Should you visit Soweto or Cape Town?
Which city should you visit? Read on to compare the prices of travel for Soweto and Cape Town. We’ll break down costs for accommodation, food, transportation and more to help you learn more about these two destinations. Then, you can figure out if either of these two places are accessible based on your travel budget. So, let's dig into it.
Soweto
The name Soweto is an acronym for South Western Townships, first used in 1963 to describe the groups of townships to the south west of Johannesburg. It is a city of contrasts, featuring anything from tin shanties to luxurious mansions, and is probably best known for being the home of two Nobel Prize winners.
Cape Town
Picture your travel bucket list. Is Cape Town on it? Yes, most people dream of visiting the "Mother City" of South Africa. As one of the most iconic places in the world, Cape Town is a world-class cosmopolitan city full of bustling nightlife, historical backdrops and a large gay community.
Cape Town is the most southern city in Africa with seasons turned upside down. In the southern hemisphere they experience the summer from December to February. During these months days can be hot and dry so be sure to gather in the shade and wear plenty of sunscreen. The winter from June to August is full of rainy days and cold nights.
Which city is cheaper, Cape Town or Soweto?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in Soweto is $65, while the average daily cost in Cape Town is $101. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each city. Below is a breakdown of travel costs for Soweto and Cape Town in more detail.
Accommodation
For a normal double-occupancy room in Soweto, $66 is the average cost for a hotel room. Also in Soweto, the typical price for a place to stay for one person is $33, such as in a hostel.
An average hotel room with basic furnishings costs about $78 in Cape Town For the most convenient locations and nicer amenities you can expect to pay a bit more.
Food
Soweto food costs typically run travelers around $21 per day. Eating every meal in a nicer restaurant will drive the cost up, and grabbing fast food or casual meals will help you save money.
The average traveler spends about $44 per day in Cape Town for food, but obviously this is dependent on the type of restaurant and the amount of food ordered. To save money you can grab a lighter lunch or dinner, or you can try fast food or street food.
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Food
Meals for one day
Soweto $21
Cape Town $44
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Cape Town
For Cape Town, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
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Private Virtual Cooking Class Live from Cape Town:
$23
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Drumming and African Dinner Experience:
$33
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Cape Malay Cooking with a Chef Founder:
$34
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African Cooking with a Chef Founder:
$34
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Cruise and Dine Dinner / Sunset Champagne Cruise and 3-Course Dinner:
$53
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Withlocals The 10 Tastings: Cape Town Private Food Tour:
$54
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Your Tailored Cape Town Private Food Tour:
$65
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Private Authentic Cape Malay Cooking Class in Manenberg with Locals:
$67
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The Cape Town Essentials Food Tour:
$67
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African Dinner and Drumming Experience:
$70
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African cooking experience:
$91
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Private South African Cape Malay Cooking Class:
$98
Local Transportation
To get around in Soweto, the average visitor spends $12 per day, per person. This includes the costs of taxi rides and private drivers as well as public transportation, which tends to be much more affordable.
Public transportation tends to be much less expensive in Cape Town than paying for a taxi or private car service, as is expected. Typically, people spend $18 on transportation in Cape Town on average per day.
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Cape Town
Also for Cape Town, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
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Shark Cage Diving Experience (Optional Cape Town Transfer):
$144
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Scenic Airport Helicopter Transfer:
$596
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Private transfer from Cape Town International Airport to Cape Town (CBD):
$15
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Private Transfer to Safari Aquila from Cape Town Full Day Excluding Entry Fees:
$86
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Private Cape Town Airport Transfers:
$54
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Private Business Transfer from Hotel in Cape Town to Cape Town Airport (CPT):
$36
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Private Airport Transfer: Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport (CPT):
$15
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Private Airport Transfer: Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to Cape Town:
$15
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Private Airport Transfer from Cape Town (CBD) to Cape Town international airport:
$15
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Hermanus Private Transfers - Charter - transport from Airport:
$60
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Franschhoek Private Transfers:
$68
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Departure Private Transfers from Cape Town City to Cape Town Airport CPT:
$60
Is it cheaper to fly into Soweto or Cape Town?
Prices for flights to both Cape Town and Soweto change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Entertainment
In Soweto, the costs for things to do, activities, admission tickets, and other sightseeing expenses are on average $17 per person, per day.
Sightseeing expenses in Cape Town, including the cost of admission tickets for day tours, museums, and attractions, usually cost an average of $24 per day, per person.
Tours and Activities in Soweto
For Soweto, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:
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Cradle Of Humankind Tour:
$135
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Half Day Soweto Tour:
$57
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Platteklip Gorge Guided Hike Experience from Cape Town:
$59
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Soweto Bicycle Tour:
$47
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Soweto Pub-Crawl Tour:
$55
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Soweto by Bike | Half-Day Johannesburg Cycle Tour:
$65
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Soweto half day tour:
$55
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Virtual Tour Of Soweto:
$20
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Walking Tours, Bicycle Tours:
$34
Tours and Activities in Cape Town
For Cape Town, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:
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1-Hour Cape Town Bo-Kaap Photo Shoot Experience:
$53
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1-Hour Cape Town City Center Photo Shoot Experience:
$53
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11-Day Cape Desert Safari Adventure Accommodated Tour from Cape Town:
$2,540
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11-Day Cape Desert Safari Adventure Camping Tour from Cape Town:
$1,330
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12 Days Cape & Namibia Accommodated Adventure:
$2,799
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12 day - Meander to South Africa's best kept secrets and experience Lesotho:
$2,890
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19 Days Cape to Victoria Falls Accommodated Adventure:
$4,541
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19-Day Desert Tracker Adventure Accommodated Tour from Cape Town:
$3,955
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19-Day Desert Tracker Adventure Camping Tour from Cape Town:
$2,116
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2-Day Safari Experience at Garden Route Game Lodge:
$323
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25 Days Cape to Vic Falls to Johannesburg Accommodated Adventure:
$6,105
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3 Day Adventure - Hike and Wine Pilates:
$359
Alcohol
Typically, people visiting Soweto spend on average $8.58 on alcoholic beverages per person, per day.
Typically, people visiting Cape Town spend on average $22 on alcoholic beverages per person, per day.
Sample the Local Flavors in Cape Town
Also in Cape Town, these are the prices for nightlife and alcohol related activities from various tour providers:
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Experience South African Craft Rum tasting and distillery tour in Cape Town:
$10
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Cape Town's Only Craft Rum Tasting and Distillery Tour:
$15
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Wine Tasting & Storytelling with SA Tapas add-on:
$34
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The Fringe Secret Bar Crawl:
$34
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Franschhoek and Stellenbosch Wine Tour from Cape Town:
$39
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Cape Point Full Day Tour With Wine Tasting:
$41
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Cape Town Pub Crawl:
$44
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Cape Winelands and Wine Tasting Full Day Tour:
$57
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Full Day Wine Tasting Tour:
$76
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Vintage Kombi Wine Tour & Local BBQ:
$77
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Cape Point/Boulders Beach/Wine Tasting- Best Of Cape Town In A Day:
$86
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Constantia Half-day Wine Tour from Cape Town:
$86
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Soweto and Cape Town, we can see that Cape Town is more expensive. And not only is Soweto much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. So, traveling to Soweto would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Soweto and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Cape Town would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Cape Town than you might in Soweto.
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