To the Free Walking Tours About Which I Recently Blogged, 11 More in Europe and 2 in Israel

In a post of several days ago (simply scroll down to find it), I wrote about a new trend in sightseeing: the emergence of free-of-charge, tip-based walking tours in various large cities (Washington, D.C., Barcelona, Vancouver, Toronto). These are quite openly referred to as "tip-based" because participants are expected to tip the tour guide at least $5 to $10 at the end of the two-hour walk, which is considerably less than most travelers pay for the standard, motorcoach-based tour.

To those original four city tours you can now add thirteen others: eleven in western Europe (Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hamburg, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Prague) and two in Israel (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv). They are operated by a company called Sandeman's New Europe ( www.neweuropetours.eu ) from its headquarters in Berlin, and presumably headed by a man named Sandeman. In a sprightly new website, times and starting points for each of the thirteen tours are clearly set forth (like "11am daily from in front of the Starbucks opposite the City Hall on Rathausmarkt in Hamburg").

In other materials reaching me, Sandeman's candidly admits that the free walking tours often serve as marketing tools for several other non-free and more complex tours operated by the same company in the same city. But persons on the free tour are not pressured to buy (like at a timeshare presentation), but are simply and briefly told about the other tours.

Individuals taking a Sandeman's New Europe free-of-charge tip-based tour simply show up without advance reservations at the starting point and at the time indicated. Only if the participants are a group of 10 or more persons must they advise Sandeman's at least 24 hours in advance, and present written proof that they have been accepted.

Sandeman's New Europe is part of what appears to be a rapidly expanding group of free, tip-based tours all over the world, and I'd be grateful to receive news of more. They are not to be confused with the city-sponsored, official, "greeters programs" operated in 21 cities around the world, whose tour guides will not accept tips or any other payment for their services (but sometimes require advance notice of your desire to tour with them). And unlike the guides on the greeters' programs, who are simply residents with a love of their city but no great expertise in leading tours, the tip-based guides have considerable experience and are reputed to have each prepared a hard-hitting and entertaining commentary. Which type of guide you will prefer is a matter of each individual's choice.