Soweto tours from Johannesburg

7 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

Soweto adjoins Johannesburg to the south-west. Its name is an acronym for South-Western Townships, and South African History Online dates its first use to 1963. The townships themselves are older: Orlando was founded in 1931, when the white government began to separate black residents from white. Most tours concentrate on Orlando West, where Vilakazi Street, the Mandela House and the Hector Pieterson Memorial lie close enough to see on foot in a morning.

Going with a guide

The governments of Germany, the UK, the USA and Canada give the same advice on townships: visit with an organised tour and a guide who knows the area. The German Foreign Office adds that robberies of tourists happen regularly in inner cities and townships. None of the four names Soweto, so the general advice applies. Several tours below are led by guides who grew up in Soweto and meet you there; others collect you in Johannesburg and drive you in.

Vilakazi Street and the Mandela House

Brand South Africa describes Vilakazi Street as the only street in the world that has been home to two Nobel Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. An artwork of hands forming sign language marks the start of the street, where you can park. Tutu’s house stands at the corner of Ngakane Street and is a private residence, so tours stop outside.

The Mandela House at 8115 Vilakazi Street is now a museum. Mandela moved in with Evelyn Mase in 1946, lived here with Winnie Mandela from 1958 and came back for a short time after his release in 1990. Whether a tour takes you inside varies: on the One Day Africa tours entry is optional and paid on the day, the African Eagle half-day tour and the Eenblond full day include it, and the Tsalanang tour shows the house from outside. One guest on the walking tour found the house the least interesting stop of the day.

Hector Pieterson and 16 June 1976

On 16 June 1976 schoolchildren in Soweto marched in protest against the rule that Afrikaans be a medium of instruction in their schools. Police opened fire, and Hector Pieterson, 12 years old, was one of the first to be killed. Sam Nzima, a photographer for the newspaper The World, took the picture of Hector being carried away from the crowd, with his sister Antoinette beside them. 16 June is now Youth Day, a public holiday.

The Hector Pieterson Museum at 8288 Khumalo Street has stood beside the memorial since 2002, and the area is a national heritage site. Time Out gives the opening hours as 10:00 to 17:00 every day, and on 16 June entry is free. In March 2026 Time Out reported that the Johannesburg Development Agency was redesigning the forecourt for the 50th anniversary, with granite slabs carrying the names of more than 500 victims. The walking tour starts here and follows Moema Street, along the route of the march.

Orlando Towers, Regina Mundi and Kliptown

The Orlando Towers are the two cooling towers of the old Orlando power station. Gauteng Tourism says they were built between 1935 and 1955, shut down in 1998 and turned into an adventure centre in 2008. One tower is painted with scenes of township life, the other with FNB advertising. Gauteng Tourism lists a bungee jump between the towers for people weighing 35 to 110 kg, plus a swing, abseiling and a zipline, all depending on the wind. The walking tour reaches the towers by minibus taxi, and several of the driving tours stop for a view.

Regina Mundi in Moroka opened in 1962 and is the largest Catholic church in South Africa. In 1976 students fled into the church, police fired inside, and South African History Online notes that the damage to the altar and the crucifix can still be seen. The MoAfrika half-day tour stops outside, with the option to go in.

Kliptown, founded in 1903, is one of the oldest mixed settlements in the Johannesburg area. Here more than 3,000 delegates of the Congress of the People adopted the Freedom Charter on 26 June 1955, until police broke up the meeting on the second day. Walter Sisulu Square, opened by President Thabo Mbeki in 2005, commemorates it. The half-day walk by Nkuli walking tours includes Freedom Square and the story of the Charter.

On foot, by bike or by tuk-tuk

The One Day Africa tours meet at Vilakazi Espresso, 7346 Kumalo Street, where there is free parking nearby. Hotel pickup is not included but can be added. The walk takes four hours and runs in any weather; it suits pushchairs but not wheelchairs. Along the way you ride a local minibus taxi with the guide to Orlando East. On your own, the German Foreign Office advises against minibus taxis and recommends verified e-hailing apps.

The bicycle tour takes four hours too, passes the family home of the activist Lilian Ngoyi and needs basic cycling skills; bike and helmet are provided. The tuk-tuk tour is the shortest at two and a half hours, in an open vehicle, so bring a light jacket and rain gear. Infants have to sit on a parent’s lap.

Guests on the walking tour describe a route through richer, average and poorer parts of Soweto, with time for questions and photos. Several tours walk through or past an informal settlement: the One Day Africa walk goes through Nomzamo Park, the tuk-tuk tour also visits one, the MoAfrika tour walks through Motsoaledi and the African Eagle tour includes a view of one. If you would rather not, the bicycle tour does not list one.

Half days with pickup

If you would rather not drive to Soweto, the half-day tours collect you in Johannesburg. Tsalanang Travel Tours picks up in Sandton, Rosebank, Melrose and Kempton Park, stops at FNB Stadium, where the 2010 World Cup final was played, and includes entry to the Hector Pieterson Memorial. The African Eagle tour takes five hours, with guides in English, French and Portuguese. The MoAfrika tour also takes five hours. It meets at FNB Stadium after pickup, includes a formal tour of the Hector Pieterson Museum and walks through Motsoaledi to a community centre that the company supports.

The Eenblond day lasts six to seven hours, uses guides from Soweto, and includes Mandela House entry and a glass of traditional beer; lunch is at your own cost. Tours that pair Soweto with the Apartheid Museum are on the Apartheid Museum page.

Food, beer and evenings

Soweto Experience runs food and beer tours from its office at 7346 Kumalo Street, across the road from the Hector Pieterson Museum. The bike version takes four hours through Vilakazi Street and Orlando East, with a welcome drink of traditional beer, two meals, amagwinya and a kota among them, and two beer tastings. The tuk-tuk version takes three hours. Bring small notes for souvenirs. A kota, Daily Maverick explains, is a hollowed-out quarter loaf, in Soweto often filled with mince and mashed potato. More on township food is on food and nightlife.

The night tour by African Eagle takes seven hours with hotel pickup. It drives through the inner city after dark, stops in Maboneng, passes the Orlando Towers, includes a beer tasting in Soweto and ends with dinner on Vilakazi Street. Alcohol is extra.