Dark Tour of South Africa

About this trip

Exactly what you do each day, where you sleep, and how it flows — written by us, from the real itinerary.

1. 1
   Day 1 · Cape TownCape Town, Robben Island, Bo-Kaap

   

   Meet at your hotel or the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront from 08:00 to catch the ferry to Robben Island. The 4-hour excursion includes a guided tour of historical sites and Nelson Mandela's cell, where he spent 18 of his 27 prison years. Afterwards, grab lunch and browse the Waterfront shops, then head to Bo-Kaap to walk the colourful streets of this formerly segregated area and visit the Malay Quarter museum.

2. 2
   Day 2 · Cape TownCastle of Good Hope, wine farm

   

   Breakfast precedes a visit to the Castle of Good Hope, where you'll see prison cells, the governor's house and torture chamber in this 1666-1679 Dutch East India Company fort. Drive to a wine estate near Stellenbosch to tour museums documenting slavery history, housed in the farm's original 1740 wine cellar, tracing human settlement through pre-colonial pastoral life.

3. 3
   Day 3 · JohannesburgConstitution Hill Human Rights Precinct, Apartheid Museum

   Explore Constitution Hill's Old Fort, Women's Jail, Number Four (where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned), and Constitutional Court, including Nelson Mandela's two incarceration sites and a permanent exhibition honouring him. Visit the Apartheid Museum to see the rise and fall of apartheid illustrated. Overnight at Birchwood Hotel OR Tambo or similar.

4. 4
   Day 4 · SowetoSoweto, Nelson Mandela's house museum, Hector Peterson Memorial, Pretoria, Voortrekker Monument

   

   Travel to Vilakazi Street in Soweto to trace the legacies of Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Visit the Hector Peterson Memorial and Museum and Mandela House Museum, then see Regina Mundi church, whose walls still bear bullet holes from the 1976 uprising. Eat a traditional Soweto lunch before visiting the Voortrekker Monument to view its marble friezes.

What's included

• Guide: Driver/guide and Professional guide at specialist venues, Professional, knowledgable and registered Guides are always available.
• Meals: Breakfasts included, lunch and dinner excluded. Good restaurants always available and visited.
• Activities: Accommodation as per itinerary Entrance fees National Park fees Breakfasts Driver/guide Professional guide at specialist venues Transport by private vehicle One way economy domestic flight
• Flights: International Flights excluded. One way domestic economy flight included.
• Transport: Comfortable air-conditioned vehicles.
• Accommodation: The Portswood Hotel, Cape Town (or similar) and Birchwood Hotel OR Tambo. (or similar)

How travellers rate it

Your free day in Cape Town

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Common questions