Like everything else, tours come in all different shapes and sizes. If you want to be alone and chauffeured around, there are private tours where you’ll be picked up at your hotel and driven around for a full or half day. Then there are the small day or half day group tours which vary in size from 15 people to 50. The smaller the groups tend to be more personable giving you more of an opportunity to ask questions of your tour guide You will also get to know them and your fellow travelers better. We find the smaller the group, the better and more informed the tour. You may also purchase audio tours where it allows you to do a self guided tour. Then there are the planned larger tours that can cover anywhere from 5- 30 days. The upside to these tours is that they are escorted with almost all the planning done for you. The downside is they do not give you flexibility to change your agenda. You typically book these with a travel agency or tour company that specializes in these types of tours. Everyday is pre-planned with activity and some days have free periods for you venture out on your own or to take a nap. If your transportation from one location to the other isn’t a cruise ship, it will most likely be a bus. Tours can include certain amenities like, pre-paid access to attractions with a guide, hotel rooms and some will also provide several pre-arranged diners when staying over night at a location. Some tours have flights built into their cost but you will be required to take the flight they book you on. On other tours you will be required to book and pay for your own flight.  Ask questions as to what is all included so you do not have any surprises. Nothing more frustrating then arriving at the airport only to find out you have no ticket to your destination hotel or meeting place. In addition to what you may want to consider buying an activity like biking, renting a scooter or other outdoor activities, transportation excursions like a dinner cruise and priority access to certain landmarks.

Various Categories of Tours…

There are tours and activities of any type or size, the options are endless. The characteristic of a tour or activity can address your particular interest or need. You can find tours that are designed to fit you by scrolling down to a specific interest to find tour operators who provide special tours.

Tours listed below come in four different categories.

 Tour & Guide Search…

Some of these are third party operators, such as clearinghouses, brokers and agencies that contract with local or other tour and guide operators. They help you locate a specific tour or guide in an area of your choosing. In addition, you can book a service through these web sites for not just tours and guides but, services for transportation and tickets to activities or events. Please note that while you may book a service through one of these web sites, they are not responsible for the quality of service or its execution. Read the descriptions of each tour and its terms before booking.

Other sites may be the tour companies or operators themselves. They create the agenda contract with accommodations and transportation and provide the guides or escorts for the tours. You will be contracting directly with them for services and booking. Because they control and oversee all the functions of the tours, they are continually recognized by the travel industry with awards for excellence. If you want more local specific tours, please go below to the country listings and find your country. These tours are typically half or full day tours and day trips out and back from major cities. These tours are usually very informative and can be theme specific. Where possible, tour will be listing by types and locations. Some web sites may require you to register as a potential customer before they provide you with information and pricing. Remember, when you register, they ask for personal information like your name, address, phone number and they will always require your email. Make sure they protect your privacy before signing up as web sites may sell your personal information for solicitation. 

Theme Tours

Theme tours can address specific subjects and interest, like events or era specific topics. They may include Architectural, Breweries, Fine Arts, Historic, Industrial, Local Culture & Heritage, Nature, Religious, Vineyards, War & Military and yes even Pub Crawls. I think you get the picture.

Free Walking Tours

Yes we said Free Tours. Many of the major tourists cities have free tours. These are typically walking tours of a small area around sights that are close to one another. They are usually in the oldest part of a city because that’s where most of the historical events have occurred. They are normally 2 – 3 hours in length and some up to 4 hours so, put on the comfortable walking shoes. Almost all include no entry to main sights like museums or cathedrals and provide no transportation.

Here’s how they work; you meet guides at a designated location and time and take the tour. You can go online and book a reservation, some will require reservations, or just show up. They will be wearing t-shirts, hats or have umbrellas and signs with the tour name on them, you can’t miss them. If the group is to large they’ll add another tour guide and split it into two groups. At the end of the tour you can tip the tour guide whatever amount you feel the tour was worth. The guides are usually very entertaining and knowledgeable. They will give an overview on the cities history, important sights, dining and customs. The guides aren’t paid so they will only earn what you tip them. Normal cost on tours is 10 – 12 Euros plus tip so if the tour was good, tip them the €12-18 you would have normally paid for a tour.

