Soweto Soweto Tours

Soweto Travel Itinerary

Soweto Tours

The most common - and safest - way to visit Soweto is with a tour operator. By far the oldest, biggest and slickest operation is Jimmy's Face to Face Tours (tel 011 331 6109, ). Jimmy pioneered tours into the township, and his operation has grown steadily over the years. Imbizo Tours (tel 011 838 2667 or 083 700 9098, ), run by the irrepressible Mandy Mankazana, provides stiff competition. Mandy is a mine of information and contacts, and her three-hour day tours and four-hour night tours of Soweto are excellent. Tours can be customized, and Imbizo also organizes evening shebeen -crawls lasting up to five hours, depending on your stamina. Indicate what kind of company you would like to keep, from politicians to sports fanatics, and Mandy will select an appropriate venue.

As well as the well-established operators, smaller, more flexible outfits offer imaginative alternative tours such as jazz outings, walking around Orlando West and Diepkloof, visits to Sowetan artists or local churches, and homestays with locals. Try Max Maximum (tel 011 933 4177 or 082 770 0247) or African Prime Tours (tel 011 794 4708); alternatively, the place you're staying may well have links to a reliable tour company.

Before you go to Soweto on any kind of tour, it's worth preparing yourself for the fact that as a tourist you will always stand out, and that there's a good chance you'll be in the

company of at least one other group of tourists. Most outfits are keen for you to "meet the people", though they all tend to visit the same shanty towns and shebeens , and you'll find that resulting conversations sometimes turn to you leaving a donation, tipping casual guides or buying local craftwork. While this gets a few tourist dollars directly into the townships, it often leaves visitors feeling pressurized and vulnerable. Ask your guide about the best way to deal with this.

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