Johannesburg is the gateway to the Cradle: the fossil sites are an hour from the hotels of Sandton and Rosebank and about ninety minutes from O. R. Tambo International Airport. Africa’s richest city was founded on gold in 1886, and it rewards at least one full day before or after your trip into deep time.
There is also a neat symmetry in visiting both. The Cradle tells the story of how we became human; Johannesburg and Soweto tell one of the twentieth century’s defining stories of what humans do to each other, and how a country found its way out.
Top things to do: Johannesburg & Soweto
Tour Soweto
The South Western Townships are home to well over a million people. Vilakazi Street in Orlando West is the only street in the world to have housed two Nobel Peace laureates, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu; Mandela’s small brick house is now a museum. Nearby are the Hector Pieterson Memorial, commemorating the 1976 student uprising, and the painted Orlando Towers. Go with a local guide — on foot, by bicycle or by tuk-tuk. See the Soweto tours.
Visit the Apartheid Museum
One of the great museums of the world, and not an easy one. Your ticket randomly classifies you “white” or “non-white” and sends you through separate entrances; the rest takes at least two hours. Most half-day tours pair it with Soweto.
Continue the origins story at Wits
The Origins Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand picks up where the Cradle leaves off, with superb displays on early modern humans, stone tools and San rock art. The university is also where Mrs Ples’ relatives, Little Foot, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi are curated and studied.
Add Pretoria
The administrative capital is 50 km to the north: the Union Buildings and their nine-metre statue of Mandela, the Voortrekker Monument, and the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, keeper of the original Mrs Ples. In October the city turns purple with jacaranda blossom.
How to get to Johannesburg & Soweto
- Airports: O. R. Tambo International (JNB) is the main hub, about 90 km from Maropeng. Lanseria (HLA), used by some domestic flights, is much closer to the Cradle — roughly 35 km.
- In the city: the Gautrain links the airport with Sandton, Rosebank, Park Station and Pretoria. It does not go anywhere near the Cradle. Use ride-hailing apps for short hops.
- To the Cradle: a guided tour or hire car — details in our getting there guide.
Insider tips
- Base yourself in Sandton, Rosebank or Melrose: safe, walkable around the malls, on the Gautrain and on the right side of town for the Cradle.
- Johannesburg has a serious crime problem in parts. Use app-based taxis or tours, do not walk in the city centre or between suburbs after dark, and keep phones and cameras out of sight in the car.
- Two days works well: day one for the Cradle, day two for Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.
- The Apartheid Museum is closed on some days of the week — check before planning around it.
Best tours: Johannesburg & Soweto
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Johannesburg & Soweto:
Half-day tour from €72 Johannesburg: Soweto & Apartheid Museum Half-Day Tour
The essential Johannesburg companion to a Cradle visit: from the deep past to the recent one. A guide takes you through Soweto — Vilakazi Street, the Hector Pieterson Memorial, the Orlando Towers — and on to the Apartheid Museum, with pickup from your hotel.
- Vilakazi Street and Mandela House
- Hector Pieterson Memorial
- Time inside the Apartheid Museum
Full-day tour from €101 Johannesburg: Full-Day Tour with Soweto and Apartheid Museum
A full day that covers the city most Cradle visitors are staying in: downtown Johannesburg and Constitution Hill, Soweto’s key sites and the Apartheid Museum. One of the most-reviewed Johannesburg tours on GetYourGuide.
- Constitution Hill and the city centre
- Soweto and Vilakazi Street
- Apartheid Museum visit
Walking tour from €37 Soweto: Walking Tour with a Local Guide and Lunch
A walking tour with a guide who lives in Soweto, ending with a local lunch. Hundreds of five-star reviews and a low price make it the standout budget experience in greater Johannesburg.
- Led by a Soweto resident
- Vilakazi Street on foot
- Local lunch included
Half-day tour from €78 From Johannesburg: Pretoria Half Day Tour
South Africa’s administrative capital lies under an hour from both Johannesburg and the Cradle. This half-day covers the Union Buildings, the Voortrekker Monument and the historic centre — beautiful in October when the jacarandas flower.
- Union Buildings and the Mandela statue
- Voortrekker Monument
- Church Square and Kruger House
