Cape Town

Cape Town Township Tour Including Langa Township and Bo-Kaap

Cape Town, South Africa

Cultural Cape Town Tour Including Langa Township and Bo Kaap

From $48.55

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Visit some of Cape Town’s most important and oldest settlements during this cultural tour of the Mother City. Tour Bo-Kaap, the colorful Malay Quarter, and the oldest township in the city Langa. Stop at a shebeen (tavern) for a drink (own expense) and to meet some of the locals.

Culture and township tour from Cape Town, led by a professional guide
See the brightly colored houses and Cape Malay architecture in Bo-Kaap
Visit Langa, the city’s oldest and largest township, and learn about Xhosa culture
Hotel pickup and drop-off included

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop off
Guide
Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
District 6 drive through
Langa drive through with photo stop

Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Southern Sun Waterfront Cape Town
1 Lower Buitengracht, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

Select your preferred tour option to see hours.

View tour option

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Should your Hotel not be listed, please contact us so we can confirm if we would be able to pick up and drop off from your hotel. Should guests meet at the starting point, guests are to contact us 24 hours prior to departure in order ffor us to provide collection time. .

What To Expect

Begin your tour with a trip to the Bo-Kaap neighborhood in Cape Town. This area, also called the Malay Quarter, is easily recognizable because of its colorful houses. Residents are largely descended from slaves from Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka who were brought over by the Dutch colonists in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Next, visit Langa, Cape Town’s oldest formal township, established in 1927. Explore the settlement with your guide and discover how the lively community—which was established pre-apartheid—is suffused with the history and culture of the Xhosa people, one of the largest cultural groups in South Africa. If your tour takes place on a Sunday, enjoy a short visit at a service at a local church.

Your tour concludes with a drop-off at your hotel in Cape Town.

Please note: A minimum of two people per booking is required.

Bo-kaap

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Vehicles are not wheelchair accessible
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate

Sunday morning tour includes a short visit to a church service +- 20 - 30 minutes
Tour departs mondays to fridays morning or afternoon
Tours departing Saturdays, sundays and public holidays are operated in the morning only
Guests will be notified the day prior of collection time.
Should guests hotel not be listed, guest are to contact the office 48 hours prior to confirm if we will be able to collect and drop off at the relevant hotel.
Should we receive a booking with no pick up and drop details, guests are requested to contact the office, 48 hours prior to tour departure date. failure to provide us with pick up and drop off details, will result guest not receiving a pick up time and missing the tour and no refund will be provided.
Cullinan Guided Journeys strictly follow the SA Government approved TBCSA Health and Safety COVID-19 Protocols. Should guests present COVID-19 symptoms, COVID testing and quarantine will be at their own cost. We recommend that you ensure that your guests take adequate personal travel insurance cover before departure from home.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

36 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 36 reviews

Life time memories

Ruvimbo_N, Aug 2023

Amazing bit of history It was wonderful seeing the creativity and beauty in south african We loved every inch and corner Being zimbabwean it was so nice to see the real beauty we have close to home

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Good Morning Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We thrilled you had such a memorable experience.

Great learning experience

Mark_S, Jun 2023

Guide was very knowledgeable and informative. Saw a large variety and learned history of the township

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Good Morning Thank you for taking the time and for providing us with your feedback. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your tour and found your guide knowledgeable.

It was okay. The tour...

Richard_R, Jun 2023

It was okay. The tour operator was personable, sharing his home and story. The highlight was all the cute little kids. You get to experience something you normally wouldn't.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time and providing us with your feedback.

What a treat, came out informed, entertained and educated.

Jacquelyn_G, May 2023

Gladstone our guide was superb. Very informative and knowledgeable. He was friendly and thorough. We went over our allotted time by almost 2 hours because it became a friendly interactive experience. We met some locals and got to buy beautiful artwork. It was just my husband and I on the tour so we really got an amazing experience.

Response from Host, May 2023

Good Afternoon Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed your Township Tour.

Backpackers

Kim_B, Mar 2020

Our guide was so helpful and knowledgeable with local information! Gained a real feel to local life in Bo Kaap and Langa!

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Good afternoon Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed your Cultural tour with us.

Honest enlightening tour

Pamela_E, Feb 2020

We were happy we took this tour to learn about what happened during and post-apartheid to so many in Cape Town. The news we heard abroad years ago only introduced us to what the people have endured over the years. Ian did an excellent job guiding us on this emotional journey for us learning the difficulties suffered over the years and the possibility of change in the future.

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time and providing us with your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed your Township experience Tour.

Learned a lot

Navigator55130350033, Oct 2019

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable so we learned a ton. However, I wish we would have spent a little bit more time walking around one we were in Langa. We basically stayed in the museum the whole time and then walked to grab water so we more so saw the townships from the vehicle.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Good Day, Thank you for taking the time and provide us with your feedback. We value your suggestions, as this will assist us to enhance the tour.

