Get immersed in this 3-part tour co-hosted by multiple local changemakers!
A Side by Side tour is an adventure comprising 2+ of our hands-on experiences. Escape the tourist trap, live like a local, and make an impact. A percentage of every booking goes directly back to the changemakers we've partnered with in the form of year-end gifts: equipment, bursaries, and cash grants.
To ensure all experiences run smoothly and guests' every last need is met, an SbS guide will be by your side throughout the entire tour from pick-up to drop-off (if you add the Hotel Pickup add-on). Your guide will provide you all the background info you need to know and settle the entrance fees on your behalf.
Optionally add the Photoshoot add-on for HD pics/vids of you in action sent by the Google Drive same day; and/or the Prepaid Meal add-on to get food pre-ordered for prompt delivery.
With flexible experience durations & sequence, choose from 6 different tour versions (more info in itinerary).
Inclusions & Exclusions
✔ Entrance to Lunch with a Restaurant Founder experience
✔ 10% Charitable Pledge
✔ Local Tour Guide
✔ Entrance to 'Walk Down Memory Lane' 'Hood Stroll with a Founder experience
✔ Bottled water
✔ Entrance to Zumba w/ Kids experience
✖ Hotel Pickup add-on — to add private transport, select a tour option including it.
✖ Photoshoot add-on — to get HD pics/vids of you in action, select a tour option including it.
✖ Prepaid Meal add-on — to have a meal & beverage included, select a tour option including it.
Departure & Return
Departure:
,
Upon booking we'll send you detailed instructions with supporting Google Maps street view images to ensure you don't get lost.
Return: End right where it started.
Itinerary
1
Cape Town
'BLEND THE CITY'
Tour Overview
The tour you'll be taking is called 'Blend the City.' By traveling, you meet and support entrepreneurs in Cape Town's very first township called Langa. The legacy of segregation during Apartheid has the left the city divided along racial lines to this day. By economically empowering townships and stepping into them, we integrate the city. And you also get a 'blend' of our favourite experiences.
TIMING NOTE:
If you only have the morning available and therefore need a half-day AM tour, please book a start time between 7-9am, and we will truncate the experiences to ensure you're dropped back off at your requested location within 4 hours after pick-up or meeting at Guga S'thebe centre in Langa.
— DISCLAIMER: Half-day AM tours exclude kids from the African Zumba experience, as they are busy schooling during the day.
2
PRE-DEPARTURE:
Orientation
Your tour starts off in an unconventional way... You partake in a very interactive orientation led by your guide, instead of rushing off right away. This is done right at the Langa's famous arts & culture community centre, Guga S'thebe. Rest assured, we also put aside a little time to see the facilities and buy souvenirs from the centre's vendors.
The orientation sets expectations and the vibe for the day, covers safety & conduct, teaches handshakes and greetings, and does a check-in to sense where the guests' thinking and feeling is at.
TIMING NOTE:
If time is very limited, or you simply prefer, a good deal of the orientation can—albeit less comfortably—be done over the course of the drive into Langa, instead of before that drive. We do, however, recommend keeping the orientation in for the optimum tour.
Duration: 30 minutes
3
PART 1:
'Walk Down Memory Lane' Personal Journey Walking Neighborhood Tour experience
Seeing is believing. Visiting the sites where a township entrepreneur’s personal transformation took place and hearing their stories is a powerful act. A walkabout through a neighborhood is, furthermore, a great way to start gaining an understanding of a contemporary township entrepreneur’s milieu and lifeworld, the challenges and the opportunities alike.
EXAMPLE:
Visits include his family home, the coding academy he founded, restaurants and taverns he frequented growing up, primary and secondary schools he attended (no entrance inside), and more. Through his storytelling, he takes you on a journey from his lows as a gangster, to his current highs as a role model and inspiration for Langa and the world.
TIMING NOTE:
If you'd prefer to start your tour with lunch, please book a midday start time, and we will automatically move this experience to the end of the tour.
Duration: 2 hours
4
PART 2:
African Fusion Lunch with a Restaurant Founder experience
The most tender and zesty stories get shared over a meal. You’ll be floored by some of the stories our Food Business entrepreneurs have to tell.
EXAMPLE:
The founder has built a strong family business providing high quality take-away food and catering with exceptional customer service and professionalism. Her daughter is the namesake of the business. She and her children cook from their home kitchen, but don’t underestimate this establishment: It’s some of the best and freshest food you’ll find in all of Cape Town. She is a wonderful and joyous human being with a storied history—chatting with her feels like chatting to a best friend.
TIMING NOTE:
If you'd prefer to start your tour with lunch, please book a start time between 11:30am-2pm. If you prefer to convert the lunch to a dinner, please book a start time between 1:30-3:30pm, and we will automatically move this experience to the end of the tour.
Duration: 2 hours
5
PART 3:
African Zumba Class w/ Kids experience
No where else can you experience this. Try your hand (and foot) at some of the local styles. Prepare to break a sweat in this exhilarating aerobic experience. But no worries if dancing isn't your thing—you can jam out with some of the kids on our djembe drums!
EXAMPLE:
The lead Zumba entrepreneur has a one-of-a-kind flare and personality that makes you come alive. On one of your water breaks, he will tell you his inspiring story of how dance and exercise got him out of a life as a gangster.
The kids from Example Group—the community-based org offering girls after-school dance programming—have so much talent, and such a desire to learn and connect. It’s a reflection of its founder's soft skills she's transferring onto the girls—in addition to the insanely cool Afro-centric dance moves!
TIMING NOTE:
The kids are busy schooling in the day, so this experience can only run between 3-6pm daily, except weekends (subject to availability).
Duration: 2 hours
Additional info
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Wheelchair accessible
