Find out how the Group Areas policy of the apartheid goverment changed the fabric of the city center. We will drive through the area and have a short stop at kaizersgracht street on our way to Langa township.
On our tour you will introduced to different parts of the city where you will be exposed to many cultures of Cape . Langa Dompass Museum. Craft Market (For Shoppers) One and half hour walking tour. Visiting the hostels (See the living condition) Pre-school (Monday to Friday) Traditional Healer or Herbalist. Robert Sobukwe Monument. Church Music (Sundays Only) Drive through a Coloured township (Bonteheuwel) Gugulethu the Seven and Amy Biehl Memorial.
Explore the profound history of Robben Island on an optional excursion where a former political prisoner guides you through the maximum-security complex and Nelson Mandela’s former cell. This visit is subject to availability and weather. This experience is paid for on your own onsite and includes a ferry crossing from the V&A Waterfront and a bus tour of the island’s landmarks, including the historic lime quarry.
To have the opportunity to chat with people who live here was so enlightening and interesting We were initially concerned before booking that was it all a bit poverty tourism but it didn’t feel like that. We felt very safe throughout
Definitely an experience I will not forget, for various reasons. Sam was an amazing, open, and honest tour guide - it was just he and I and we had such great discussions about the history and future of SA. I never once felt unsafe. Seeing a side of Cape Town away from the tourist area was exactly what I wanted, helping me get a glimpse of the the culture. Highly recommend for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of the past, current, and future of Cape Town and South Africa.
This was an awesome tour that I would recommend to anyone. I felt safe on the tour and well informed. The Tour Guide had a wealth of information and knowledge about the content of the Tour and the agenda was very clear. I also felt safe on the tour.
Sam is fantastic. He is knowledgeable, personable, patient, passionate about his tour, and a wonderful person with whom to exchange ideas over an approximately four-hour period. This tour was enlightening, inspiring, and eye-opening. We covered so much ground both on foot and by car. He introduced me to people he personally knew - and who obviously liked him - in the township where he used to live. Sam shared his personal experiences in the township with me and, when encouraged, his opinions about the township, the country, and the world. I totally enjoyed my time with him and strongly recommend this fantastic Cape Town experience.
I recommend this tour to anyone and everyone wanting the understand the real and full story of the problems faced by Cape Town's black/coloured population today. It includes a history of apartheid, Mandela's influence and the situation now told through the honest voices of two township dwellers. Sam was highly informative, sharing personal and cultutral experiences which were fascinating, enlightening and enriching. Ndota walked us through the Langa township which was humbling and at times hard to see. We saw both legal houses and illegal squatter dwellings. The cramped conditions, the overcrowding, the insanitary living conditions and the struggle with the 'legal obligations' of the local government were all laid out for us and not hidden. The people of Langa were happy for us to enter their homes, experience the oppressive heat in bedrooms, and the lack of privacy with three families sharing one small room with three beds, one per family. The pre school visit was interesting and the staff were welcoming (unfortunately we were their on Mandy Thursday and most children were away being looked after by elder children). The way the children of Langa were pleased to see us, waving and 'high fiving' was heartwarming and humbling. The township accepted our presence as we were,two white women, without resentment or bitterness.
I recommend this tour to anyone and everyone. It is a MUST to understand the FULL history of apartheid, Mandela’s influence and the problems black/coloured people of South Africa still face, told through the voices of two township dwellers. Sam was hugely informative sharing personal and cultural experiences which were fascinating. Ndoto walked us through the Langa township which was humbling and at times hard to see. We saw both the legal houses and the illegal squatters’ dwellings. The cramped conditions, the overcrowding and living difficulties were not hidden from us. The people of Langa were happy for us to go into their homes and experience the oppressive heat in bedrooms and the lack of privacy, with three families sharing one bedroom and one bed for each family. The preschool visit was interesting and the staff welcoming. The way the children in Langa were pleased to see us, doing high fives and waving was heartwarming in what could have been a very uncomfortable experience. The township accepted us as we were, two white women, without resentment.
