was so impressed with our guide Nkululeko (& his articulate English) and the way he shared the history made this experience incredible. This is a must do tour to take in the essence of Johannesburg and the core culture.
We appreciate your positive feedback. Thank you so much. Hope to hear from you again in the future.
