What is a free tour and how does it work? Concept, price and legal aspect

What is a free tour and how does it work? Concept, price and legal aspect



The free tour concept has generated some confusion and controversy due to growing protests by associations and groups of tourism guides. They claim that such collaborative tours provoke an unfair situation with regard to the official guides as they must be obtained to enable them to exercise their guides, while in the case of free tours.

Before we enter to value the controversy, we will know in depth what a free tour is, how it works, whether or not they are free or nothow much and how it should be paid or whether they are legal. In this video are talking to you about all this.

It should be clarified that three terms that we will use in this article. We do this because of the confusion that the translation of English into Spanish in this term may lead to, although we add two more:

  • 'Walker': traveler or tourist.
  • 'Guru': local guide.
  • 'A guruwalk': a free tour.
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Concept: What is a free tour?

There is no official definition of free tour, but to give it, it could be defined as a free payment tour which is carried out a local guide. These types of tours can last between 1-4 hours (you need even more, although it is usually two hours.

They can be geared towards making a guided tour of the essential places of the city, touring the most emblematic buildings, monuments, parks and streets through the historic centre or town although they are not the only ones. Other types of more specific tours focus on a particular neighborhood or on a specific subject characteristic of that city.

Differences between a free tour and a traditional guided tour (surcharge)

What is a free tour and how does it work?

The difference between a guruwalk and a traditional payment tour resides in the way in which the service is offered by the guide, as the remuneration it receives will be subject to the good experience of the walker. It is quite common for us to be able to see a relaxed atmosphere on tours as people go with a more relaxed attitude, which adds the sympathy of the guru.

Another factor to keep in mind is that a guruwalk can be booked for free, with cancellation also free. This allows you to have greater flexibility in organizing your trip, although if possible, try to warn the guru as soon as possible so that he can organize himself.

And one of the most important differences that gives this service a differential factor is the price. One guruwalk is a free paid tour which means that each walker will give what he considers right after enjoying his guided tour.

What about a free walking tour?

The truth is that a free walking tour is the same as a free tourbut it is specified that the tour will be done on foot. The literal translation would be 'free walking tour' and can be differentiated from other tours of this style by the way in which it is done: on foot, by bike, bus, by boat...



We have reached the point most anticipated by many...legality of this service has aroused much controversyin recent years. As we have mentioned, associations and groups of tour guides have raised their voices considering that this mode of tours entails work intrusism, as well as lowering the price of their work by breaking the current barrier prices. In addition, it is also criticised that since the money received is not considered a payment, the guides do not declare it as a profit to the public administration in each case.

Now let's explain why a free tour is legal and fully compatible with other services such as traditional pay tours. Firstly, the gurus offering a guided tour must count the necessary certificationin accordance with local legislation in which they offer this activity. It should be recalled that it is not in all cities and regions it is necessary to be entitled to offer such a service and that existing certifications are very varied depending on the country in which you are.

With regard to the tax aspect, a guru who is discharged as an autonomous can declare your profits in your quarterly statement, even make receipts by breaking down VAT to walkers when receiving payment.

As far as price is concerned, as it is a service more accessible to the user, the volume of reservations received by a free tour is higher than the one who receives the traditional one. That means that there are more walkers with a profit potential that can outweigh closed pay per tour.

How does a free tour work?

Once we are clear what free tours are, now let's see how they work and what the walker should do so you can enjoy this service. Actually, the process is really simple because, once you are clear your destiny. All you need to do is go to the city page, choose a tour and book.

If you are clear your destiny but you want inform you a little more in-depth about the city you are going to visit, there are usually very complete articles (e.g.What to see in Rome?) which will help you filter the theme of the tour you want to do.

Let us give a couple of examples to make it clearer.

Book a free tour in Rome

Visit Rome in a different way

Your destiny is Rome: This is not the first time you are going and you are interested in getting to know more about a specific part of the city:The Vatican and St. Peter. This would be the process:

  1. Go to the free tours in Rome.
  2. Choose a guruwalk that fits your choice.
  3. Select a date from the tour options.
  4. Make your reservation for the number of people you go.
  5. Go to the meeting point and enjoy the experience.

Book a free tour in Barcelona

Know Barcelona as a local

First time that visits Barcelona and you want to see the essential and most emblematic places of the city, a first contact with Barcelona culture. In this case, we should:

  1. Go to the free tours in Barcelona.
  2. Choose a guruwalk that fits your choice.
  3. Select a date from the tour options.
  4. Make your reservation for the number of people you go.
  5. Go to the meeting point and enjoy the experience.