Sam and everyone involved in the tour were excellent. The tour was safe, extremely informative and fun thanks to Sam’s excellent character. I would highly recommend everyone does this tour! A tip would be to bring a few notes to be able to tip people!
Everyone whom visits South Africa should do this tour. It’s real life away from the city how people really live and the impact of the history on the culture. The guides were amazing and shared stories and homes of those who live there a contrast to the beach and city life, Fantastic best part of our holiday
We highly recommend this tour. It showed us a different side of Cape Town that must be seen. We were made to feel extremely welcome and at ease. Our tour guide was highly knowledgeable and informative and a really nice guy.
Very informative, a township tour is a must when in South Africa - don’t be just a tourist, be a visitor! Sam is a very knowledgeable person who’s been doing these tours for 20 years, and works with locals. We visited a kindergarten, a hostel (including inside) a souvenir / street art shop, a traditional doctor… Bring cash for donations / tips. Sam did the tour even though I was the only participant. The atmosphere was safe, but seeing the living conditions can be psychologically demanding. Overall, highly recommended!
I took a township tour in Cape Town with Sam, and I’m still genuinely impressed. The tour was incredibly interesting and engaging, and the insights went far beyond what you would normally expect. What touched me most was Sam’s personal story. He didn’t just share facts, but also spoke very openly about his own life. That honesty and closeness turned the tour into an emotional journey for me — I’ve rarely experienced a guided tour that felt this intense and meaningful. Sam answered every question calmly, respectfully, and without any hint of prejudice. I’m truly grateful for that, because this level of openness is anything but a given. I can wholeheartedly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to understand Cape Town beyond the surface — in a human, authentic, and deeper way. Thank you so much, Sam. The only thing I regret afterwards is that you can’t leave a tip via TripAdvisor — the tour was easily worth at least twice what I paid.
Would highly recommend! Sam is an expert and will answer all your questions with enthousiasm. We drove through Cape Town to visit Distric Six and a small museum about the origins of Langa. Very interesting! Afterwards, Sam dropped us off at Langa, where we explored the township with a local guide from that area. We visited a local doctor, a pre-school and entered some of the houses. He was a very good guide as well, who explains everything in details and answered all of our questions. We came back speechless from what we saw. It is tough, and for us it was an essential part of our trip. We learned a lot about the history of South Africa and Cape Town. Thank you to both guides!
Leo our guide was very knowledgeable and a really friendly guy. It was great to hear the history of the townships and apartheid. Seeing the great work being done in educating the children in the preschool was amazing
This experience was probably one of my favorite things on our vacation. Our driver picked us up and was very educational and was full of knowledge about the township we visited. The children were the stars of the show. Please if you decide to bring things for the kids, make sure you have enough for every child. Luckily we did. The school would also love school supply donations. The gentleman who walked us through the township was also amazing and very informative and honest. We already can’t wait to visit again next year. Highly recommend.
Wonderful guide and driver great information very informative really got to understand the community and the people. It was very nice to visit the daycare. I wish I had known ahead of time how many children would be there brought little small gifts for them probably didn’t have enough. The daycare we visited had approximately 80 children, I messaged the tour operator several times prior to our trip asking how many children and never got a response so I felt bad not having enough for each child . Trip price was worth what paid .
This was a morning long tour of a Townhip which gave a very informative overview of the development of townships, the protests during apartheid and current types of house in and living conditions. The tour guide was excellent.
My wife and I really enjoyed our half day tour with Sam and his colleague who took us round the Langa township. The tour gave a real insight into the continuing inequalities and challenges facing South Africa.
You see and hear a lot of the life in the township Langa. The mornin tour and the guide was very good.
Really enjoyed the tour and both guides were great. We were picked up on time and the whole tour was very informative.
Our tour guide, Wilson, explained the history of the townships and shared his own personal experiences in a very informative way. We walked extensively and safely through Langa learning of its struggles and achievements. Highly recommend.
