Street Scene Tours
Street Scene Tours
5
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Full view
About
Street Scene Tours was created by Sthembiso Mbonanbi in early 2010, with one unique goal; to showcase Durban to Durbanites. His company is constantly exploring Durban and its surrounds, ever on the lookout for nuggets of history and the many hidden gems the province has to offer. After all, Mahatma Gandhi made Durban his home for many years, and it was just outside Durban that Nelson Mandela cast his vote in the 1994 elections that forever changed South Africa. The great King Shaka Zulu also spent much time on the very land upon which Durbanites now call home.From the city's architecture to its people, Street Scene aims to engulf its guests in all that is Durban. He started out with his focus on locals but soon realized that when you create a set of tours that residents of the city love, you are guaranteed to have tours that visitors to the city will find riveting and unique. There is nothing conventional about Street Scene Tours, and that's just the way we like it.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
5.0
192 reviews
Excellent
171
Very good
14
Average
2
Poor
2
Terrible
3
IgnazW
Haacht, Belgium31 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
We were supposed to go on a full day tour but at 09:00 no-one showed up. Tried to call them but phone number on our booking did not exist. Phone number on their web site did not exist either. Mobile number on our booking was not answered.
We had help from the manager of our accommodation and she finally got through. We were then promised to get the tour at 10:30. Someone showed up at 10:45, with a private car, not a minivan as should have been.
We went to the market, had lunch, and then to the Ghandi house, but never visited a township or school, which were on our program as well. We were fed up so didn't insist on anything extra.
In all, we did see some interesting things on the market, but overall the experience was a bummer. Not recommendable. I am sure other tour operators offer similar tours.
We had help from the manager of our accommodation and she finally got through. We were then promised to get the tour at 10:30. Someone showed up at 10:45, with a private car, not a minivan as should have been.
We went to the market, had lunch, and then to the Ghandi house, but never visited a township or school, which were on our program as well. We were fed up so didn't insist on anything extra.
In all, we did see some interesting things on the market, but overall the experience was a bummer. Not recommendable. I am sure other tour operators offer similar tours.
Written August 2, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
phasmann
Melbourne40 contributions
Feb 2019 • Friends
In November 2011 we spent 3 days with "Street Scene" & had a great time being shown around by Sthembiso and Chris and I wrote a rave review. Naturally, when I knew we would be in Durban again for a day, I had no hesitation in booking with them and paying a 50% deposit of ZAR 2500. Sthembiso assured me that we would be met at the dock on the ship's arrival............WE WEREN'T!! After waiting more than an hour I rang Sthembiso and he mumbled something about the tour having already started. I reminded him that it was a private tour for 4 and we were all waiting on the dock. He said he would ring back and then hung up.....HE DIDN'T RING BACK!! I have emailed him twice, but, 3 days later I have not had an explanation nor an apology. Having read JuliaH Berlin's review I am wondering if we will ever get a refund
Edited to add an update...I finally heard from Sthembiso who apologised and offered a full refund. 2 MONTHS LATER I AM STILL WAITING FOR A REFUND and my emails go unanswered. This company now operates very differently than it did in the early days, BE WARNED!
Edited to add an update...I finally heard from Sthembiso who apologised and offered a full refund. 2 MONTHS LATER I AM STILL WAITING FOR A REFUND and my emails go unanswered. This company now operates very differently than it did in the early days, BE WARNED!
Written April 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dandk
3 contributions
Feb 2019
It was an interesting tour but a bit overpriced for what you got. Food (the brai) was amazing, the best i had in South Africa. The tour guide was knowledgable but lacked passion.I felt 875 rand pp was far too much especially considering it was a group tour with 6-7 people. Mixed feelings but I did learn something from the tour :)
Written March 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nobahle M
1 contribution
Sep 2018 • Family
Very bad service delivery. Had problems checking in @ hotel arranged by them, had to call police to intervene. They changed our accommodation on 3rd day to a dirty,cheap building. We couldn't go to the last day activities as the company tour guides were nowhere to be seen. I wouldn't recommend them to anybody, especially for school tours.
Written September 30, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Islandbuckeye
Dublin, OH31 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
Beautiful tour of Durban and the townships. Very moving experience visiting the home of Gandhi and the location where Nelson Mandela cast his vote. A very memorable visit to a private home in one of Durban’s townships and an excellent lunch of the famous bunny chow. Our guide was very informative and easy going. We had a great time.
Written March 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JuliaH_Berlin
Berlin, Germany6 contributions
Oct 2017 • Friends
I waited three month before making this public as I was hoping to settle this with Street Scene Tours in the meantime. Unfortunately nothing happened so all I can do is to share my experience.
