Cycle in Soweto
Cycle in Soweto
4
About
Bike tour around the township. Lets you escape the bus, watch more, have real interactions and enjoy the fresh air.Designed and run by local guides and offer a unique experience.The costs include: bike rental, minimum op uphills, professional (multi lingual) guide service.
Soweto, South Africa

Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours and Tickets by Cycle in Soweto

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles72 reviews
Excellent
45
Very good
15
Average
2
Poor
4
Terrible
6

T K
Kingston, Canada49 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Solo
I did the half day tour.

Getting there: I used their taxi service however the guy was late and got lost and he ended up calling me an uber two hours after my pickup time. It was still cheaper than an uber but not the greatest start.

The ride: It was a pretty easy going pace. There were some hills but i'm pretty sure just about anyone with a bit of experience could do it. A bit of traffic here and there but my guide Tumi was great at letting me know what to do all the time. I got a flat close to the end but with a couple of stops for pumping we were able to make it back. The bikes were in decent enough shape for the ride.

The Local Guides Well what I can I say. I paid quite a bit of money for the tour and I was twice turned over to 'local' guides who then asked me for tips and once I was taken into a kids school in the ghetto area and was basically told to give money for the children. I'm happy to help out people in need I guess just considering that I'm paying you guys for the tour i'm a little surprised that you're then asking me to pay for more tour guides.

My Guide: Tumi was very nice and accommodating. He wanted to know what I was interested in so he could show me around. He was able to secure us some local beer which was a treat.

The tour: It was a nice mix of locals, history, and activities. Seeing how locals live was a treat. I'm sure few people from Joburg venture into where we went. This is a great trip for people of all ages.

Thanks guys
Written 13 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ClarieMag
Dublin, Ireland86 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
A great way to see Soweto, we had a local guide with great knowledge and interesting facts. Got to stop off at Mandela’s house too.

The only thing I would suggest changing is maybe add in a stop for drinks, it was very hot and we had run out of water. Other than that it was a really good tour, keep up the good work!!
Written 17 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nora C
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2018 • Friends
My friend and I went out with Tumi and Lerato and had the best day! They took us around, gave us really interesting insight into Soweto's history and current life. They were super fun and adaptable to what we were interested in. This trip was honestly the highlight of our time in Joburg (save our friend's wedding). I cannot recommend this enough.
Written 15 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

circusgurl
San Francisco, CA702 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2014 • Friends
So, I almost always do bike tours when I am in a new city, as I really enjoy a more grass roots visit and a chance to exercise. Why I chose this tour company over Soweto Bicycle Tours I can't remember but I regret it. I can't remember the tour guides name, but #1 he was more like a local riding a bike with me then a "tour guide". He asked me where I wanted to go and I said the Towers, the museum, the Hector Pierson monument, etc. I asked him if that could be done in 4 hours and he said "Sure" but here is how it played out... Every monument that we stopped at he said, "There is a tour guide inside and you pay him to tell you about the location" and I thought "Wasn't that what I was paying you for?"

Then he took me to a community garden, which I'm in favor of supporting, but basically it was more like "Hello, this is our garden, please donate money" In fact the entire bike ride began to feel that way. The tour guide telling me how poor he is and everywhere we stopped people asking for donations. After about two hours of cycling I asked to stop for refreshments and I thought back to how on every other cycle tour, they provided at least one bottle of water, or asked if you wanted to stop for water. Throughout the ride his bike kept breaking down, so we had to stop repeatedly to try and fix it in the hot sun. After more than 3 1/2 hours riding (and stopping for repairs) he suggested a new route and new sites and I asked "Will we still get back in 4 hours?" and he would not directly answer the question just kept encouraging it and so I finally said "It's very hot and I am hungry, so I would like to go back to the car". He then took me up a steep hill to Winnie Mandela's house. So, I said, again, "This is interesting but can we head back towards the car?" He said "Yes, mama, yes" but then tried to cycle in the opposite direction towards Nelson Mandela's house (which I would have liked to have gone to, if he hadn't taken me to other places I didn't ask to see earlier). I stopped and said "It's been 4 hours and the car is straight ahead, why do you want me to go the other way?" He said "You have to see the Nelson Mandela house" and I said "Okay, but I'll drive there" Then he said "You also have to see the museum" I said "Okay, I'll return the bike and walk into the museum". He seemed very insistent that I visit the last two locations on the "trip" but it was very hot and I was hungry and I didn't want to pay for extra time, over the four hours, so again I said "Yes, but let me turn in my bike first". When I went to turn in my bike he says AGAIN "Go to the museum and the house" Then a boy, who I had met and spoken to that morning and who seemed to be good friends with the tour guide, comes up to me and says "I washed your car for you, mama" and I said "Why did you wash the car, it was clean, I picked it up last night from the car company? And it is a rental." He said, "Oh, I didn't know you rented the car. I thought it was your car." That made me mad as I reminded him that "We spoke this morning, I said I was from the USA, only here for 4 days. You knew it was rental car and it was clean!" I did not pay him, also my car didn't seem any cleaner. Then as I paid the guide, no tip because it was a terrible tour, he gives me a very sad face (an act that apparently has worked in the past) and he yells after me "Mama, you are going the wrong way, the museum is the other way!" It was obvious that he was getting money for taking people to these locations and that he took me to other places to make the tour more than the agreed upon 4 hours so that he could charge me extra.