Highly recommend - we visited the township of Langa with our family (6) youngest was 10yrs old - our tour guides Sam & Leon were excellent - it was so educational and we could not believe the access into the township we got - so sad to see first hand the conditions & hardship the poor people live in & face everyday - as a family we are so happy we did it - once in a lifetime experience and it sure gives you a new perspective on life !
The township was a really good experience and we had very insightful guides that we able to talk us through the history and current issues. We also booked Robben Island as part of this booking. Our township guides dropped us near the boat to Robben Island this tour was equally very insightful and glad that we did it.
Our guides were informative and very hospitable. We enjoyed walking through the township and feeling the spirit of these incredible people. We enjoyed the joy of preschool children escaping their classroom to wrap themselves around our knees! This tour is an absolute must to understand the culture.
Amazing tour! Walking through a township and having a guide that lived there was amazing. This tour far exceeded my expectations! I highly recommend it!
Both of our guides were fantastic. The township tour is a must for Cape Town. Langa was full of lovely people; anyone visiting South Africa should see the impact of Apartheid with their own eyes.
I am SO glad I did this tour, to become informed about the history of the area and see the way of life of so many people. I felt so safe and welcomed - highly recommend!
Sam was a wonderful guide. I appreciate his knowledge and willingness to answer all of my questions. I would definitely book with him again. It was a late/last minute booking but it will be one of the highlights of my trip. He was accommodating when we changed the pickup location and patient when we were a few minutes late. The price was fair. You don't want to miss this! Thank you for being our guide for this amazing experience.
Really interesting tour of the townships, their history and the challenges faced on a daily basis led by well organised kind people. Cape Town is much more than penguins and mountains and it would do a trip here an injustice not to learn the cities history and present day realities. Thank you to our tour guides for their kindness. We went on to complete our day with a trip to Robben Island that was equally as informative, interesting and relevant.
An up close and very personal look at the struggles faced by these communities over the years. Both Sam and his young guide allowed authentic background history, discussion and context to better understand these very complex issues pertaining to townships in Cape Town. A very impactful "tour" allowing a better understanding as to why these townships came to be.
Sam was great as was his township tour guide (could not spell it correctly if I tried!)—they were able to accommodate us last minute, and really made life in the township real for my kids, who up to that point, had only seen the V&A waterfront, Camps Bay, and Table Mountain. This was important and they were able to meaningfully convey a tragic history for my boys (ages 15, 15, and 12) to learn about
The guide's historical descriptions were very informative and the actual walk through the neighbourhood was an eye-opener. Despite an all-black environment, some with deplorable conditions, the people were uniformly friendly, with small children running out to give us hugs, no solicitation. The visit gives us great respect for negotiations done by Nelson Mandela but also shows how difficult it is to break free of the colonial limitations. Our guide and his driver were doing it admirably.
This is a must see in Capetown. The tour is so interesting. I learnt more on this tour than the Robben Island trip. Sam was so knowledgeable about the history, not only of the townships but of all south African politics. There was just 4 of us on the tour in a comfortable 7 seater car.
Very informative tour about the township. Remember to wear a hat on this walking tour.I forgot mine. The sun was scorching but the experience among the people was nice.
Very impressive and emotional. You were almost integrated in the every-day life of the poorest. But you felt safe all the time.
We had the pleasure of being hosted by Sam, the owner. This is the highlight of our Cape Town visit! Life is not all glitter and glam. This should be a part of everyone’s trip to Cape Town… see how 80% of people in this city live. Recognize your privilege!
Luyolo was an amazing guide. Highly recommend him. If I had met him earlier on my trip I would have booked more tours with him.
