3 TOP TIPS FOR FINDING LOW COST (OR FREE*) WALKING TOURS AROUND THE WORLD
3 Top Tips To Get Low Cost or Free Walking Tours
It’s not necessary to pay a lot for a great walking tour in a major city! In this post, we’ll tell you how to score the right walking tour for you.
It’s Expensive To Make The Wrong Choice
There are plenty of ways to pay too much for a tour. For example, Elaine just spoke with a friend who is about to embark on a group tour to Normandy. She told her she was excited to extend her travels after the tour finished, and would spend several days in Paris on her own. She shared how much she enjoys walking around neighborhoods, learning about them, and getting a real feel for them. She was thinking of hiring a private guide from her tour group to take her on some private Paris walking tours at a cost of $150 each. No, Mon Ami, NO!
This friend, probably like all of us, is not made of money. When Elaine told her that we are big fans of low cost or free walking tours, she admitted she had never heard of such a thing. Have you?
How To Find The Right City Tour For You
Many people are fans of Hop On-Hop Off buses. Gray line and other companies run these in many cities, and they have their place. But at upwards of $30, we find they are a bit thin on information, and we generally prefer to take walking or biking tours.
In the last year or so we’ve taken free (or extremely affordable) walking tours in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, London, Venice, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires and Madrid. They were great fun and extremely informative. In fact, several of our tour guides were aspiring actors who blended history and culture with entertaining stories and insider tidbits. In London alone, Elaine has taken the Rock and Roll Tour, the Jewish Tour, the Canal Tour and the Blitzkrieg Tour.
It’s simple to find out and book tours that are of special interest to you. Here’s how to do it:
- Google free walking tours in _____ (fill in your city). Best to do it in your hotel while you have wifi access. If you don’t find a free tour, weigh up the value you gain from a paid tour. For example, many tours will allow you to skip lines at museums for a price not much higher than the entry – and could save you a couple of hours in line. Others have special prices for shows that are lower than retail. Example: we were just in Madrid, and tour ticket to a flamenco show was $34, with a drink included, versus $39 at the door. So find the option that works for your time frame, because on the road, time is often money.
- Try to book online if you can. A lot of tours, especially the free ones, sell out, and it’s a big hassle to trek to the meeting point for a tour only to find that the tour is full. It costs nothing to book, and if you change your mind and don’t show up, there’s no penalty. (However, if you are winging it and you see a free tour walking by, you can always ask if you can join. If there’s space, the hosts love to have more audience because that means more tips.)
- Take good walking shoes, and umbrella against rain or sun, and water. Arrive on time, ad away you go.
We find it’s best to take a free tour right after we get to a city so we have a handle on the history and the geography right from the start. Plus, the fellow travelers we meet on these tours are always interesting and we often have ended up hanging out with them after the tour. Plus, the guides always have good tips about the local restaurants, prices, safety and whatever.
Some of Our Recommended Tour Companies
We have been on several trips free city tours from Sandemans for great city overviews, and have enjoyed them. You can find Sandeman tours here. *Full Disclosure: As you might imagine, on “Free” tours, the guides work for tips. We’ve found for a 2-3 hour tour, a $10 or $20 tip is much appreciated. We usually tip about $10-$15 each. Some people do more, most do less and some do none (which is not really cool, but there’s no pressure.) Group size is usually about 10-15. Questions are always welcome. And, the guides are great ones to ask about what else you should be seeing, places to stroll, restaurants, etc. We also just did a free walking tour in Madrid with Freetour.com, which was equally good.
Some tour companies have wide selections for very specialized interests. London’s Strawberry Tours, for example, let you choose from: Foodie tours, Harry Potter, Jack the Ripper, Art, Soho, Historical Landmarks, just to name a few. These are not free, but well worth the reasonable cost. Check out https://strawberrytours.com/london
If you’ve been a bit tardy or behind on your pre-planning, check out www.takewalks.com . They’re a great resource for “Skip the Line” tours. For example, in Paris, you can do the “Skip the Line Paris Catacombs Tour with Special Access” for $92.
Need Safari Ideas?
Check This Out.
