Paying to go on a walk

[miss direct]

I suppose I mean guided walks. Do you ever go on them, and if you do, what do or would you be willing to pay?

When I went to Berlin I went on a great alternative walking tour, which took us to interesting places around the city and you tipped whatever you wanted.

Here in Istanbul the only one I've done and paid for is one where we went up on the roof of the Grand Bazaar and round all the hans - hard to find on your own...but did feel a bit disgruntled that the woman who "guided" us (literally just showed us the way - no explanations or anything) earned hundreds of pounds to just walk around.

Friends of mine are really keen and are going on another one on Saturday but I know all the places and could just walk there on my own without having to pay to do it. I suppose I am just doomed to walk around alone...

 

[Plumdaff]

I went on a music walking tour of the Lower East Side in New York which was great, as well as pointing out places that I don't think I'd have spotted by myself the guide was really knowledgeable about the wider history of the area and covered stuff like the Tompkins Park Riot and gentrification.

I've also been on some very variable walks in the UK - at the very least you get an interesting stroll.

 

[Orang Utan]

What's to stop you tagging along and eavesdropping?

 

[miss direct]

ha....well it's only a small group so I'd be noticed

 

[editor]

I'd never pay for a guided walk. I don;t think I'd like the feeling of being in a bundle of tourists being taken around a city.

I prefer to amble around and see what takes my fancy and if I miss something amazing, well, so be it.

 

[CharlyCoin]

I totally agree with editor… I hate being stuck in a group of tourists where I have to follow the planned route of the guides. I prefer walking by my own or with my friends and choosing only things I really want to see Furthermore, it is far more cheaper and if I really need to know something about a historical building, person and so on, I could read the description (if available) or look it up in my smartphone

 

[hash tag]

Guided walks can show you things you would otherwise have missed.
I am a Londoner through and through. I live close to the centre. I once went on a guided tour of London loos,
which was fine except for the fact that I was being shown around my own city by someone who was not even
British! But, said and done, I did see some things that I would never have otherwise discovered.

 

[spanglechick]

We went on a gourmet walking tour of the Lower East Side of Manhattan - which was worth it because the woman guiding it had a deal with all these shops and restaurants to have tasty treats for us when we stepped through the door. A Chinese dumpling or two, some cheeses, a cannoli... Yum.

 

[bi0boy]

I often overhear tour guides around here and they seem to spout common myths and misconceptions as if it were secret knowledge worth paying for.

 

[chilango]

I've paid for mountain guides once or twice if that counts?

 

[pogo 10]

Am in a walking group and we meet up every few weeks, its 1 pound membership for a year. I usually take a couple of quid as we stop for a drink when the walk has finished. Quite fancy doing the santiago camino as my friend did it and although she got lost had a great time. I googled it and guides cost a fortune.

 

[Maggot]

I've got a friend who does guided walks. His walks are informative, funny and original, yet it has always been just a sideline for him as people tend to be reluctant to pay. It's usually about £5 for 90 minutes of entertainment, which is cheaper than going to the cinema or a football match.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

I'd never pay for a guided walk. I don;t think I'd like the feeling of being in a bundle of tourists being taken around a city.

I prefer to amble around and see what takes my fancy and if I miss something amazing, well, so be it.

I prefer to amble around myself also. However, guided tours can be great entertainment, good fun, a nice way to meet fellow travellers, educational and informative. It is a very good way to get an 'insiders' overview of a city before taking your own time to see your own stuff.

A €5 tip for a Two hour tour is fantastic value.

 

[hash tag]

Had I not paid to go the loo tour, I would never have known this existed ( it's off of Fleet Street)

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Had I not paid to go the loo tour, I would never have known this existed ( it's off of Fleet Street)

Handy ally in which to relieve oneself?

 

[LDC]

If anyone goes to Barcelona I'd highly recommend they do this guided history tour Spanish Civil War tours in Barcelona

I've done it a few times now, and every time it's excellent and well, well worth it.