Probably the best thing we did in our time in Cape Town. Even though we didn’t get to visit the healer or the preschool (closed for winter), we still got a great sense of the community from walking around for the hour with our guide telling us lots of things. Highly recommend
Go to a township is something that you can't miss when visiting Cape Town. But let me start from scratch: I was the first to be picked up by the driver and he took advantage of this moment just with me and he was very invasive when asking questions about if I was married, where my boyfriend was, if I don't intend to get married, etc and even looked at my hand to see if I had a ring. After other tourists join us, he changed his behaviour completely. This is called harassment! So women, I don't recommend going alone on this trip at all, I felt very uncomfortable and with hands tight about what should I do at the moment. The least I can do is warning you now. Back to the township experience, during the Walking Tour through Langa, which lasted just over an hour, we could see the houses inside and outside, in addition to having attend a local church session, which has services on Sundays that makes us have a vision of how much Christianity has rooted in African culture. It was said that we would visit a spiritual healer, but that did not happen, as an excuse was said that he was not there, but I believe it was some lack of organization from Sams (some people booked Robben Island too early and I guess we were running out of time for that) because that is part of the Township visit package. After the walking tour we just stopped by some other townships, no getting out of the van and in the end the driver ask for money to "help the schools in Langa" As a conclusion, it's too expensive for what they serve plus the lack of ethics.
Walking through the townsite and mingling with the people. The children were great to meet in the kindergarten as we had 5 of our family under12.
Our family wanted to see Langa township and learn more about the history. Mpumzi was super knowledgeable and showed us how Black people were displaced from District 6 and brought into these townships. What we saw reminded us of Haiti which is where our family is from. Overall I would recommend this tour. It was definitely eye opening.
I highly recommend doing this tour. Booking was very easy and we were timely picked up at our hotel, in the nicest car I sat in during my stay in Cape Town. Our driver and guide Mpumzi, living in the township for his whole life, taught us a lot about the history of and life in the townships. Emphasis of this tour is education about the townships and definitely not promoting poverty or doing an ‘excursion’. In the township you get to walk around with another local guide and meet the people living there. Before the tour I expected it to be unsafe, but I totally got the opposite feeling when walking around there. People are very friendly and welcoming and like to tell you about their lives in the township. Mpunzi and all the people there, thanks so much for this tour! It completely changed my perspective and view of this area and I will recommend it to all people visiting Cape Town.
Avoid this tour, as the tour operator never turned up - leaving us high and dry. There was no communication from the tour operator at all after we had booked and paid.
It was interesting & informative! A little pricey for what it was Not the most pleasant experience, certainly not for locals
I had a very great time and experience. My guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The overall experience allowed me to understand more of Cape Town's historical facts and how it stills impact today's society. Would definitely recommend it.
Incredible tour! Our guid was very knowledgeable and really committed to having us all learn and be informed as much as possible. The tour really opened my eyes and was a key experience on my trip. I would recommend!!
This is a must see for anyone wanting to know more about the enduring legacy of apartheid in Cape Town. Our guides Mpuzi and Lionel were fantastic. Highly recommend
Cape Town is Waterfront, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Green Point, Clifton, but it is also the townships which are also a huge part of the history of South Africa and Cape Town. The tour we did with Sam was one of the tours you won’t forget. You can ask him any question and he will tell you all about the history from the 1900’s till now. We had an impressive morning walking through Langa and driving through Gugulethu. A lot to process and think about…
Sam picked us up from our Cape Town hotel and was the perfect guide. it wasn't preachy or downbeat and gave us and our kids (8,12 and 14) an insight in to real-life in South Africa. Thoroughly recommend. Tip: we took some cheap toys and sweeties with us to hand out when we met people.
My family was displaced in the 1960s and Sam gave us a better understanding of what they went through and had to endure.
My husband and I booked this tour for the last full day we were in Cape Town. The guide picked us up and our hotel right on time to start the tour. He drove us around different areas, but then he dropped us off at a township called Langa. There, he arranged for a man in Langa to tour us around the area. This was really informative and a totally different side to see other than V&A/Sea Point/Camps Bay and the peninsula. I felt safe the entire time, and everyone we came in contact with was really friendly. The kids are also so cute! The tour was only about 2.5 hours in total, so if you have a free morning from like 9 am - 11:30 a.m., I would definitely recommend this!!!
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
Reach us by phone
Reach us by email