Experience Cape Town Townships: Half Day Cultural Tour Exploring Langa, Guguletu and Bonteheuwel
4.3
10 Ratings
Cape Town
Immerse yourself in the vibrant culture of Cape Town Townships on a half day tour. Visit Langa, Guguletu, and Bonteheuwel for a personal and authentic experience.
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • District Six Museum - We visit the Site of District six museum visit not included. Here our tour directors give a historical narrative of this once vibrant community and how it was destroyed by groups areas act of 1950
  • Cape Town - In Langa the driver guide gives an introduction of this communities history before introducing visitors to a local site guide who will take over and facilitate a guided walking tour of Langa on foot Visiting a creche,Old hostel and new family units settlers and the New social houses on the edge on Langa.
  • Gugulethu 7 Memorial - Here the visitor will see the Martyr erected to honor the Gugulethu seven young man who were gunned down by security police in the height of apartheid era
What's Included
  • Air-conditioned vehicles
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

This scheduled half day cultural tour of the Cape Town Townships of Langa, Guguletu and Bonteheuwel, includes:

  • Pick-up and drop-off (Atlantic Seaboard, Waterfront and City Bowl)
  • Drive through District Six
  • Townships visited: Langa, Bonteheuwel, Guguletu
  • Includes: home visit, walking tour, shebeen / tavern, crèche, art and crafts, and various memorials.

Our tours facilitate personal experiences, discussion and interaction between township residents and visitors. Groups are small and tours are conducted by current or ex-township residents. Our focus is on people and their culture, traditions norms and customs and day to day life in the Townships.

Location
Victoria & Alfred Hotel Cape Town
Dock Road
Our Vehicles are branded Camissa Travel in Green bold letters our guides are also wearing branded Camissa Travel uniform.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(10 Ratings)
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1 star
Stella
Aug 7, 2023
Memorable - This was a so well done tour, from the vehicular part to the walking throughout the township, so informative, so deep, so well explained, sharing the everyday living of the inhabitants of Camissa. Highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
88shannont
Apr 13, 2023
Excellent Tour - I can’t recommend this tour enough! The guides are from the township, so the entire experience is very personal. You’ll learn a lot about the history of townships in South Africa and hear your guides own family history of living there. Of all the experiences I had in Cape Town, this is by far the best one I booked. It felt like visiting with a friend rather than an organized tour. 10 stars for an excellent day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marlevandoorn
Oct 26, 2022
Great tour - Insightfull experience. At first we were hesitant wether to book a town ship experience, since we expected it to feel a bit like watching normal people in their daily lives. However, it was a great tour. Two guys who grew up and were still living in Langa told us more about the history of cape town and the town ships and what life was like. Not only the hardship is mentioned but also the resilience of people and the strong community. It made our trip to South Africa a much deeper experience. Only thing that felt less authentic (and quite expensive compared to other shops) was the craft stall in the middle of the town ship. However, would definitely recommend the tour.
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Gailc158
Feb 7, 2020
Wonderful experience - I was on the Township tour yesterday and our guide Godfrey was wonderful and such an inspiration, he’s proud of the achievements of the Langa community and so he should be, a great insight into the local people and their on going struggles, this tour is the highlight of my stay in Cape Town, I highly recommend it, also the guide that showed us round the house where he lives etc gave us a feel of what it is really like in this community, the experience has changed my whole perception of Cape Town, brilliant experience, thank you both, I will never forget my visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Citygirl00110024
Dec 18, 2019
1/2 Day Township Tour of Langa: Personal, Interactive (Incredible) Experience - I would highly recommend the 1/2 day township tour. I have previously toured Soweto in Johannesburg and was not expecting such a personal interactive experience in Cape Town. My tour guide, Song, picked me up at my hotel. He gave us a drive through of district 6 filling us with history the entire ride to the Langa Township. This tour gives you the opportunity to walk through Langa with one of the residents and visit one of the hostels that the men used to live in while their families were out in the western cape area. To be able to visit this home (it was actually the home of our walking tour guide, Sakhe) and enter one of the rooms that 3 families share and briefly meet with the residents was a life changing experience. We also visited a local school house to interact with the cute kids in school there. As Sakhe warned us, hug one and you hug them all - but I didn't mind. After visiting the hostel home you take a quick break at the craft stand where the proceeds of the sale are shared with the local residents. They had unique things that I had not seen at St George's Square in the craft stands that are supposedly/hopefully made locally. I bought a bag and you can tell it was made by an individual, not a machine in a factory. Song and Sakhe made the tour an amazing experience. They were open to any questions about living in the township and daily life. Song even took me to a bank when I spent all my money at the craft stand and needed more in order to pay for my tour! 5 stars
Review provided by Tripadvisor
David
Jul 25, 2019
Cape Town Township Cultural Experience - This experience is a must. Having toured Soweto only a few days before this experience was much more personal and inclusive. The walking tour with a local guide was eye opening. From seeing the kids in the local preschool to being invited into the the hostel accommodation and visiting the street markets it's a day you won't forget.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Casey1709
Dec 5, 2023
Disorganised and cystic - 2 hour tour disguised as a 4 hour tour. The walkabout tour in Langa was very interesting, joy to see so many children enjoying themselves. The gospel church was like a stage show with only a few locals there and over hundred tourists, and as we were leaving the locals arrived for the actual mass part. The pottery painting and animal skin drum banging were not representative of live in the township. What really let this tour down was the chaotic and disorganised collection route taken by the driver, cross crossing Cape Town back and forth and eating into the tour time. One lady had to wait 90 mins before we got to a toilet.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karinhawelka
Nov 5, 2023
Mixed impressions incl pick-up with a Mercedes Benz - Positive Individual pick up at a hotel outside of town that was closer to my area Very insightful and eye-opening walking tour through Langa with guide Sake. Sake who grew up in Langa gave us a very good and authentic overview to help to understand the history, current situation and the community spirit of the township. At the same time we had the opportunity to ask questions. This part of the tour took approx.45 - 60 min and was the best part of the morning. People we met were all friendly and we felt always safe. To be improved We were astonished to be picked-up in a quite new looking Mercedes Benz. Quite a part of the tour was driving with the car through district 6 and through parts of Langa. It felt very awkward and not appropriate to drive with a Mercedes through the little streets along the shacks and township residents. It leaves a bit a feeling how much of the income of the tour will help the people in Langa? Our driver guide Songs overloaded us with info during the tour. It felt a bit like a robot and we hardly had any chance to ask questions. Walking through the township felt ok for me but driving through the shacks gave a feeling of “human safari” that was unappropriate. Tour lasted incl. transfers only approx. 3 h 20 Min instead of the advertised 4 h. No visit of creche, Bonteheuwel township, Gugulethu Seven Memorial and Amy Biehl Memorial as advertised. The little tourist market in Langa where we had a stop to buy products seemed quite overpriced compared to other areas which leaves a bit a stale feeling. Most tourists surely want to support the community but would probably by more willing to help if price level was a bit different. Overall mixed feelings and I would book a tour from another operator next time due to the experiences mentioned above.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Deborah
Oct 23, 2019
dissappointed - This half day tour was supposed to be 4 hours long, and ours was only 3 hours. It did not take us to all the districts mentioned in the tour description. And the pick up in the hotel was rather confusing. We were waiting for them in the hotel lobby. When they turned up to pick us up, he said he'd been waiting for us for 20 minutes. But we had been in the lobby for 45 minutes waiting for them, and the hotel receptionist knew we were waiting as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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