A Google search indicated that the Sandemann "Free Tours" of Munich were the most popular. Has anyone recent experience with this company? What is the accepted range of tips/per person for their services? Is their pitch suficiently flexible to inform very gray grandparents while maintaining a curious teen's interest?
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8938 posts
Instead of using Google, why not check and read their reviews on Trip Advisor? See what others have to say and you can also compare the other tours. There was a huge disussion about the Free Tours last year, where it came out in the open, that they are not a very ethical company. At the moment they are being sued by multiple former employees for lack of pay and mistreatment. They have other issues too that make them highly disliked in many cities and countries. At the beginning of each tour, they take a photo of the group, at the end, the tour guide must pay the company a certain amount for each person that started the tour, for most cities it is 3 euro, but can go as high as 5 euro. So I guess you could use that as your tipping guide. My own experience with the Sandeman Free tours was in Edinburgh. I found this tour to be the biggest waste of time. The tour guides just repeat a script, they have no real knowledge about the city they are talking about as most of them are just there for a short time. Our tour started with 28 people, and by the end at least 9 had left, due to boredom. I love walking tours and go on them in every city I visit, but do have a look at the other ones available. Their prices are affordable for just about any budget. A highly recommended one for Munich is Dark History tours. This guy could probably keep the grandparents fascinated as well as the teens interest and you won't be walking around Munich with 30 other people.
http://www.dark-history.eu/