The intent is, if the tour was good enough you’ll sign up and do some of their other tours. There’s no high pressure but, they will tell you about the other tours available through their tour company. These are good tours to take on your first day in a city because they will get you familiar with a city and it’s customs quickly.

Some tours in a language may only depart on certain days and times. The daily schedule of some tours can vary depending on the day of the week and the season. Please click on their web pages to confirm the language, day and time you desire is available. Some tours limit the number of people within a tour. Go online and book your spot in advance to guarantee a time and date.

Civitatis

Provider of free tours in multiple city locations. Cities: Alicante, Antwerp, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Belfast, Berat, Berlin, Bilbao, Bologna, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Bruges, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Cadiz, Cannes, Cardiff, Cartegena, Colmar, Cologne, Copenhagen, Cordoba, Dresden, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Florence, Frankfurt, Galway, Gdansk, Ghent, Granada, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kraków, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Naples, Nice, Nuremberg, Oviedo, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Porto, Prague, Riga, Rome, San Sebastian, Salzburg, Santiago de Compostela, Sarajevo, Segovia, Sevilla, Sofia, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Tirana, Valencia, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Zadar, Zagreb, Zaragoza

Sandeman’s New Europe

Provides free waking tours in multiple cities as well as other different categories of tours. Cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Cologne, Copenhagen, Cordoba, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Florence, Granada, Hamburg, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Madrid, Málaga, Milan, Munich, Naples, Nice, Paris, Porto, Prague, Rome, Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla, Split, Venice, Vienna, Zadar, Zagreb

Free Tours by Foot

Provider of free tours in multiple city locations. Cities: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Bruges, Brussels, Budapest, Cologne, Copenhagen, Cordoba, Dresden, Dubrovnik, Florence, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Malaga, Malta, Marseille, Milan, Munich, Naples, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Porto, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam, Sevilla, Sorrento, Split, Stockholm, Venice, Vienna, Zagreb, Zürich

Tour Operators

The web sites below provide information that will help you locate a tour or guide. Some of these are third party operators, such as clearinghouses and agencies that contract with local or other tour and guide operators. They help you locate a specific tour or guide in an area of your choosing. In addition you can book a service through these web sites for not just tours and guides but, services for transportation and tickets to activities or events. Please note that while you may book a service through one of these web sites they are not responsible for the quality of service or its execution. Read the descriptions of each tour and its terms before booking. Always confirm your reservations prior to your date when using third party agencies.

Other sites may be the tour companies or operators themselves, many of which operate tours internationally. You will need to filter their tours for Europe when shopping their sites. They will create the agenda contract with accommodations and transportation and provide the guides or escorts for the tours. You will be contracting directly with them for services and booking. Because they control and oversee most of the functions of the tours they are continually recognized by the travel industry with awards for excellence.

If you want more local specific tours please go below to our ➾ Local Tours Guides page and scroll through the country listings and find your country. These tours are typically half or full day tours and day trips out and back from major cities. These tours are usually very informative and can be theme specific. Where possible, tour will be listing by types and locations.

Some web sites may require you to register as a potential customer before they provide you with information and pricing. Remember, when you register they ask for personal information like your name, address, phone number and they will always require your email. Make sure they protect your privacy before signing up as web sites may sell your personal information for solicitation.

Local Tour Guides

Most local tour guides and operators live locally and many even grew up in the area making their tours more informative and interesting other guides. They take pride in the place they call home and can be a wealth of knowledge. Some may not be natives but, they visited, or came to go to school, in these areas and fell in love with the lifestyle and culture. Check with the local tourist association to see if they are recommended. We have found some of the best local guides through acquaintances who had used their services while traveling in the area.    

Find local listings for tours and guides. All of continental Europe, British Isles, Turkey & Cyprus.