Tour of Churchill War Rooms

The War Rooms have plenty of written information and I would not consider taking a tour there. Perhaps a guide would offer a slimmed down tour? I would not waste money on a guide for this well documented tour.

It is very small and cramped inside with narrow hallways, so a group tour seems unlikely. Maybe they only provide the tickets. It every self-explanatory. Viator is a third-party reseller of tours, they don't run any themselves.

The audio guide is all you need. I don't remember whether there's an extra fee for it.

I couldn't remember about the Audio Guide either but I found this on the Churchill War Rooms website:

"Audio guides are included in your admission price and provide an intriguing insight into Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms."

Just a 2nd caution about booking thru Viator, the 3rd party reseller of tours owned by Trip Advisor. Every tour page on Viator contains the name of the company that runs it since Viator does not operate any tours. I recommend you book directly with the company instead of them having to pay 20-25% of the ticket fee to Viator.

Book direct with the musum rather than using viator which is a third party selling you a ticket.

Well, I was curious as to whether any of the tour guides could actually lead inside the War Rooms. As mentioned upthread the halls are a bit cramped and I could not see how they could possibly tour thru there. And no, all of the ones on Viator that list the War Rooms actually leave you outside or get you hooked up with the Audio guide and say bye-bye. So, they are doing a longer walking tour and then dropping you at the War Rooms.

You DO NOT need a guide to tour the War Rooms. But do get a timed reservation now that its become a VERY popular destination.

The museum lets you rent audio headphones. The actual museum was hit or miss with me but the War Rooms are a must see just for a set period of time. And how lucky they were that the War Rooms were never struck by a direct hit as you learn about how little defense they had.

There's a somewhat similar site (but considerably less expensive and lacking the Churchill Museum component) in Liverpool:

Western Approaches HQ website

Well, if you were going to book a tour it is much better to book it directly with the tour operator, and not with Viator

There’s also no need to buy tickets from them as they generally mark them up.

They are not a tour operator. They are a tour reseller. So what they do is put a middleman between you and your operator. And of course, when they confirm you, they have not actually confirmed it with the tour operator. Last summer I saw a number of post on various message boards where people were very upset that the night before their big tour in Europe they got a Oh well too bad so sad here’s a refund message from Viator . Cut out the middleman. It will save you some hassle.

everyone gets a headset for the audio tour and each "station" has a number on it that you punch into the contraption

I'll add to the chorus. You do not need a tour or tour guide. No need for Viator, or any other mark-up ticket vendor. And the museum provides a very good audio headset that explains everything you are looking at. I can't imagine there is any access to places that you can't see just following the path through the rooms. But yes, get a timed entry ahead of time. Even when I went there in what I thought was "off-season" (2nd week of January), they hassled people who didn't have a timed entry.

Thanks everyone! I have booked a 9:30 tour directly with museum.
I did not know Viator was connected to Tripadvisor!

The booking with the museum sounds exactly right!

"I did not know Viator was connected to Tripadvisor!"

Most people do not. They also don't realize Viator doesn't actually run the tours!

It is part of Imperial War museum. Book with iwm, a non profit.. Any platform would have a cut.

Also to add, back in December we just walked right up and walked right in. No lines, no wait.