There are some walkers who have once taken the first free tour to get to know the city, reserve a second guruwalk more specific on a theme or neighborhood of the city.

Free Tour por el Casco Antiguo de Barcelona (Barrio Gótico y el Borne)
DonkeyTours Barcelona

Free Tour of the Old Town of Barcelona (Gothic Quarter and Borne)

4.83(11288)

The old town of Barcelona hides one of the best preserved medieval treasures in Europe....

Book in GuruWalk
Artista Tours

🥇The most complete tour of Barcelona!🥇

4.8(1391)

This is the most complete and original tour in Barcelona, where you will discover ...

Book in GuruWalk
Free tour por Montjuïc (la montaña mágica de Barcelona)
Smile Tours

Free tour of Montjuïc (the magical mountain of Barcelona)

4.83(337)

We invite you to know a perfect conjunction between nature, history and architectural beauty: ...

Book in GuruWalk

Where and at what time? Meeting point!

If you've already booked your free tour, the next thing you need to do is prepare to enjoy your tour and point out both the time and the meeting place. Normally, being ten or five minutes earlier is enough to start the tour smoothly. Out of respect for the walkers who have arrived at their time, it is normal that no one is expected and the guruwalk to start on time. If you are delayed, you will always be able to contact the guru to ask where they are to re-hook.

**We advise you to try to be punctual because, that way, you can enjoy the entire tour and give you time to see more things.

The meeting point is usually an easily accessible place in the city center where you have booked the free tour. Normally, the guru will tell you the color of the umbrella it will use to make it easier for you to identify it in the meeting point, but there are some who even say how they are going to be dressed to make it easier to find you.

How many people can participate?

There are no exact figures, but is normal not to exceed 35 people on a free tour. That does not mean that there will never be more, but the gurus prefer not to exceed that number as they seek a more personal and closer deal with walkers. In fact, it is so flexible that you can see guruwalks of 4-5 people also since it is the local guide itself that puts the minimum number of people that must be confirmed.

So... are we talking about a free tour that is not free?

If you've gotten here, I think you'll know the answer. The free tour is not free but when translating this term it is done wrongly (free tour). What is free (free) is to book on our platform, as well as cancelling or not attending (if you are not going to go to the guruwalk, warn the guru! It is a detail that you will thank you very much).

The key to this explanation is simple, they are not free because the service offered by a local guide is the same or better than that you can receive on a paid tour. The guide is passionate about what he does, but also awaits remuneration is why, although it is obviously not mandatory, to leave money at the end of the tour. Like anyone else, the guru needs to pay his bills and has its expenses, it is logical to think that his work deserves reward (variable, but reward).

How much is you paid on a free tour?

Local guide in Valencia


It is one of the doubts that the walker can have when making a payment. No fixed price per walker when paying to the local guide as some give between 12€ and 15€, another 20-30€ or some even €50. The average is usually around 12 euros.

The contribution is adapted to the experience you've lived through during the guided tour as well as the economic capacity of each traveller. There will be some who consider 10€ something fair, others who consider it a little, and others too much. It is common for families travelling with young children not to pay for them, saving money from paid tours that do not cover this.

Is the price of the tour tickets included?

The price of tickets to museums, exhibitions or any site where you have to be paid in order to access. The walker will pay the entrance but it is always warned in the description of the tours if there is an activity that is paid on the tour. Similarly, if during the free tour you have to take public transport, it is normal for each person to pay their ticket in order to take the bus, tram, or metro.

Can I take a free tour anywhere in the world?

It depends on, but we like to think that yes. At GuruWalk, we want to expand this way of knowing new cities around the world. Initially, it only existed in Germany but over the years, it is becoming increasingly common to meet free tours anywhere in the world. Not only in countries such as Spain,Italy,United Kingdom,PortugalorGreecebut also in America (Colombia,Peru,United States,Mexico...), Asia (Vietnam,Japan,India...), Oceania (Australia...), or Africa (South Africa,UgandaCongo...).

This means that anywhere in the world, there is a local guide wanting to teach your city. You can do so through our platform. The limit lies in everyone's curiosity when it comes to exploring the world in which we live. Compare free key tours before deciding which bookings.

Many official guides choose to offer paid tour and free tours, combining both services in their day-to-day lives. If you want to know more about how to create your first tour or how our community of guides works, you can see it on this page:How to get a guide to free tours? If you want work as a tour guide anywhere in the world, this is your chance.


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