Tour of Bo-Knapp District & Langa Township

Sylvia3144, Oct 2019

We were very pleased with both of these tours. We were the only ones in a private vehicle booked to learn about both of these Districts. Our driver was very informative as he lived himself in Langa Township. Learning about these two districts in South Africa near the City of Cape Town introduced us to how the less fortunate people of the area live, and, the ongoing efforts made by the existing Government to change these areas for the better for the inhabitants presently living there, by building newer, more habitable houses for them.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Good Day Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed your excursion to the Township.

Bhegisisa (Gladstone) deserve accolades

ZBIGNIEW_I, Sep 2019

Bhegisisa (Gladstone) our tour guide deserve accolades for providing us with insightful introduction to the history too often unknown to the world outside of South Africa’s struggle for an equality.

Response from Host, Sep 2019

Good Day, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your complimentary feedback of the guide. We will be sure to pass it on.

This was an excellent tour and my...

Marianne R, Oct 2017

This was an excellent tour and my daughter and I were the only two on it. We spent more time in Langa than Khayelitsha because we found the museum in the Langa community centre to be so interesting and sobering. Our guide had spent considerable time staying with a friend who lived in Khayelitsha when they were teenagers, and he later had cause to go there regularly because one of his jobs before becoming a tour guide was collecting bodies of the deceased, often at night, with poor lighting and no proper addresses. We could only imagine the incredibly difficult conditions he worked under. The only regret we have is not having booked with Roots Africa Tours directly, because Viator contracted it out to Springbok Tours who contracted it out to Roots Africa, so at the end of the day our guide would have received very little compensation for his efforts.

I booked this tour for my spouse and...

Helen P, Oct 2017

I booked this tour for my spouse and I before leaving for our African trip in early September 2017. I would highly recommend this tour which included a visit to Bo-Kaap as well as the townshipos of Langa and Khayelitsha. Our guide was Ed and he was extremely professional, very knowledgeable and approachable with questions about the townships and Capetown in general. Thanks Ed for your patience and making the tour enjoyable for us.

Great experience to see the...

Peter A, Sep 2017

Great experience to see the Townships and good explanation about District Six. Would have liked to have left the vehicle more often to walk around.

Great tour! Our guide was...

Ellicia_P, May 2017

Great tour! Our guide was really informative and friendly. Helped us also book a wine tour that fit within our schedule. He grew up during the apartheid era and gave us first hand accounts of life during that time. Overall amazing tour!

Our party of 6 ranged from 24 - 71...

Jean_S, Mar 2017

Our party of 6 ranged from 24 - 71 yrs. All of us very much enjoyed the tour and found it both informative and a wonderful experience. Owen our tour guide was a lovely man, very knowledgeable and was happy to answer any questions that we had. The highlight of our tour was our trip to Khayelitsha where we were lucky to have the opportunity to meet a group of young people that were having choir practice. They happily sang to us which was a joyous and moving experience. This tour was great value for money and I would highly recommend 10/10

Informative, insightful and...

James_S, Jan 2017

Informative, insightful and thoroughly enjoyable tour that contextualizes the history and politics of the apartheid era and the current social and economic challenges the township residents face. Never condescending or hokey managed to strike a perfect balance and bring a human face to South African politics. Truly excellent.

The tour was ok, but felt very...

Sawkia_P, Nov 2016

The tour was ok, but felt very rushed. Also 1 of the places we got to that we were suppose to tour was closed. I think this tour has the potential to be a good tour but maybe they need to organize it better.

The trip was an excellent idea...

Chris, Feb 2016

The trip was an excellent idea. Meeting inhabitants of the two townships, especially Khayelitsha opens up your eyes to the conditions in which the majority of the county lives. A solo visit to those areas would be difficult if not impossible. Our guide Dustin spoke excellent Englidh and was fun to interact with. The background related to the colorful Malay part of town at the beginning of the tour was also interesting although our hotel Hilton was actually on the same street so we could easily spend more time there later

Excellent tour! Our guide was...

James S, Feb 2016

Excellent tour! Our guide was knowledgable and offered many personal insights. He even arranged for our group to have a walking tour of one of the townships with a local resident. Ended the tour with a deeper appreciation for South Africa's history and a sense of optimism for its future. Highly recommend this tour for all visitors to Cape Town.

This tour was enjoyable and...

Christine C, Nov 2015

This tour was enjoyable and informative and an eye opener. On the day it was just my husband and I and our tour guide Norman, we was well spoken, very knowledgeable and went over and above to explain many things to us. We were fortunate to have a special tour through the shanty towns and have a close up and personal. Definitely another tour to recommend.

Not what we signed up for. Tour...

Perri C, Mar 2015

Not what we signed up for. Tour guide was unreliable and made us feel uncomfortable. We were extremely pressured to buy things and had to wait on the tour guide several times while he personally socialized and made phone calls. Would not recommend this tour.