Johannesburg Tour
Your hop-on hop-off Johannesburg + Soweto tour voucher allows you to see the top sights in Johannesburg from the open-top deck of a double-decker bus. The flaming red double-decker bus will stop very close to nearly all must-see landmarks in downtown Johannesburg and the suburbs. An onboard audio guide will inform you about the history and background of all the important tourist attractions as you watch them.
The Johannesburg hop-on hop-off expedition usually lasts for 1.5 hours with the bus stopping at 12 different points. If you wish, you can jump off at one or more stops to embark on a walking tour of the area. The bus will take you to popular landmarks such as the Carlton Center skyscraper, Gold Reef City Theme Park, Gandhi Square, and Constitution Hill.
Visit the numerous museums in the city like the Apartheid Museum and the Workers Museum, and amble down the mining district. Make sure you scale to the summit of the ‘Top of Africa’ viewing deck to soak up the captivating cityscapes and 360° views.
Soweto Tour Guided by Local Resident
Once you’re through with your Johannesburg expedition, you’re ready to start the final leg of your itinerary- a 2-hour Soweto trip. Lying on the southern fringe of Johannesburg, Soweto (abbreviation of ‘South Western Townships) is a rambling urban settlement. You’ve to change buses at the Gold Reef City bus stop situated in the heart of Johannesburg for the Soweto tour.
Put on your headphones to tune in to the prerecorded audio commentary while the shutterbug in you encourages you to freeze the moments. You’ll walk back in time as you visit Mandela House where the illustrious Nelson Mandela lived with his family for 16 years (from 1946-1962). Walk around and inside the largest sports ground in South Africa-the FNB Stadium-that hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
Admire the massiveness of the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital constructed during WWII and which used to be the world’s biggest hospital till 1997. And sprawled out on the other side of the road (opposite the hospital) is Johannesburg’s largest taxi stand-the Bara Taxi Rank. Visiting Orlando Towers is a must to be a witness to the highest SCAD (Suspended Catch Air Device) freefall in the world.
Thereafter you should head to the Hector Pietersen Memorial in Orlando West which served as the breeding grounds for the 1976 Soweto Uprising. Klipton Open Air Museum in Walter Sisulu Square (where about 3000 people congregated to approve the Freedom Charter) is the last stop of the Soweto trip.