free tours

I prefer to take walking tours offered by the local tourist office, when they are available, but I have taken some "free" tours as well. I know Runner Bean in Barcelona has gotten positive comments from others here. It was my observation that the T.O tours in Barcelona had smaller groups, which I preferred. I also have more confidence in the accuracy of information provided by the guide on a T.O-sponsored tour.

My policy as a solo traveler is to tip at least €10 for a decent 90- to 120-minute "free" tour. Usually I give more like €15. I'd give double if I were half of a couple. Keep in mind that the guide starts out in the hole, because he or she must pay the organizer a per-head fee. I believe €3 or €3.50 per head is common. Obviously, if people are tipping €5 each, the guide is getting almost nothing. Most if not all of the guides run those tours for a living; they aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

I read reviews on Trip Advisor to find reliable, high quality tours, rather than go on a "free" tour. Make sure you read the bad ones as well as the good ones. They can be quite revealing.

Would rather pay the 12-14€ fee for a good tour than risk wasting my vacation time on a free one, which has happened to me twice now. Will not do that again. Even when they are awful, you still feel guilted into giving them something cause you know they are paying the company for each person on their tour. Waste of my time and my money.

Pretty sure Rick suggests tours in his books too? Have you looked there?

I took some free tours in Barcelona and Krakow, and I actually thought the guides did a very good job. Some of the groups were larger than I would have preferred, and, as no headsets were used, sometimes it was difficult to hear the guide. I think I took the Sandeman's tour in Barcelona, but I can't quite remember as it was a few years ago. I actually took two in Barcelona - one covered the Barrio Gotico and one was a Gaudi and Modernisme tour. The Gadui and Modernisme tour left us at a good location to tour the Sagrada Familia. I think the tours do a good job of orienting you to the cities and, as I had a good experience, I would recommend them.

Can't remember what I actually tipped, but I think I tried to base it on prices that I saw for comparable paid tours and discounted it accordingly (e.g., no headsets, group size, length of tour, no admissions, etc).

There were quite a few young people on the tour that tipped change. Made me wonder how these guides made a living giving these tours.

BTW, Sevilla was my favorite city, and, in Sevilla, I used a guide recommended in the RS book. Her name was Concepcion. That tour was a small, very manageable group with admission prices included to see the Real Alcazar and the Cathedral and the bell tower, Giralda.

Actually, I need to make a correction to my above post. It was actually the "free" Bean Runner tours that I took in Barcelona. I took both the Gothic Quarter and the Gaudi tours.

Thanks to everyone for contributing the info. Regarding free tours. Do I hv to book them now b4 leaving. I m leaving on this Sunday. Does the free Bean Runner does both Gaudi and Gothic? How long approx. They run?

I am not aware of any "free" tour that needs to be pre-booked. The "free" tours I've taken in other cities ran 90 to 120 minutes, generally close to 120, but I don't know about Runner Bean in Barcelona. If you check their website, the answer may be there.

Have you had a look at Global Greeters? They are a worldwide network of ordinary people who enjoy showing strangers around their home towns, the tours are free and can be focused on areas of interest to participants. I just looked for Spain, and, of the three cities you mentioned, Barcelona is the only one with a greeter, although there are some in other Spanish cities. Besides an opportunity for a tour, it’s an opportunity to get acquainted with a local.

And remember there is no free tour. If not paying a fee upfront, then there is a strong hint for a tip. Since most cities have a licensing requirement for tour guides, this could also be an attempt to avoid the licensing procedures by not charging a fee. A tip is cash and under the table. We have done some street corner, Show and Go, tours but never a truly free tour.

I did Runner Bean and Sandeman's Tours in Barcelona. I liked both tours. Yes, they are "free", but tipping is expected. Most of the time I tip, but if you advertise a "free" tour.....then it is what it is? Usually I tip a couple of euros......some do a LOT more.

I did an after dark "ghost" tour (Runner Bean) in Barcelona. It was NOT free, but it was a lot fun and "spooky".

As I posted up-thread, if you tip a "free" tour guide 2 euros, you have probably cost him 1 to 1.50 euros, because he is required to pay a fee (I think Rick himself has said 3 or 3.50 euros is typical) for every person who shows up for the tour. That strikes me as grossly unfair. I think if someone can afford to travel to Europe, he or she can afford to give a decent guide a reasonable tip. If money is really that tight, there's lots of good information in your guide book.

I don't like the "free"-tour business model, though I've taken a few of those when the subject-matter interested me. It disturbs me that they seem to be taking over the market. On the other hand, if you can find a pay-up-front walking tour (check the tourist information office), you will probably find yourself in a much smaller group, so maybe I should be glad that so many tourists gravitate to the "free" tours.

Oh wow! The bad American I have been....FWIW......I have only done three or four "free" tours in all of my travels. I will do better from now on. Thanks for the insight. Hmmm....never have I seen anything written about how the "free tour" business works. This is disingenuous for the guides.

I agree, John, that it's sort of sneaky marketing. It can confuse travelers because there are situations in which "free" really means "free"--as with docent-led tours in museums. Usually, though, leading the tours is the person's real (quite possibly only) job. I think more and more of the guides are spending time at the beginning of the tour sort of explaining the situation, though they never talk about the per-person fee they have to cough up (my guess is that it's a forbidden topic).

I'm sure the legacy walking-tour companies (like London Walks) are fit to be tied.