There's a reason there is only one review every few months for this company - they are not professional, their equipment is in terrible shape and the only thing they want from tourists is money.
Written 13 October 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kathy C
18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016 • Couples
This was one of our best days of our visit to South Africa. Our guides, Pule and Lita were locals knowing everything about the area and most of the people too. We were taken to places we would never otherwise have seen and introduced to Pule's family too. The tour should have been four hours but we ended up taking all day - so fantastic value. It was wonderful to see inside the houses and schools and experience the great sense of community amongst the population. It is a great way to see Soweto. Hotel pickup is available and necessary although you could use the tour bus and get off at the Hector Pieterson Museum where it is based or drive if you hire a car. My only criticism was the standard of the bikes and no safety helmets provided.
Written 2 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DomVinck
Brussels, Belgium211 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2015 • Friends
Staff is really friendly and the guide was from Soweto which makes the tour even more interesting: we tasted local handmade beer and listened about Sowetan stories, we even sang! Do it!
Written 13 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachel B
London, UK9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2011 • Couples
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour of Soweto. It was very safe and we loved hearing first hand what life in the township was like. The staff were all wonderfully friendly and keen to accommodate us. Being on a bike was so much better than being stuck behind glass in a bus - I think every visitor to South Africa should cycle through Soweto - it was a highlight of our holiday by far!
Written 16 February 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Patrick C
Johannesburg, South Africa13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Couples
We booked a 4 hour cycle tour. Our tour guide was Tumi, who is more of an entertainer than a straight up Fact-Teller. He does tell you Something about places here and there, but overall he's more there so you have fun.

The bikes: they were a mixed bag to be honest. My brakes were not really reliable, so when we went downhill I had to be really careful. It was okay though for me. If you don't feel safe on bikes in general better check before you start the tour.

The stops: we visited everything of interest in Soweto. You will see a lot of the every day Life of people living in Soweto. Things you would probably not dare to discover on your own, we found that very interesting! At the stops, be aware that people will try to sell you stuff or ask for handouts. Tumi was not pushing us though, he always said "if you want to, have a look" and if we wanted to travel on, we could always do.

Only thing that disappointed: the "most famous road" where Mandela's and tutus house is located. It's loud, full of bars, drunks and beggars. You can't see tutus house at all, just a big wall with a blue plate on it telling you about the house that lies behind. Overall it's a very weird way that they turn the street of their most beloved characters into a touristic party street. They want to make bank with these houses, that's for sure.

We do enjoyed the trip though, just take some small details with a grain of salt.
Written 15 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

corihorn
New York6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019 • Family
Wow--what a fabulous experience for our family (2 boys ages 10 and 11)! We saw a township we might have otherwise missed, and learned a tremendous amount about modern South African history. Was a great lead-in to the Apartheid Museum, which we visited next. Extremely friendly guides and felt safe the entire time--a second rider blocked traffic for us and did minor trouble-shooting on bikes to keep the ride smooth... LOVED this excursion!
Written 2 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael G
Edmonds, WA3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Growing up in the United States in the 80s and 90s, I became interested in Soweto when Nelson Mandela visited my hometown of Oakland, CA upon his release. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Soweto would be this vibrant, this warm and this accessible for foreigners. Tumi and the master mechanic Banda provided me with a brand new bicycle and continuous tips throughout the tour about the gears and the particulars of navigating Soweto traffic. Everywhere we went, people greeted us warmly with waves and smiles. This was crucial because Tumi walked me through some of the darkest moments of the apartheid era when students were murdered in the 100s by police.

The absolute highlight of the tour came as a result that I happen to book on a Sunday and beautiful gospel music filled the air. Sensing my interest, Tumi steered us into a couple of churches where we were able to enjoy some enthusiastic singing and dancing to fill our spirits with joy.

I highly recommend this tour to anyone coming to Johannesburg. Cycle Tours of Soweto even arranged transport to in from my hotel fitting this around my flight schedule. God bless the whole team at Cycle Tours of Soweto.
Written 3 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

…
Showing results 1-10 of 46

CYCLE IN SOWETO - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

All things to do in Soweto
RestaurantsFlightsHoliday HomesTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire