Why are walking tours ‘running tours’?
Do you find walking tours too fast. If you cannot or do not want to keep up, do you risk getting lost in Oz? We’ll help you in this Substack.
I have never been on a walking tour. Shocked? To be clearer, I have never been on a walking tour, when the guide walked and did not run. I have never been on a walking tour, when some breathless folks didn’t get lost. Lets be honest about walking tours; they are money savers for tour companies. They involve one employee, no transportation and few, if any, entrance fees. They conveniently plug into itineraries with convenient timing.
Here are reasons guides rush you.
Phyllis’s Substack for Octo Travelers– the Over 80 Crowd is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber
They follow a set itinerary, no matter the demographics of the walkers.
They cover too many highlights. If the tour brochure describes seeing highlights, guides have to deliver. There might be the person who complains: But I booked this tour only to see storks roost in Rothenberg!
Too long a walk? Most walking tours are 2-4 hours, a stretch for jet lagged Octos or really anyone. Museum tours are usually 90 minutes. 2 hours gives the walking guide time for a route so you don’t see anything twice. 4 hours is for hikes with stops at scenic places.
Too many people in the tour? The travel industry defines 24 as a ‘small’ group. Stretch 24 adults along narrow cobbled streets? There is no way for everyone to hear, see the guide’s maps, ask questions. Because of the cost, whisper sets are usually included only for groups of 10+.
Too much standing around in full sun or unshaded rain? A mystery is why guides do not escort groups into shade when possible?
You cannot hear the guide? You cannot understand the accent? In areas new to tourism; few locals speak English, guides are inexperienced.
Don’t get this wrong, I like a walking tour, if choreographed for normal people. Heaven forbid, you re-tie sneakers or take a photo, you are now in Oz.
A year ago, I went on a Tufts University cruise- go Jumbo. The theme was History of the Mediterranean. The trip was marvelous; the itinerary unusual with areas important to early civilizations. In Sardinia, one choice was a walking tour. The town was hilly, with cobbled streets, large plazas with ornate buildings. It was easy to lose the guide as she turned up a hill or into a courtyard for the famous whatever. Walking tours do not backtrack even it means taking a longer way home. Some participants gave up and lodged themselves in cafes. Not a bad option in Italy.
Is there a way to navigate a walking tour, not get lost and learn something? Yes Ahead of time, make a list of expected highlights, map them electronically as on google my map or put pen to paper. Your guide will likely include these highlights. (Warning guides often add one unexpected spot to make you feel you are an insider).
If the walk is too fast. Catch up, ask for a slower speed and point to the number of ‘back of the bus’ people. I guarantee you need to ask for slow downs many times. Remember guides usually have backs to you; they are restricted by a schedule. Some guides begin talking and/or answering questions before the full group is assembled. Don’t speak up, don’t learn.
Most guides begin their patter with “If you get lost, please be at xxx at xxx time. They might flash a city map. Take a photo of that map. If you have Gothic church blindness, ask the guide for a second landmark; a large shop name is useful. Ask the guide to mark the tour’s end on your map. If the guide is willing to give you a short list of highlights, and timing, great. Timing might be involved if there are admission tickets to a site.
Also, with permission, photo the guide. Why? In tourist mobbed towns (very likely in Florence, Rome, London, Paris you name it), you might join the wrong group. All of us traveling Octos appear to be in the same tribe. Recently one of our group heard others on her flight were also going to Ixtapan. She did not check the group name, boarded their bus, then sat in the only available seat. It was a horrid jump seat. In the meantime, we searched the airport for her…. Consider photographing your bus license, logo or driver unless you want to continue on with new friends from Finland.
Ask the guide where she/he adds a brief stop. Often there is a halt, for instance, to enter a church or taste a pastry. To leave you with a special memory, the biggie stuff is often at the end of the tour. You might be able to wait for the group at the biggie. In hill town, Orvieto, steep streets were lined with gorgeous stores. We lost some of our shoppers. They knew the cathedral was the biggie, so they shopped then waited there.
In areas new to tourism you might get superficially rosy pictures of the area; new guides follow scripts and speak fast. Without being rude, request slower speech or deeper explanations. Guides might not have sufficient English or sophistication to answer questions. In a small Moselle River town, I read a historic sign. In German, it memorialized a famous bookstore, destroyed in 1937. I asked the guide to explain ; she responded it was bombed in the War. Nope, it was burned down by local fascists 2 years before WW2. I said nothing.
Finally if you absolutely cannot manage the walk, ask for a taxi or help returning to the end point. Ask for the name of the best cafe or gelato spot near the end point. Oddly guides count clients on a bus tour, but not usually on a walking tour.
Good luck on your next trip. Do send us your lost in Oz stories!
Below is a walk I created from google my map. Highlights are listed on the left.
Phyllis’s Substack for Octo Travelers– the Over 80 Crowd is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