I booked a Super Scene tour for three. Email communication wasn’t easy. Not all my emails were answered but after I voiced my concern I got all the answers I needed and we were looking forward to our tour.
We waited for our driver but no one showed up. I called the company and informed them that we were still waiting for our driver. They didn’t know what was going on but promised to look into it. So far so good. After this, I got no call back and none of my calls were answered. We only got hold of them after the owner of our accommodation called from a different number. We heard that the driver got into an accident which is tragic of course. I fully understand that the main concern of Street Scene Tours was the health of the driver. I’m sympathetic about this.
Unfortunately, the conversation we had was cut-off and once again there was no way of getting hold of Street Scene Tours, nor did we get a call back (neither to my cell phone nor to the accommodation we were staying at) or an email. Nothing. The manager of our accommodation even offered a ride to the office of Street Scene Tours. We made it up to their floor and stood in front of their office in order to talk to them but no one was there. We got back to our accommodation and after more than two hours of waiting for any information, we decided to explore Durban on our own and informed Street Scene Tours by email that we would no longer be waiting for them.
It took Street Scene Tours two days (!) to get back to us. We received an email with an apology and the promise of a refund since we had to pay in advance. I now feel stupid having paid in advance but it seemed to be the only way. I had a weird feeling about this but I trusted all the positive comments I found online. A mistake I will not repeat.
Today, more than three months later, I’m still waiting for my money. I sent several emails, being patient, being polite, asking if there was a problem with the payment. All I wanted to do was to solve this issue. I never got a single reply.
They might now claim that they tried to contact me and that they didn’t receive my emails but this is simply not true. Emails don’t vanish into thin air. They didn’t change their address, I didn’t change mine. We’ve communicated before. If emails can’t be delivered, the sender gets notified. Yes, the emails could have somehow ended up in the spam folder. This is still no reason for not giving back my money. They have all the payment information they need. If there was a problem, they could have instead contacted me. I check my email and the spam folder constantly. Nothing. I also sent them a message on facebook. You immediately receive an automated reply but I replied to that as well. It took some hours but someone read it. It was marked as “seen”. Still no answer. I can’t believe how little interest they seem to have in settling this.
I can’t say anything about the tours offered by Street Scene. I’m sure the tours are wonderful IF they take place. I was even willing to give this company another chance on my next visit to South Africa but after experiencing how they’ve handled this situation, I get the feeling that I can’t trust them with my money.
They are keeping my money that I paid for a service they didn’t provide. They keep ignoring my messages and they are not trying to contact me concerning this issue. Accidents happen, things can go wrong. We are all human. The frustrating and disappointing part is how they handled the situation ever since. It’s beyond unprofessional. I still want to settle this but the key to this is communication.
We will remember this as the only negative experience we had travelling through the wonderful countries of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho for four weeks.
I booked a Super Scene tour for three. Email communication wasn’t easy. Not all my emails were answered but after I voiced my concern I got all the answers I needed and we were looking forward to our tour.
We waited for our driver but no one showed up. I called the company and informed them that we were still waiting for our driver. They didn’t know what was going on but promised to look into it. So far so good. After this, I got no call back and none of my calls were answered. We only got hold of them after the owner of our accommodation called from a different number. We heard that the driver got into an accident which is tragic of course. I fully understand that the main concern of Street Scene Tours was the health of the driver. I’m sympathetic about this.
Unfortunately, the conversation we had was cut-off and once again there was no way of getting hold of Street Scene Tours, nor did we get a call back (neither to my cell phone nor to the accommodation we were staying at) or an email. Nothing. The manager of our accommodation even offered a ride to the office of Street Scene Tours. We made it up to their floor and stood in front of their office in order to talk to them but no one was there. We got back to our accommodation and after more than two hours of waiting for any information, we decided to explore Durban on our own and informed Street Scene Tours by email that we would no longer be waiting for them.
It took Street Scene Tours two days (!) to get back to us. We received an email with an apology and the promise of a refund since we had to pay in advance. I now feel stupid having paid in advance but it seemed to be the only way. I had a weird feeling about this but I trusted all the positive comments I found online. A mistake I will not repeat.
Today, more than three months later, I’m still waiting for my money. I sent several emails, being patient, being polite, asking if there was a problem with the payment. All I wanted to do was to solve this issue. I never got a single reply.
