5 Reasons Why Free Walking Tours Are The Best Way To Travel!
The first step in travelling is booking your ticket. The next step, getting to your destination, and the next? Exploring! But what’s the secret to really experiencing a new city? How about joining a free walking tour?
WHAT IS A FREE WALKING TOUR ANYWAY?
A free walking tour is just that, a free tour around the city. Walking tours are lead by guides who are passionate about their city and LOVE showing it off to new people. Often, you’ll be given advice on the best places to eat, drink and explore (and how to do it on your budget). At the end of the tour, the guides will ask for tips, so you pay what you think the tour was worth.
And, why are they SO amazing? Well, lucky for you, I’m here to explain why free walking tours are the best way to travel!
- It’s the best way to get to know a city!
Photo by @christina_gottardi on Unsplash
Seriously, what better way to get to know the good stuff in town than to be shown around by a local? Not only will you be taken to the best and most iconic places to see, you won’t have to fight for a window seat and you’ll be walking off those extra holiday calories too (because let’s face it, local food is just TOO good to miss out on!).
Walking is a hassle-free way to navigate a busy city. No more getting stuck in traffic or missing a photo opportunity and a walking tour can take you down small side-alleys and into otherwise-inaccessible spots.
2. Make new friends! (and why not party with them later on?)
Photo by @wildlittlethingsphoto on Unsplash
Ask any of our walking tour guides and they’ll tell you that their favourite thing about being a tour guide is meeting new people! We see so many groups that have met on a walking tour who will then party together, beach-day together or explore together afterwards. What better way to connect with like-minded, fun travellers?
3. Local advice is the best advice!
Photo by @johanmouchet on Unsplash
Walking tours guides, while living in the city just like a local, are also (more often than not) travellers! What this means for you is that you’re receiving advice from a local point of view, and a travellers point of view on the best things to see and do in the city on your trip!
4. Let your plans run wild!
Tour Me Out Pub Crawl, Valencia
A company running free walking tours are (usually) running other activities throughout the city too, which you’ll hear about on your tour. Whether it be pub crawls at night, day trips to nearby attractions or even a local cooking class, you can let your plans run wild and decide on activities you may previously not have known about that will immerse you in a culture more than you could imagine. Why not, right!? Looking for a way to learn more about a new city and get some free writing practice, people joining a free walking tour and using PaperTyper.net to write a blog post, paper about their experience afterwards.
5. You choose the price!
Photo by @aaronburden on Unsplash
OK, this one is a no-brainer, right? You might be a budget traveller or maybe you would rather spend your pennies sampling local cuisine, either way, letting a local guide show you around the best spots in a city for free is an amazing opportunity. Walking tour guides work for the value of their tours, so you pay what you think the tour was worth at the end. There’s no pressure to pay a certain amount (or anything), so enjoy your time wandering the city.
So next time you’re planning a trip, add a free walking tour to your to-do list, you won’t be disappointed!