Top Johannesburg Hop on Hop Off Buses

Excellent tour — fun, knowledgeable guide We had a fantastic experience on this tour. Our guide was incredibly friendly, funny, and engaging, which made the whole visit both informative and enjoyable for our family. The explanations were clear and easy to follow, and the pacing felt comfortable — never rushed. Everything was well organized from start to finish. Highly recommended if you want a meaningful visit with a guide who genuinely cares about the guests.

We had a wonderful time on this tour. It is exactly as described, although the caves are open again which is great. Our guide was exceptional and filled the time our drive took with wonderful information about the history of South Africa. This is definitely a great opportunity to get to see something outside of the norm in Johannesburg, especially if you love learning about history and science.

Excellent overview of the city. The tour filled in many of the blanks regarding Pretoria's history and relationship with Johannesburg. Pick up was prompt and our guide did a thorough job of introducing us to the capital. Bonus! The streets were lined with purple blooming Jacaranda trees.

September 28, 2025 After breakfast, our tour guide, Nathi (pronounced Nah-Chi) picked us up for a tour of Johannesburg and Soweto. First stop was Constitution Hill, which was a Johannesburg prison called The Old Fort — segregated for Whites, Blacks, Non-Whites, and Women. The structure was built by Paul Kruger in late 1800s. Mahatma Gandhi and then later Nelson Mandela were imprisoned here, along with hundreds of others — it was notorious for how Blacks, Indians, and Mixed Race (Coloreds) were tortured. The prison was closed in 1983 and then parts of it were retained as a museum and other parts rebuilt as Constitution Hill, which includes the Supreme Court. Note that Johannesburg started out as a gold mining town in the late 1800s. There still are functioning mines. Unfortunately, the businesses have fled downtown Johannesburg and one sees significant decrepitude and crime. Then we headed out to Soweto, a black township. It erupted in 1976 in serious violence perpetrated by the White police, because they imposed Afrikaans on Black teachers and students, who refused to accept the same. Many hundreds were hurt or killed. Soweto sits on asbestos mine tailings and gold mine tailings — both of which have contributed to significant health issues. Today, Blacks, Whites, and Asians live there and there are wealthy sections and really poor sections with shanties. We got to see Nelson Mandela’s home in Soweto after which we headed to see the Apartheid Museum. The latter offers a heartbreaking exhibit of a seriously bad era in South Africa’s history, which is fraught.

Jakes communicated with me prior to landing to get flight numbers so he could track any delays. He contacted me right after I picked up my bags. Found me immediately as I left the exit. Jakes gave me lots of history about South Africa during the drive and helpful advice about traveling safely here. Likewise he had lots of advice on things to do while in town. Great driver. Vehicle was spotless. But there was lots of value added to this transfer.

Nkosi was such a wonderful guide! I really appreciated getting to understand Maboneng - and he really seems to know everyone there ! I felt like a guest of honor with him as our guide. We had Ethiopian , Nigerian, South African , and Zimbabwean food; all dishes I would not have ordered on my own. The variety was amazing. And we got to walk it off by touring the murals. This is a great tour if you want to understand the culture of Maboneng. Don’t miss this tour ! You won’t regret it!

We had an excellent day in Soweto, our guide was so friendly and informative. He gave us a great mix of historical facts as well as local insights. Our guide was local from the area and talked about the lived experience of people living in the township and immersed us in a walk through a shanty village giving us a different lens through which to experience Soweto. Our flight arrived early that morning and we had not eaten so our guide kindly called ahead and pre ordered us some Kota sandwiches to eat towards the end of the trip in downtown Soweto, this ended up being one of the highlights from our day experiencing this popular local street food! Thanks for a great experience and day out. We recommend people choosing this tour - it is a great trip to do either before or after a tour from Jo’burg.