They might now claim that they tried to contact me and that they didn’t receive my emails but this is simply not true. Emails don’t vanish into thin air. They didn’t change their address, I didn’t change mine. We’ve communicated before. If emails can’t be delivered, the sender gets notified. Yes, the emails could have somehow ended up in the spam folder. This is still no reason for not giving back my money. They have all the payment information they need. If there was a problem, they could have instead contacted me. I check my email and the spam folder constantly. Nothing. I also sent them a message on facebook. You immediately receive an automated reply but I replied to that as well. It took some hours but someone read it. It was marked as “seen”. Still no answer. I can’t believe how little interest they seem to have in settling this.
I can’t say anything about the tours offered by Street Scene. I’m sure the tours are wonderful IF they take place. I was even willing to give this company another chance on my next visit to South Africa but after experiencing how they’ve handled this situation, I get the feeling that I can’t trust them with my money.
They are keeping my money that I paid for a service they didn’t provide. They keep ignoring my messages and they are not trying to contact me concerning this issue. Accidents happen, things can go wrong. We are all human. The frustrating and disappointing part is how they handled the situation ever since. It’s beyond unprofessional. I still want to settle this but the key to this is communication.
We will remember this as the only negative experience we had travelling through the wonderful countries of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho for four weeks.
Written January 16, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeffrey V
Perth, Australia3 contributions
Dec 2017 • Friends
Just did a customized tour of Valley of a Thousand Hills and Durban City with Street Scene Tours. Very interesting and informative day with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide who is one of the owners of this local company. Keep up the great work guys!
Written December 26, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jwbeach11
Seattle, WA38 contributions
Nov 2017 • Couples
What a lucky day we had on an awesome township tour with Street Scene. We were fortunate to have a private tour with the owner, Sthembiso. He took us to Phoenix to see where Ghandi lived (there's a school there named after his wife, Kasturba), and to Ohlange High School in Inanda, where Nelson Mandela cast his famous ballot in 1994 near the grave of civil rights pioneer John Dube. Sthembiso also shared stories of growing up in the townships, and took us inside his childhood home in KwaMashu. We enjoyed a delicious shisanyama lunch in Inanda at Sbu's, which we ate with our hands. Sthembiso is extremely optimistic about South Africa's future and is a Ph.D. candidate in history, so we really enjoyed his enthusiasm and knowledge.
Written November 1, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Brighton
Brighton, UK79 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
Have been in contact since April but e-mails were often not answered and simply could not get a confirmation on the price. However, still agreed a day and time but no-one turned up. In the end we got a taxi and did a good tour on our own. I don't doubt any of the glowing references here but the basic organisation left a lot to be desired.
Written October 24, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bevkel
Durban108 contributions
Dec 2016 • Friends
Street Scene have so many great tours of Durban. They offer an opportunity to experience many unique sides of Durban in a really fun and well organized way. Highly recommended!
Written September 6, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Brighton
Brighton, UK79 contributions
Have used their contact form twice and message has been sent. Have heard nothing, though. How did others book and did the form work for you? Thanks.
crystallavoulle
Atlanta, GA
Two couples will be traveling to Durban the week on March 25th and we are looking for an awesome, authentic cultural experience. We would like information on rates and options.
439terencew
Santa Rosa, CA2 contributions
Would like to know the cost and duration of a Durban Tour for 2 to 4 people. Tours less than 8-9 hours?
tarynsam
Durban, South Africa20 contributions
Email the company directly, they are very efficient and helpful. TripAdvisor won't let me post their email but it's on the streetscene website 👍🏻
mgmacpherson
Fairfax County, VA1 contribution
my husband and I have been to Durban before and will be docked there one day in Dec. on a cruise. What sort of 3 hr. tour would you recommend and what would you charge?
RowdyDd
14 contributions
My wife and I will be staying in Durban for a week and plan to visit the park during our stay. Do we have to get ourselves there or are there tours from most of the hotels?
JonasBarausse
Durban, South Africa25 contributions
Hi Rowdy,
Many thanks for the message. We do collect from all central Durban Hotels. What do you mean by "the park" and when will you be visiting us? If possible rather drop us a mail than continue communication here so we can send you more info regarding options. You can get our email address by searching for our website. Simply Google 'Street Scene Tours' and we should be the 1st hit. Otherwise send us yours and we will write to you. Trip Advisor doesnt allow us to enter email addresses from our end.
Many thanks
Jonas
Many thanks
Jonas
cost of tours?
JonasBarausse
Durban, South Africa25 contributions
Hi Anita,
Thanks for gtetting in touch. The cost of the tour depends on the type of tour you would like to do and how many people there are in your group. Could you please drop us a mail at and we can send you more detailed info?
Ciao for now