 

[sim667]

I always think a walking tour is a good thing to do first, it helps you get your bearings, see the basic sights of the area, work out places you might want to go back to....

for 2-3 hours I normally give £10..... £5 if its a bit shit

 

[hash tag]

The whole idea of that think is to stop people relieving themselves. It's a Victorian urine deflector.

 

[hash tag]

Au cointreau, It's designed to stop people relieving themselves: it is a Victorian urine deflector.

 

[editor]

We went on a gourmet walking tour of the Lower East Side of Manhattan - which was worth it because the woman guiding it had a deal with all these shops and restaurants to have tasty treats for us when we stepped through the door. A Chinese dumpling or two, some cheeses, a cannoli... Yum.

Everything is described as 'gourmet' in Manhattan

 

[hash tag]

Some paid walks I would be happy to go on, bad sadly I am working nights that weekend. Blue Plaque walks; sounds interesting and a different angle on London Guided blue plaques walks in London | English Heritage

 

[quimcunx]

I would not have found the soho noses without a guide.

 

[miss direct]

I actually went on a very good guided walk in Birmingham a few weeks ago, it was called the dark side of Birmingham and was about haunted places, murders, the black death etc. Even though I grew up there, I learned a lot and the guide was a good performer and worth the money (£5).

 

[toblerone3]

Went on an interesting paid walk of wall art and murals in Shoreditch the other day. While it was slightly embarrassing to be a photo-snapping tourist for an hour, I did learn quite a lot from the guide and the murals/wall art are quite amazing. I do usually prefer designing my own walks though.

 

[Vintage Paw]

I went on a sponsored walk once. Does that count? In reverse, I guess.

Sponsored walks. Bless. Them were the days.

 

[Part 2]

I'm one of those people who walks around aimlessly, probably missing a lot of important stuff. Went to Milan recently and put my 15 year old through his paces 3 days running doing the 'shall we turn left or right' routine until we were well and truly lost.

The only guided walk I ever went on was in Prague where the woman leading it was rubbish and after only a few minutes we could see people dropping out. We bailed soon after to save the embarrassment of being the last ones stuck with her.

 

[dessiato]

I've taken students on walking tours. I used to go from Buck House to Trafalgar Sq. then down to Westminster before finishing up at the Eye. The amount of time and effort that goes into such a walk is enormous. It can take a day of planning. Any tips would have been gratefully received.

 

[Sirena]

I've taken students on walking tours. I used to go from Buck House to Trafalgar Sq. then down to Westminster before finishing up at the Eye. The amount of time and effort that goes into such a walk is enormous. It can take a day of planning. Any tips would have been gratefully received.

A couple of friends of mine are professional walk/bus guides and that's how they make their living.

The company organizing the walks might make good business money but my friends don't make much out of that.

One thing I would say is that they both take their jobs really seriously. They have to study hugely for each walk/tour and they're always scouting around for other odds bits of esoteric information to make their walk more interesting.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Been on a couple through the Museum of London, which were great, especially one which involved singing!

Also went on a very informative walking tour of the old Jewish quarter and ghetto in Krakow where I learnt a lot.

So yes though I like wandering round in my own, getting lost (we once walked round the old walls of Istanbul on our own, that was immense! ) I think a good guided tour, especially on a theme, can be worth it

 

[Greebo]

After voluntarily taking a few groups on a guided tour of this estate last autumn, IMHO paid guides earn every penny.

Even if you're passionate about the subject of the tour and really like people, it can be physically tiring and wearing on the nerves. You need the eyes of a hawk to notice stragglers and strugglers before they fall too far behind, and trying to keep a group together without too many distractions requires more diplomacy than some might expect. That's before you take into account the fact that a lot of the guides in tourist areas have had to learn their stuff, in depth, in more than one language, and they're expected to approach every walk as if it's a fresh performance.