Free walking tours in Johannesburg

Fue muy especial, interesante y seguro todo el recorrido, nos llevó desde el Soweto más humilde hasta el más exclusivo a través de su historia, caminar y charlar con un guía local hizo la diferencia. Muchas gracias por todo.

I did this tour solo and it was genuinely one of the highlights of my time in Johannesburg. Thabo is a fantastic guide: warm, knowledgeable, and clearly proud of where he comes from. He shares local insight you’d never get from a guidebook, and Soweto comes alive in a way that’s hard to put into words. Travelled alone and felt completely comfortable throughout. Don’t think twice about booking this one

This free walking tour was wonderful! Our guide Thabo was extremely knowledgeable and passionate, and we learned so much about the important history of the area. He made us feel safe, well taken care of, and entertained. Definitely worth doing if you have the time!

VERY GOOD! The split the walking into be lower, middle and upper Soweto. Lower you’re in touch with the community and they explain you the context, then the towers and you finish with Mandela ‘s house SAFE ALL THE TIME. Thabasio did a very good job.

Uno de los mejores, sino el mejor, GuruWalk que he podido hacer a lo largo y ancho del mundo…… espectacular experiencia

Fantastic introduction to Johannesburg. I loved it

Excellent tour thanks. Loved seeing Soweto

Great tour of Soweto. Very informative.

Thabo was amazing - Highly highly recommended! There were laughs, some tears….and food. It felt like we were hanging out with a friend. I will definitely link up with Thabo again for Soweto 2.0 and also the Jozi tour.

Smooth tour. Slightly delayed. The tour guide had good info. But this is the first time I have been literally forced to pay a certain tip. And tour guide was trying to sell other packages. This should not be listed on Guruwalk. There are other platforms for such agencies.

War eine super Entscheidung diese Tour zu machen. Sehr interessant :) Danke Sean

I was alone but Thabo was so professional for the tour. He lives in Soweto and is full of insights and knowledge. I really enjoyed the tour. If you are willing, he can also recommend an authentic African restautant in Soweto (I had buffet lunch there and Thabo explained everything about the dishes, which was really nice). He is friendly and honest. I recommend him.

Excelente experiencia, vale mucho la pena y es necesaria para entender la cultura y evolución del país. Además, pudimos probar platos típicos.

It was defenatly incredible experience. The tour took aprx. 3 hour and it was the most immersive tour to feel real Soweto. If you want understand the real situation and to fell it - this tour is the best for you

Book with Thabo! The tour was wonderful. We started in Soweto, an important place to visit if you want to actually experience the history of Johannesburg. Thabo was knowledgeable, flexible, and funny. I imagined the meeting place at a memorial in a park, but it’s in a gated building FYI. We traveled from Soweto to Orlando in a local taxi which was also cool to experience! 10/10 would recommend.

Fue realmente una experiencia maravillosa. Poder conocer Soweto de la mano de una local que ha nacido y creció allí, conoce a tantas personas... Fue de verdad un honor poder ver la realidad de este país y no quedarnos siempre en una burbuja. Fue un recorrido SUPER completo y Nonhlanhla fue fantástico, súper cercano, amigable y profesional. Una persona admirable.

Muy buen guía Sean, muy amabley cin buena información. Cambiaría el recorrido del museo de arte Wits por algun otro punto de interés que pueda contar más sobre Johannesburgo

The circuit is very good. The experince was strong and elucidating about Soweto and S. África past history in general. The guide is so kind and precise on his explanations. Don't believe when people say to you Soweto is dangerous palace. We felt safe and wellcome.

The history of Soweto is somber! That is the reason I only gave our guide, Thabo, a 4 for entertainment. A very informative tour of the area, I would highly recommend the tour,

Firstly it wasn't Nkululeko who took the tour as was advertised. The tour itself was interesting and took you to the real Soweto with some very thought-provoking history. My suggestion for improvement would be for the guide to have clearer identification, like an umbrella as they do in other places. The meeting point isn't obvious and this would help.

We had an absolutely awesome time on our guided tour today. At first, we were surprised that Nkululeko was not the tour guide, but instead had sent Thabiso, one of his employees, to do the tour with us. Thabiso was an outstanding guide, very knowledgable, but also very funny. He made us feel very safe and comfortable while we toured both the simpler, as well as the more affluent parts of Soweto. He was very patient in answering our questions and took the time to continue the tour even though we were already past the official ending time. One of the many highlights was our shared lunch of authentic Kota together with Thabiso, as well as tasting the Banana flavored beer made in Soweto. We tipped 200 Rand per person, because unfortunately we did not have more cash on us, and only Nkululeko has an electronic payment machine. So be aware that payment by card may not be available before beginning the tour. Overall it was truly and outstanding experience, and we would love to do it again when we come back to Johannesburg!

Nkosi was an exceptional guide who brought downtown Johannesburg to life for us. He didn’t just walk us through the streets - he shared the rich history behind each stop along the route, explaining how the city has evolved over time and the stories that shaped it. His knowledge, passion, and engaging storytelling made the experience both educational and unforgettable.

Great experience and great way to see the area and learn about the history. My only critique, and this was about a year ago so things may have changed, is that meeting up with the guide was challenging. It was unclear who he was and initially I just got dropped off in the market area. Given the rep of the area to tourists it felt a little scary (this may not be a real reflection of safety, everyone was very nice to me) and I was unsure if it was the correct guide when he came up to me.

Great tour! We hit all the main spots (the market, the informal housing areas, Vilakazi Street, etc) and gained a sense of what life has been like there over the years. The preschool visit was so memorable. Seeing the kids and the community space made everything feel more real and present, rather than just historical. It was a good counterbalance to the sadder parts of the day. The guide didn't shy away from the difficult history. He walked us through what actually happened during apartheid and the violence that marked Soweto's past. If you're visiting Johannesburg and want to understand Soweto instead of just passing through Vilakazi street, this is worth doing.

Thabo was a very nice and professional guy whom I can highly recommend. He showed us around Soweto, shared a lot of interesting insights, and was extremely friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable throughout the tour.