Cape Town Central Trip Overview
Discover Robben Island prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of the 27 he spent in prison and take the Long March to Freedom in a day with tickets to Robben Island pre-booked in advance. Learn about Nelson Mandela and other political leaders such as Robert Sobukwe and Walter Sisulu’s long walk to freedom.
Our freedom in South Africa was really a very long walk and we are proud to share with you, our guests, some important facts about our democracy, culture, past, and current history. Enjoy a private tour in a private vehicle and guide, and share the boat with other travelers. Join a small group guided tour on the Island and take real photos with Mandela’s statue and many more 499 leaders from Southern Africa and abroad.
Special Offer – Book by March 14 to save 5% off our previously offered price! – Book Now!
Additional Info
Duration: 8 hours
Starts: Cape Town Central, South Africa
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Cape Town Central Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Cape Town Central, Western Cape, South Africa
Discover Robben Island prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of the 27 he spent in prison and take the Long March to Freedom in a day with tickets to Robben Island pre-booked in advance. Learn about Nelson Mandela and other political leaders such as Robert Sobukwe and Walter Sisulu’s long walk to freedom.
Our freedom in South Africa was really a very long walk and we are proud to share with you, our guests, some important facts about our democracy, culture, past, and current history. Enjoy a private tour in a private vehicle and guide, and share the boat with other travelers. Join a small group guided tour on the Island and take real photos with Mandela’s statue and many more 499 leaders from Southern Africa and abroad.
Stop At: The Long March to Freedom, Century City, 7441 South Africa
Soon after your hotel pick up by an expert qualified tour guide driver, you will be taken to the newly “The Long March to Freedom” which used to have its home in Pretoria. The newly Long March to Freedom has a new home in Cape Town in the Suburb of Century city approximately 10Km away from the City center. This is the Long March to Freedom, part of a bigger development of over 500 life-size bronze icons of South Africa’s struggle for freedom. All the figures together represent a time-line of South Africa’s 350-year journey to democracy. Beginning in 1652 with the establishment of the Dutch East India settlement in Cape Town and ending in 1994 with the country’s first democratic elections. It is the largest outdoor sculptural display of individuals in the world and uses public art to celebrate the country’s heritage while giving visitors the opportunity to learn about South African history in an unusual and entertaining way. All statues featured here must fulfill strict criteria: The individuals must have passed on; They must be depicted in motion; Walking towards the dawn of democracy; And they must have played a significant role in the deliberation of South Africa. The few standing here are but a drop in the ocean of South Africans who played their part, and the long march to freedom ultimately is a tribute to honor them all. This will be a guided tour by a knowledgeable site tour guide.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Century City Drive, Cape Town Central South Africa
Right opposite Long March to Freedom statues is Canal Walk Shopping center. This mall was built in 2000 and it was built around the Canal. It has more than 400 shops. Here you can do a mini shopping and lunch in the most beautiful restaurants with impeccable views.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Robben Island Museum, Cape Town Central 7400 South Africa
Our third leg of the trip will be a boat or ferry trip to Robben Island and the entire boat trip including the prison tour to the time when you will return to the starting point will be 3 to 4 hours. Your expert-guide driver will not escort you as Robben Island Museum has its own tour guides and most of them are former political prisoners on the Island. These are some of the facts you never know about Robben Island . 1. Robben Island is known for being the place former South African president Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 of his 27 years, but the Island was the home of prisoners from outside South Africa, notably Namibia. Namibia was a German colony until World War I; when Germany was defeated in the war, Namibia was administered by South Africa as a de facto overseas province of South Africa, and any political agitation in Namibia was punished by South Africa. 2. One prominent prisoner was Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, a founding member of the Ovamboland People’s Congress, one of the political parties campaigning for Namibia’s independence. Toivo was arrested in 1966 by the South African authorities, and jailed in Robben Island to serve a 20-year sentence. In prison he was “not an easy fellow”, fellow inmate Mike Dingake remembers, “never showing remorse and often up for a fight with the authorities.” From his release in 1984 up to 1991, he was secretary-general of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), and later became Minister of Mines and Energy in independent Namibia, and, somewhat ironically, Minister of Prisons from 2002 to 2006. 3. Several other Namibian guerrilla fighters were incarcerated in Robben Island, including John ya Otto Nankudhu, commander of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia,.He received military training in Egypt and the Soviet Union and set up a training camp in Tanzania, but was captured by the South African authorities, tried and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment on Robben Island. He was released in 1985. 4. Gaus Shikomba, a member of the South West Africa Liberation Army, was also sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island in 1967 but released in 1984. 5. Robben Island’s reputation as a place for banishment goes back even longer than the 20th century. One of the earliest prisoners held there was a pair of Malagasy men called Massavana and Koesaaij – probably not their actual names, rather a Dutch phonetic approximation – who led a mutiny on the slave ship Meermin in 1766 as they were being forcibly transported from their home in Madagascar to be enslaved in the Cape Colony of South Africa. The mutiny led to the shipwreck of the Meermin; Massavana and Koesaaij were not tried for the mutiny but sent to Robben Island for “observation” where Massavana died three years after they arrived, Koesaaij survived 20 more years. 6. Robben Island also served as a leper colony, starting in 1845. Initially, this was done on a voluntary basis and the lepers were free to leave the island if they wished. But with the introduction of the Leprosy Repression Act in May 1892, detention of lepers on the Island was no longer voluntary and the movement of the lepers was restricted. In 1891 fifty-two lepers were admitted to the island, with the Act in force the number jumped to 338 in 1892 and 250 in 1893. 7. The Island became a place for imprisoning political prisoners in 1961, but life on the Island was not all bleak. In 1966, the prisoners formed a football league among themselves that they called Makana Football Association, adhering strictly to FIFA’s Laws of the Game – one of the few books in the prison library. The league was named Makana after a 19th century Xhosa prophet who was himself incarcerated on the Island. 8. Makana F.A. was a multi-team, two-division league run with fanatical attention to detail and formality in writing constitutions, forming committees, imposing disciplinary sanctions, training referees and logging results; at one point, over half the inmates were involved in the league. But some “high-profile” prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Ahmed Kathrada, were barred from participating in or even watching the matches. 9. Jacob Zuma, who is now a former South Africa’s president, was a captain of Makana’s Rangers club, a sturdy defender and also a referee, Dikgang Moseneke, the deputy chief justice of South Africa’s Constitutional Court, drew up the league’s constitution and was its chairperson. Steve Tshwete, another player, became the country’s first post-apartheid sports minister. 10. Today, some of the tour guides on the island are former prisoners themselves. Nelson Mandela was arrested in1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment following the Rivonia Trial. Mandela served 27 years in prison split between Robben Island (18years), Pollsomore (7years) and Victor Verster (2 years) Prisons. Born 18th July 1918, Mvezo and died on 05th December 2013. There are plenty of free-roaming African Penguins At Robben Island. Upon return, you will be taken back to your hotel.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, 19 Dock Road, Cape Town Central 8001 South Africa
You could have your lunch at a restaurant nearby at Victoria and Alfred Mall or go shopping. Situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbor, the 123 hectares (300 acres) area has been developed for mixed-use, with both residential and commercial real estate. The Waterfront attracts more than 23 million visitors a year.
Duration: 1 hour
Special Offer – Book by March 14 to save 5% off our previously offered price! – Book Now!
