Pretoria, Soweto and Apartheid Museum Guided Day Tour: A Deep Dive into South Africa's History

Immerse yourself in South Africa’s history on this guided day tour of Pretoria, Soweto, and the Apartheid Museum. Explore the Voortrekker Museum, Union Buildings, Soweto, and learn about the country’s apartheid era at the museum. Don’t miss this deep dive into South Africa’s fascinating past!

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Apartheid Museum - The Apartheid Museum opened in 2001 and is acknowledged as the pre-eminent museum in the world dealing with 20th century South Africa, at the heart of which is the apartheid story
  • Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial - The Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, situated in Orlando West, Soweto, commemorates the role of the country’s students in the struggle against apartheid
  • Voortrekker Monument - The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. This massive granite structure is prominently located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854.
  • Paul Kruger Country House Museum - . The last house in which President Paul Kruger was to live, between 1883 and 1901, before he left South Africa to go into exile in Europe, the Kruger House Museum lies just a few blocks from Church square, where his bronze statue takes centre stage facing the Palace of Justice
  • Mandela House - Mandela House Museum is one of the best attractions to visit while in soweto. We will spend about 45 Mins learning about these historic place
  • Union Buildings - The union buildings houses the office of the president of South Africa and its a national monument that dates back to the first democratic elections in 1994. We will spend about 20 minutes on these place taking photos and see the beautiful city of Pretoria on the background.
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop off
  • Local guide
  • All activities
  • Bottled water
  • Snacks
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a comprehensive full-day exploration of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Soweto, and renowned Apartheid sites to immerse yourself deeply into the history of South Africa. The tour includes a visit to Voortrekker Museum in Pretoria that stores the historical narrative of the Afrikaaners folk of South Africa and the ‘Great Trek’. You’ll also get a chance to observe the Union Buildings of South Africa, the place housing the president’s office. Moving ahead, the journey takes you to Soweto for a complete view of South African history and a visit to the Apartheid Museum to delve deeper into the historical nuances. The tour concludes in Johannesburg, with a stroll through the famous Mandela bridge and a flavor of city life in downtown Johannesburg.

Tour Highlights not to be missed
• Exploring Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria
• Visiting Union Building in Pretoria
• Taking a tour of Soweto and Hector Pieterson Museum
• Paying a visit to Mandela House In Soweto   
• Discovering the Apartheid Museum in Soweto

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
Location
Apartheid Museum
Northern Park Way and Gold Reef Rd
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.5
(28 Ratings)
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2gianc
Jul 28, 2024
Fantastic experience - My friends and I did a tour together, and since there were eight of us, we hired a private van. Everything was wonderful. Our guide was Nic, who was very knowledgeable about history and extremely polite. At no point did he come across as intrusive. On the contrary, we could feel that he was genuinely helpful and pleased to assist us. We are from Brazil, and some of us didn’t speak English. Nic spoke slowly and clearly, which made it easy for us to translate for the others.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelagv9565ks
Jul 6, 2024
Awesome experience - We enjoyed the tour a lot. The guide was very friendly and professional and explained us a lot about the life in South Africa and the monuments we visited with him. Can highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marcinskyb
Jun 27, 2024
Strongly recommend - Excellent trip well planned and executed thanks to Marvin’s engagement and deep knowledge of South Africa’s history. Must see when in Joburg.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
60lizg
Jun 25, 2024
Awesome tour and guide - Marvin was the dream tour guide. He was articulate, knowledgeable, professional and entertaining. We were advised prior that the Apartheid Museum would be closed and was promptly substituted to visit Constitutional Hill. An awesome tour and guide, Fully Recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
403maiteh
May 21, 2024
Marvin, just marv-elous! - Marvin did the best job ever. He was so kind, passionate and patient as well. I could spend as much time as I wished to at the sights, he took great pictures of me and explained a lot to me about history, society and daily life in SA. I had the feeling to be with a friend and brother at all times. He also cared a lot about safety and comfort while driving and guiding me around. Marvin is just awesome! Thank you so much, my dear friend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
328silke
Mar 3, 2024
Best choice for the tour! - Although it was a last minute booking, it went ahead and I was lucky enough to have a guide all to myself! Nic was incredibly knowledgeable about the entire history of the country, answered all questions patiently and even made a small detour to the pharmacy. I learned so much and really enjoyed this day tour. Even difficult topics were explained in a very interesting way. All expectations were exceeded, I can only recommend it :-)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beverley_l
Jan 13, 2024
A truly wonderful experience - Our driver & tour guide Nick promptly arrived to pick us up from our hotel. He first drove us around the Johannesburg area to familiarize us with the area then drove us to Pretoria. While there we realized that my husband had forgotten his phone in our hotel’s dining room & he quite graciously offered to take us back there in Johannesburg to pick up the phone. All the way back he quite seamlessly engaged in more quality conversation. This was a truly wonderful experience. Nick has a quiet assurance about him & he’s extremely knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. We were able to engage him in conversations that covered sooo many subjects that you won’t ordinarily address with some drivers or tour guides. He took us to so many important sites & was able to accurately point out many aspects which, as an avid reader & being deeply interested in history I was able to corroborate when he spoke. He quite patiently took photos for us & showed us many important places. He took us to Soweto & showed us many different aspects of, and, the make-up of the area that some visitors might not be ordinarily interested in. He capped it off with a wonderful lunch experience & then drove us around some more with more explanations of what we were witnessing. He is truly a real asset to the company & I hope that you’ll be lucky enough to have him as your driver & tour guide when you choose to do this very enlightening tour.
Review provided by Viator
Michele_s
Jul 7, 2024
Quite good - Guide was excellent. Driver as well. The lunch is extremely problematic for someone with food sensitivity issues. Hard to opt out, location was not conducive to someone walking around. Apartheid museum excellent, other Museum stops as well
Review provided by Viator
Debra_s
Jul 5, 2024
Great itinerary - The itinerary was great and I really enjoyed the Apartheid Museum. The tour guide was okay but not really passionate about the history and the microphone was broken so I could not hear anything he said when we were on the bus.
Review provided by Viator
Chungseng_l
Aug 9, 2024
No show for trip booked through Viator - The local tour company never showed to pick us up. When we called to ask, first they said there was no record of our reservation, then they said that they could do it the next day. Since we would be leaving the next day, it was not an option. They said they were too busy and there was simply no driver for us. The hotel people showed them they reservation and they finally agreed to a refund. I recommend you do not use this agency as they are not reliable .
Review provided by Viator
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1 Adult
September 2024
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