With kids · Johannesburg · South Africa
Johannesburg with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: The Heritage Portal, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Johannesburg has plenty for children between the history museums: Gold Reef City's rides and mine tour, the zoo, picnic lawns at Emmarentia and the hands-on exhibits at Maropeng. Some history displays are graphic, so preview them for younger children. Top picks: Gold Reef City, Johannesburg Zoo and Johannesburg Botanical Garden and Emmarentia Dam. Families usually base themselves in Sandton.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 5
- Best area for families
- Sandton
- Rainy-day options
- 0
Best things to do with kids
Theme park · Ormonde
1.Gold Reef City
A theme park built around an old gold mine shaft, with roller coasters and water rides, a recreated gold-rush streetscape and an underground tour that goes down into the former mine workings. It sits next to the Apartheid Museum and a casino complex.
Book the underground mine tour separately when you arrive; it is the part that explains how Johannesburg came to exist.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- History
- Active
Zoo · Parkview
2.Johannesburg Zoo
Founded in 1904 on land donated by mining magnate Hermann Eckstein, the zoo has large grassy enclosures for lions, elephants, gorillas and Siberian tigers, plus a farmyard section for small children. It sits beside Zoo Lake, a popular weekend park.
Combine it with lunch at Zoo Lake across the road and a walk around the water.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Nature
- Outdoors
Garden · Emmarentia
3.Johannesburg Botanical Garden and Emmarentia Dam
Lawns, a large rose garden, herb gardens and an arboretum slope down to Emmarentia Dam, where locals walk dogs, row and picnic at weekends. Entry is free, and it is one of the few large open spaces close to Melville and Parkhurst.
Bring a picnic on a weekend afternoon and walk the dam's edge for views back across the northern suburbs.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Nature
Landmark · Sandton
4.Nelson Mandela Square
A paved piazza within the Sandton City complex, overlooked by a six-metre bronze statue of Nelson Mandela unveiled in 2004. Restaurants with outdoor seating ring the square, and it connects to one of the largest shopping centres in the country.
Visit at dusk when the restaurants fill up, and combine it with shopping at Sandton City.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- Kids
Landmark · Soweto
5.Orlando Towers
Two decommissioned power-station cooling towers in Soweto, painted with murals and advertising, now host a bungee jump swinging between the towers and a viewing platform with panoramas over the township. They are among Soweto's most recognisable landmarks.
Even if you skip the jump, the platform view helps you understand Soweto's scale.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Active
- Views
- Photo spot
Where families should stay
$$$$ · Best for first-timers, shopping, luxury and families
Sandton
Sandton is Johannesburg's financial district, with Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square, international hotels and a Gautrain station that reaches OR Tambo airport in about 15 minutes. It feels more corporate than characterful, but it is convenient, well policed and full of restaurants, which suits first visits and business trips.
- Good
- Direct Gautrain link to the airport; Wide choice of hotels and restaurants; Feels secure day and night
- Watch out
- Corporate atmosphere; A long drive to Soweto and the southern museums
- Nearby
- Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City, Gautrain Sandton station
Family travel tips
- The Apartheid Museum contains distressing images; consider it for teenagers rather than young children.
- Pilanesberg is a malaria-free Big Five reserve, which makes it a popular family alternative to Kruger.
- Bring car seats or request them in advance from rental companies; ride-hailing cars rarely have them.
- Winter nights are cold and many guesthouses lack central heating, so pack warm pyjamas.
- Melrose Arch and Sandton's malls are easy places to eat out early with children.
Day trips for families
- Cradle of Humankind (About 1 hour by car) — A UNESCO World Heritage Site of limestone caves where many early hominin fossils, including the skull nicknamed 'Mrs Ples', were found.
- Pilanesberg National Park (About 2.5–3 hours by car) — A malaria-free Big Five reserve set inside the eroded crater of an ancient volcano, with tarred and gravel roads suited to self-driving.
- Hartbeespoort Dam and the Magaliesberg (About 1 hour by car) — A reservoir below the Magaliesberg range with weekend markets, waterside restaurants and the Harties Cableway, which lifts visitors to the ridge for wide views.
- Kruger National Park (About 5 hours by road; stay two nights or more) — South Africa's flagship park covers nearly two million hectares with the Big Five and more than 500 bird species.
When to go with children
The best months overall are April–May and September–October. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Johannesburg good for kids?
Johannesburg has plenty for children between the history museums: Gold Reef City's rides and mine tour, the zoo, picnic lawns at Emmarentia and the hands-on exhibits at Maropeng. Some history displays are graphic, so preview them for younger children.
+What can kids do in Johannesburg?
Gold Reef City, Johannesburg Zoo, Johannesburg Botanical Garden and Emmarentia Dam, Nelson Mandela Square and Orlando Towers.
+Where should families stay in Johannesburg?
Sandton: Glass towers, Nelson Mandela Square and the city's biggest malls.