Tours in Munich

There is a "free" walking tour (i.e., a reasonable tip is expected) by a British expat (personally, living in the greater Munich area, I don't have practical experience with him). The reviews are so good that in any case it is worth comparing with the established commercial companies like Viator etc., that you will come across anyway.

We did a day trip to Neuschwanstein with Mike's Bike Tour's out of Munich. It included a bike ride which was really nice. When I booked it, I thought my husband and son would think it was cheesy, but they both really enjoyed it as much as we did.

Mike's also has bike tours right in Munich, or you can just rent bike's and ride wherever you want. We rented bikes one day and spent hours riding through, and past, the English Garden. We had no agenda and it was late September, so just beautiful. Wee stopped at two of the beer gardens within the park.

Salzburg is an easy day trip as well.

A trip to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site is easy to do by train from Munich (S2 train takes about 30 minutes from the main station). You can do a guided tour or go on your own with an audio tour once you are at the site. It's certainly not for everyone and is a very sobering experience but we were glad we went as we are interested in WWII history.

Thanks for the info all! Will definitely check those ideas out.

We took one of the free walking tours that starts in the Marienplatz. I can't remember the name, but the tour guide never showed up, but another free walking company was meeting nearby, so we joined that group. That walking tour and the tour guide was good and we enjoyed it.
We also did a Segway tour around Munich and that was fantastic! By Segway, we covered a lot more of the city and the park. And I highly recommend it! https://www.seg-tour.de/en/

Depending on which tours you might be interested in, you might have a look at this website. I've taken a couple of their tours, and was very pleased with the expertise of the guides.

Viator is not a tour company, they are like booking dot com, selling tours from other companies. That said, you can look at the tours on offer at Viator or Trip Advisor, and then book directly with the tour. Good to read the review, both good and bad.

The big Free tour company, New Europe, is no longer allowed to operate in Munich due to their scammy business model. They have too many issues with the German tax system. Their tours are all being done by other companies.
Personally, I would much rather go on a tour with a better qualified guide, that I can pay up front and know they are getting paid a decent salary, than what the free tours have on offer. Many of their guides are expats who have recently moved there and have simply learned a script.

Are looking for guided tours only?

Otherwise I would reconmend a daytrip by train or car to Tegernsee ,an alpine lake 1 hour south of Munich.
Boatrip on the lake or hike in the mountains nearby

https://www.tegernsee.com/en/

Trains run from Munich Central station every hour

You can book local guides at Tegernsee
https://www.tegernsee.com/heimatfuehrer

Need more info? Let me know ;o)

Not a fan of the "Free" walking tours but I took some tours with Radius tours who were pretty good.

I did a City Walk with them and a Beer and Brewery tour which I highly recommend-but it seems you will have that with Oktoberfest.

They did have a Dachau Tour but I personally thought the official tour run by the volunteers is the best-in terms of knowledge and insight. Plus it's so easy to get to Dachau on your own-just follow the crowd.

Thanks for the info. I agree about Viator, only use them as a starting point if at all.

Heather, please tell me more about their beer tour? Was it a walking tour or mostly sitting in the hofbrauhauf?

We did the free Rick Steves audio guided walk, which was great. We also took a food tour of the Viktualienmarkt with Get Your Guide.

Thanks everybody!

Both companies have a Beer and Brewery tour-Munich Walks and Radius.

We did the Radius tour where you walked around central Munich and learnt about the abbeys and history of beer in Munich. We had a wonderful American tour guide(can't remember her name) who's family brewed beer in Oregon. We went to the Oktoberfest Museum and two beer halls and had small glasses of beer with various hot/cold Bavarian specialities.

We ended up outside the Hofbräuhaus which you could go inside after the tour-my guide said it was pretty touristy to actually go and drink there. YVMV. We met some other Americans and Brits and had a great relaxing time.

https://www.radiustours.com/tours-in-english/bavarian-beer/

My family and I took a bike tour in Munich with Fat Tire Tours in June 2023. Our guide was named Rob, and he was excellent. Munich is an extremely bike friendly city. We especially enjoyed our introduction to the English garden and the beer garden near the Chinese Tower. The bike tour was a highlight of the trip.

Thanks for all the info!