Free walking tours in Johannesburg

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A must-do experience if you want to truly understand Soweto. Thabo was an outstanding guide—friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about sharing both the history and the present-day reality of the township. He explained not only the legacy of apartheid but also the current challenges and changes in Soweto, always providing valuable context and answering all of our questions. The tour includes a visit to Nelson Mandela’s house and finishes at the iconic Soweto Towers, making it a very complete experience. You can really tell that Thabo loves sharing the history and culture of his community. Without a doubt, one of the best tours we’ve done. 10/10—highly recommended! ———————— Una experiencia imprescindible para conocer Soweto de verdad. Thabo ha sido un guía excepcional, muy cercano y con un conocimiento impresionante de la historia y la realidad actual del barrio. No solo nos explicó el pasado del apartheid, sino también los retos y cambios que vive Soweto hoy en día, aportando mucho contexto y respondiendo a todas nuestras preguntas. El tour incluye lugares tan emblemáticos como la casa de Nelson Mandela y termina con una visita a las icónicas torres de Soweto, lo que hace que la experiencia sea muy completa. Se nota que Thabo disfruta compartiendo la historia y la cultura de su comunidad. Sin duda, uno de los mejores tours que hemos hecho. ¡Un 10 y totalmente recomendable!

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

David

1 Review

Llevo años viajando y ha sido los mejores tours, que he hecho nunca. Nuestro guia Thabo, aportó un montón de datos históricos de una forma muy entretenida. I've been travelling for years and it's been the best tours I've ever done. Our guide Thabo provided a lot of historical data in a very entertaining way. 5 stars guide

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Sean was a great guide. He is very interesting and informative. It is obvious he loves what he is doing!

The City of GOLD City Walking Tour

Tour muy interessants! Hemos pasado por lunars que sin guia no hubieramos ido. Interesante today la información.

Free tour of the history and lifestyle of Soweto

Carlos

2 Reviews

I really enjoyed my tour with Sean! He was a wonderful local guide, and I felt safe with the nice and interesting information he shared. After the tour, I hang out with him since we have another tour planned in Soweto. He welcomed me very warmly, and we create a great connection. I’m looking forward to meeting him again in South Africa!

The City of GOLD City Walking Tour

Toby

4 Reviews

Sean is very knowledgeable and passionate about Johannesburg. He provided entertaining and interesting information throughout the tour. Highly recommended.

The City of GOLD City Walking Tour

Susi

2 Reviews

Thabo did an amazing job. The tour is very touching and we learned a lot. He started the tour away from the touristic hotspot, in a place that was just as interesting and had a more solemn atmosphere than the touristic part (which we visited later as well). His explanations and answers to our questions were great, and our conversations very authentic and really interesting. He really is a charming and fun person to talk to, and after our tour he even helped us with a couple of things we had to resolve, he cared a lot about our safety and wellbeing. Thank you so much, Thabo!

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Eduardo

1 Review

We had an absolutely wonderful walking tour of Soweto with Thabo. Thanks to him, we were able to learn the history of Soweto in incredible detail and gain a much deeper understanding of the community, its struggles, achievements, and cultural significance. Thabo was extremely attentive, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic throughout the entire tour. He shared fascinating stories, answered all of our questions, and was always willing to provide extra context and information. You can tell how passionate he is about his community and its history, which made the experience even more engaging. One thing that really stood out was that he started the tour at the June 16, 1976 Memorial, which is different from where most guides begin. This provided important historical context right from the start and helped us better understand everything we saw afterwards. We even took a local taxi together as part of the experience before visiting some of Soweto's most famous historical sites. Along the way, we also learned words from local languages and had many interesting conversations about South African culture and daily life. This is truly an experience that everyone visiting South Africa should have, and if you have the chance to do it with Thabo, even better. He is friendly, informative, passionate, and genuinely enjoyable to spend time with. Highly recommended!

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Insa

6 Reviews

A truly interesting tour through the history of Soweto and how people are now living in this huge township. Thabo was an excellent guide, very communicative and easy, i had a very good time, felt safe the whole time and I definitely learned a lot about the people that lived and are still living in Soweto.

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

He was a nice guy. He explained everything very well with an impressive story. He made us feel safe all the time. I would highly recommend booking a tour with him.

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Super accueil et très bon guide pour notre matinée à Soweto,Thabo a su Nous raconter l'histoire du township, répondre à nos questions,il agréable et pro.Nous avons passé un très bon moment avec lui,je recommande vivement.Danko Thabo!

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Best tour ever, Thabo was so sweet and accommodating. Gives u an authentic and down to earth tour

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Excellent tour and very informative. Thabo is a great guide! Recommended!

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Manasvi

1 Review

An insightful tour of Soweto, one of Johannesburgs most renowned neighborhoods

Soweto Bicycle Tour: Food and beer experience

Robyn

8 Reviews

Wow Thabo, what a tour guide. He took his time and gave thorough information. Super friendly and felt like a buddy the whole day. We enjoyed the Soweto tour and learned so much! Siyabonga Thabo, see you again 🤟

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Alicja

4 Reviews

Fantastic tour with an excellent guru. I was the only person attending and the trip still took place. Thabo addressed all my questions, silly or not, explained everything and provided me with a life-time shared taxi experience. The tour was one of the best I’ve ever attended.

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Arij

1 Review

I had an amazing experience with Thabo 🤩 Meeting a local guide like Thabo was the highlight of my last day in Johannesburg. He was on time, made sure that I learn about his town, I learned few words from his local language and learned how to stop a local taxi. He is genuine, professional and very friendly. Too bad I couldn't hangout with him more as I had some emergency but we finished the tour and we had great local food. Very happy to book this tour and I highly recommend it.

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Excellent walk with Thabo very informative and interesting. Would recommend

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

Fantastic, better than expected

Soweto Bicycle Tour: Food and beer experience

Excellent Guia. Muy interesante y triste tour historico

The Hidden Gems of SOWETO.

HILDA

7 Reviews

We really enjoyed the tour with Sean ; he gave us an excellent introduction to South Africa. We went on his tour before starting a safari tour and I must say that his tour and information was a lot better than the one we got on a week tour with a company. In short time he describe important aspects of South Africa culture and society. Help us to navigate Johannesburg and went above and beyond to help . I highly recommend his tour .

The City of GOLD City Walking Tour

Agnieszka

4 Reviews

The Soweto bike tour was an absolutely fantastic experience! It was one of the highlights of our visit to Johannesburg. The tour was exceptionally well organized, and our guide was knowledgeable, passionate, and eager to share the rich history and culture of Soweto. Cycling through the vibrant streets gave us a unique perspective on the community and allowed us to experience places we might never have discovered otherwise. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Johannesburg. An unforgettable experience and a must-do activity!

Soweto Bicycle Tour: Food and beer experience

Joaquin

5 Reviews

Fue un gran tour, el recorrido muy interesante, conocer gente de los alrededores fue genial. Sobre todo lwazi un gran sujeto, amable y muy grato

Soweto Bicycle Tour: Food and beer experience

This was a great tour through SOWETO made more interesting being on a bike. It isn't strenuous bike ride. It was well paced and very interesting. A great way to see more of SOWETO with a knowledgeable guide. Well worth doing, I'd highly recommend the tour.

Soweto Bicycle Tour: Food and beer experience

Great and informative tour with Nonhlanhla. I liked how the experience was organized through different parts of Soweto, combining local community insight, key landmarks, and Mandela’s house at the end. I felt safe throughout, and Nonhlanhla was excellent.

Free tour of the history and lifestyle of Soweto