Tipping policies on free walking tours

Why not just go on one of the tours that cost 10-12 euro, as offered in almost all of the larger cities? Which cities were you planning on visiting?

Those free tours aren't really free, as one is pressured to tip and tip well. They take your photo at the beginning of the tour, and then the guide has to pay a fee to the company for each person who begins the tour. They aren't allowed to operate in some cities in Europe, and some countries like Germany have multiple court cases against them for illegal employment practices and tax evasion.

Speaking from experience, the tour I went on offered by New Europe tours in Edinburgh was the absolute pits. I go on walking tours everywhere I go, and this was the worst one ever. It was a complete waste of our time and we wished we had done something else, but had wanted to go on their tour just to see for ourselves if it was good or not. All the guides going past us were all saying the exact same things, so obviously just a memorized script. Wouldn't you want to have a guide that was a bit more passionate about the history of the city they were telling you about? Our guide couldn't answer any of our questions, and just seemed really bored. Half the group left and didn't come back when we made a drink break. We wanted to leave too, but felt committed to hold out til the end to see if it got any better. It didn't.

If nothing else, read what Rick writes about the free tours.

Our experience is not as negative as Jo's. Have taken a number of "free" walking tours. Truthfully I think some have been better than paid tours because the guide is hustling for tips. He/she knows that if tour is not good, then the tips are min. I would treat it the same as a paid tour. If three hour tours in that area are around 25 Euro then I would tip in that range. And if the tour is as bad as Jo's describes then I would just walk away after 30 minutes. It is always easy to get lost on a tour.

PS We have never had our picture taken prior to any tour. Not sure what that is about.

You can find earlier Forum threads (such as this one) through the search box above. Blog posts only appear on regular Google searches; here's Rick's blog post on the topic of "free" tours.

My experiences mirror Franks' comments. Tip what you think is right, all things considered.

Thanks everyone for your advice! I'll definitely try to research the particular one that I'm looking at for Copenhagen and see what other options are out there.

There's always some diamonds shining through the mire. Both my guides on the New Europe tours I took in Munich were spectacular. My guides in Lisbon and Granada were as well. Even though they may have memorized a script, they were excited about sharing their knowledge.

I usually give 10-15 euro for myself. If SO is with me, twice that.

Hello Lizzy,

I have taken several "free" walking tours around Europe over the years and I have generally been as satisfied with them as I've been with "paid" tours. In the two years I've taken a couple great free tours in Barcelona with a company called Runner Bean. They have been professionally conducted, informative, and highly enjoyable. I generally tip in the 12 to 15 euro range, which is about the same as the paid tours charge in these areas. If you have questions about a particular tour operator, check them out on Trip Advisor.

Ms. Jo is right about the picture taking. My friend worked for one of these companies in Prague for two years. They take business away from seasoned, educated tour guides and pay their own tour guides nothing. The tour guide must pay the company a certain amount for each person on the tour and this is why a picture is taken at the beginning- so the company knows how many people are on the tour. The tour guide gets to keep anything extra. So if people don't tip well or people leave the tour early, the guide is lucky to break even. My friend didn't mind it because her husband worked and this was a hobby for her. But I feel bad for people that rely on this as income, as well as the well studied tour guides that are having a harder time finding a job. And it's not a business practice I want to support.

But not all free tours have this practice. Some smaller cities sponsor free walking tours. Still, it is tough to discern the good companies from the bad.

This sounds like an American practice. Basically pay service staff next to nothing and expect them to live off tips. Why not book with a reputable guide/agency and pay a reasonable fee rather than worry about what to tip?

"Why not book with a reputable guide/agency and pay a reasonable fee rather than worry about what to tip?"

I agree. If you're going to end up paying them the same amount any way (which is usually the case), why not go with a reputable company that does pay their experienced guides and gives you a better chance at an excellent tour? If you can't afford a tour with one of the established agencies, and thus probably don't intend to tip a reasonable amount on a 'free' tour, then do a self guided walking tour with a good guidebook or audio app.

Because the tour guides on the payed tours will still expect a tip.

The paid tour guides may enjoy getting a 1-2 € tip, but they don't expect them and they certainly won't ever say anything about tipping. If you felt they did a grand job, went above and beyond answering your questions, then a few € is always ok and a nice way of saying thank you. They won't give you disparaging looks if you just shake their hand, thank them and walk away.

It isn't the same as the New Europe guides expecting people to tip 10-20 €. If you only give them 5 €, that means they have only made 2.50 € from you, the rest went to the boss, the heir to the Sandemann Sherry firm. They will give you a dirty look.

I realize there are other "free" tours out there, but the New Europe tours are the ones with the faulty employee policies when it comes to tipping and the guides forced to share their tips.

Rubbish Bob. I have taken numerous privately guided walking tours in Europe and never tipped. I pay a fair fee upfront!

The only time I have ever paid more than the 'advertised' price was when my family booked a cooking lesson in Matera. We were originally quoted a price and when we emailed back to confirm we were told we could have a discount. I decided to pay the original price at the end of the lesson as it was brilliant and I had been happy to pay that price in the first instance.

If I found the correct tour in question on Trip Advisor, more than 90% of the many reviews were in the excellent category, so the "free" walking tour model of business can be worthwhile for tourists and guides. Pay (tip) for performance.

Pay for performance Bruce? Isn't that the same as paying at the customer's whim? Would you be happy to be paid that way?

"Pay for performance Bruce? Isn't that the same as paying at the customer's whim? Would you be happy to be paid that way?"

My daughter paid her room and board at college, bought a car and made 3 trips to Europe on her tips as a waitress. She never could have done that on a straight payed part time job. She was good! A job that depends on tips rewards those that are good. Sure some people will stiff you but in the long run you make much more. She never would have taken a waitress job at $15 / hour and no tips.

@mph: I never saw it as a negative to let customers decide if the service was excellent or not. In one of my first jobs, I earned more from tips than pay....I focused on providing what the customers wanted and not expecting tips. It was an enjoyable gig and the customers were happy happy.

I've taken free tours and nearly free tours and paid tours during my travels. Some of the best tours were free tours, and I happily paid the guide a generous tip. When I've had a poor free tour, I didn't tip (or tipped minimally). I've sometimes been hustled for tips on paid tours, and sometimes not, and I've sometimes tipped on top of what I paid if I thought the tour guide went above and beyond expectations. I've had some paid tours, including some that were quite pricey, that were very poor, and there was nothing I could do about it (other than leave a bad review on TripAdvisor).

Many of the free tours are offered by companies that also provide paid tours. They hope they will win your business after having a good experience on the free tour.

Generally, you get what you pay for, but that is not always true.

However, this is just a different business model. And of course the companies that provide traditional paid tours don't like it because it is competition. Just as taxi companies don't like Uber and Lyft and hotels don't like Airbnb. It doesn't mean they are bad or unfair. Perhaps some of the free tours are not ethical about the way they conduct business. Do a little research to figure out the best option for you.