Affordable and easy ways to explore
OVER the years, Gauteng
has developed a
convenient network of
transport options that can take
travellers virtually anywhere.
The Gautrain travels from
Park Station in Braamfontein
to Tshwane and OR Tambo
International Airport. Rea
Vaya and Metrobus offer a
wide transport network in
Johannesburg and Tshwane’s
municipal bus service and
A Re Yeng Bus Rapid
Transport (BRT) system
cover most of the city and
surrounding areas.
Gauteng Tourism Authority
spokesperson, Barba
Gaoganediwe, says the
availability of reliable, safe
public transport broadens the
potential market of visitors to
various attractions across the
Gauteng city region.
“Over the years, transport
infrastructure in the province
has greatly improved in terms
of the options available,
reliability and safety. Using
public transport is cheaper
than using one’s own car
or a hired car and improves
accessibility to our various
tourist attractions. The private
sector, whether Uber or
companies offering tuk tuk
services, has also come to
the party with new transport
options that have made
moving around Gauteng much
easier.”
New to Rosebank
New on the horizon
is City Sightseeing
Johannesburg’s Green
Tour, which is expected
to start operating in early
November.
The Green Tour will start
in Rosebank with stops at
Zoo Lake, Johannesburg
Zoo, the Military Museum
and Constitution Hill
before returning to
Rosebank.
A one-day ticket
(R190) will give
customers access to
both the Green Tour
and City Sightseeing’s
Johannesburg Red
City Tour, with a route
changeover available
at Constitution Hill.
Passengers can hop on
and off at their leisure.
A two-day ticket costs
R290 and there’s an
option on both tickets to
add a Soweto tour.
How to get around
FOR visitors to Johannesburg
and Pretoria needing shorthaul
transport, tuk tuks are a
cost-effective option. Shesha
Tuks – which offers shorthaul
transport in Sandton,
Rosebank and Tshwane –
operates within a 5km radius
of the Sandton and Pretoria
Gautrain stations.
Costs range from R25 for a
3km trip to R95 for a 10km
trip. Visitors looking to take
a walking or cycling tour of
Alexandra township with
operator The Hub Presents,
can catch a ride with Shesha
Tuks to Alexandra.
For those wishing to explore
the many new and exciting
cultural hubs in downtown
Johannesburg, there are a
myriad of public transport
options, such as taking the
Gautrain to Park Station or
catching a tuk tuk, Metrobus
or the Rea Vaya bus.
Attractions in and around
Braamfontein, the CBD,
Johannesburg’s south and
Soweto can be accessed
via City Sightseeing
Johannesburg’s Red City Tour
and Soweto Combo as well as
on the Rea Vaya.
Red City Tour stops include
Park Station, Carlton Centre,
James Hall Museum of
Transport, Gold Reef City
Casino, Apartheid Museum,
Mining District Walk, Newtown
Precinct, Newtown Junction
Mall, Origins Centre at Wits,
The Grove in Braamfontein,
and Constitution Hill.
Rea Vaya’s inner city
circular route (C3) travels
via Constitution Hill, the
Johannesburg Art Gallery,
Origins Centre, Planetarium,
SAB World of Beer,
MuseumAfrica and the SciBono
Discovery Centre.
Rea Vaya’s T1 route travels
from Ellis Park to Soweto
with stops near the Main
Street Mall, the Johannesburg
High Court and in Soweto,
the Walter Sisulu Square of
Dedication, Regina Mundi
Catholic Church, Vilakazi Street
and the Hector Pieterson
Memorial and Museum.
In Soweto, travellers can take
part in walking, cycling and tuk
tuk tours with Lebo’s Soweto
Backpackers, mountain
biking excursions with Bay of
Grace Tours, and quad biking
tours with Soweto Outdoor
Adventures.
Visitors can also get to the
cultural Maboneng Precinct by
catching Rea Vaya’s C1 bus in
the CBD, travelling east-bound.
Tours that use public transport
SOME tourism stakeholders
are incorporating public
transport as part of their
tours.
Curiocity Johannesburg’s
Inner City Urban Hiking Tour
(R250pp) combines walking
and public transport to see
some of the city’s hidden
treasures. From the Maboneng
district guests walk to Kwa
Mai-Mai traditional healers’
market, then to the Collectors
Treasury – the largest
second-hand bookstore in
the Southern hemisphere.
They then take in a bird’s-eye
view of Johannesburg from
the Carlton Centre’s 50th
floor. After a walk through the
bustling Small Street Mall,
guests visit the Ethiopian
Quarter and enjoy an Ethiopian
lunch before exploring the
Newtown cultural precinct and
Chancellor House – formerly
the site of Nelson Mandela
and Oliver Tambo’s law
practice. The group then catch
the Rea Vaya bus back to
Maboneng.
Another fun excursion is
Friends of the Rail’s steam
train to Cullinan, which offers
scheduled departures each
month from its Hermanstad
Station in Pretoria. Visitors can
explore Cullinan’s rich diamond
history on mine and village
tours, lunch at one of many
quaint restaurants, picnic in
the park or enjoy quad biking
safaris, extreme ziplining,
abseiling and more with
Adventure Zone Cullinan.
