Like Soho in New York, Soweto is an abbreviation, short for “South Western Township”. But, unlike Soho, it remains a challenge to know whether a visit to Soweto is ‘proper’, and it’s a conflict still – even moreso after visiting – to know the right answer. There is something voyeuristic about touring Soweto that makes it ‘feel’ inconsiderate. Likely, there... More

We went to the townships expecting to see only slums but found an a much more diverse community. It was interesting and well worth the time.

By showign off the poorest of the poor and forcing tourist to go into some focused areas that are only enriching a privileged few is not my idea of proper tourism. Start encouraging tourism where tourist get their hands dirty and help with re-building those areas then I say "yes" go for it.The only purpose this serves now is to... More

If you know anything about South Africa's recent history, you'll know a fair bit about SoWeTo--it was the adult home of Nelson Mandela (which is probably the predominant reason it has become a popular tourist trek) but it was also an incredibly strong community of young people who were willing to risk their lives to raise their voice. Of all... More

SoWeTo has gentrified and become a tourist attraction. Much like busloads of tourists, we had lunch at a sidewalk restaurant where we were entertained by "Zulu dancers" and singers doing their Miriam Makeeba impression- each of whom passed a hat after their perfomance. This was just down the street from Madela's house (which was interesting) and Mandela's Restaurant. That was... More

I was initially put off by a South African that I was travelling with, because he has been raised to believe that entering a township is horrifying, scary and something you would never do. However, after googling 'self-guided Soweto tours', I just decided to give it a go. We drove in on Chris Hani road and stayed on this road... More

Much more varied than I had anticipated. Very poor areas but also middle class ones. Enjoyed looking around. Expect your enjoyment will depend a lot on your guide.

I was taken to the townships by Imbizo, an excellent tour company run by a vibrant woman named Mandy Makazana. Based on Mandy's suggestion, we spent most of our time in Alexandra, a smaller but more genuine township community than Soweto, which is actually a large network of townships (with a population of 4-5 million people) that has more of... More

I enjoyed my visit to SoWeTo as the South Western Townships are usually called. Visits to Nelson Mandela's House and the Hector Petersen Museum are definate musts.