How to get FREE Walking Tours in Poland
Free Walking Tours are the cheapest way to get a guided tour in Poland. These tours are made by non-licensed guides. Usually, they do not require booking and they are executed on convenient hours. You can find them nearly in all the big cities in Poland.
FREE walking tours in Poland?
Guiding in Poland is an Open Job!
Anyone can Provide Guiding Services in Poland.
See also: For FREE in Warsaw
Briefly about the FREE walking tours
The tours are made by non-licensed guides on specific times. They also sometimes recruit people and teach them to do those tours.
To be a licensed guide in Poland is very hard and requires a lot of effort, courses, and exams.
Many of the people doing free walking tours are very experienced and have a lot of knowledge.
Certainly, it is the most inexpensive way to see the city, in case you are alone or a couple, even more people.
Usually, you just show up at the starting point, maybe 15 minutes before the starting time.
For example, in Warsaw, they have tours at 10:00, then 11:00 and finally at 13:30.
The duration of the tours is around 2,5 hours. You might be thinking that is not much time, but it is quite long.
Don't expect to just get there totally for Free. It will be rude, but it is totally legal.
It is advertised: «Pay as much you think the tour worth» or «Pay as you wish».
This means you can give to the guide as much you think the tour worth but is very rude to not give anything.
Consider that if you are alone and to get a private professional tour in Warsaw, you need to pay at least €110.
It is a lot of money and not everyone can afford this.
Here is when you better join a FREE tour. It is better than nothing.
Rather than walking alone in the streets with so much history is better to get into a FREE tour and know what you are looking at.
Although it is not necessary to make a booking, it is always better to reserve your spot, because they do not take more than 25 people in a group.
So in case you are not lucky enough and they already have 25 people booked the same tour, you might stay out.
Some free tour examples by Orange Umbrella are:
- World War II in Warsaw 13:30
- Historic Centre Old Town Warsaw at 10:00
- BEST OF WARSAW at 10:00
- JEWISH WARSAW FREE TOUR at 13:30
More companies are doing free walking tours in Warsaw and Poland.
See below. Note that 2 different tours are departing at 10:00 and 2 different tours departing at 13:30.
The two different tours take place on different days, one day they make one and the next day the other.
So you have the chance to make all the 4 tours in two days. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.
The Orange umbrella is recommended and tested to be good.
They start always from Sigismund’s Column, which is this long Column at the beginning of the old town. See the picture below.
Warsaw's Barbican
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Who is performing the free tours?
All the tours are executed mostly by non-licensed individuals who have a lot of knowledge on the subject.
Certainly, the quality of those tours will never touch the quality of a private professional tour by a licensed guide.
To be a licensed guide, you need to go for extended courses and pass exams. Also, you need to renew your license every year and you are paying for this.
If you are a group of more than 3 people, then I highly recommend getting a private professional tour in Warsaw.
Professional tours are made private for your group and this is the reason you need to pay more money, but it's worth at the end.
The highest number of a person in a FREE tour should not exceed the 25 people as specified. But everyone can join the tour on the way.
There are a few different companies that are doing FREE walking tours around Poland.
- Orange Umbrella Free Tour Warsaw. You can reserve your free spot on their website. Tested to be great.
- FREE Walkative Tour in Poland - Check their Facebook Page. They have also individual pages for each city of Poland separate.
- Free Walking Tours Worldwide - Search for the City. Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, and Poznan.
- Many others exist mostly in Polish.
READ: FOR FREE IN WARSAW
Free Walking tours - Summer
Free Walking tours - Winter
READ: Did you Know that These People are Polish?
Warsaw Free Walking Tours by FreeTour
Another page where you can find free walking tours here in Poland and worldwide with some interesting Free tours in Warsaw is FreeTour.
You might find the same tours as mentioned above, but there might be some new ones as well.
They have the tours below in Warsaw
- Jewish Warsaw Free Walking Tour - Book in Spanish or English
- Warsaw Old Town - Organized by Polonia Walking Tours - Book Here in English or Spanish
Remember that although those tours are Free, you must tip the guide.
Διασκεδάστε - Have Fun in Warsaw
What proper Guides Say about the Free Tours
It is true that Free tours damage licensed guides who spend a lot of time reading and making exams in order to get certified.
At the same time, offering «Free Tours» will bring a lot more people and at the end will bring more money.
I know, not everyone is able to afford a professional private tour, which costs around €120 for 3 hours.
Certainly, there are a few differences between the free and the private professional tours to note:
- Start the time of your preference. Free tours depart on a specific time and specific point.
- Private tours are for your group only. In free tours, everyone can join anytime and leave anytime.
- FREE tours are for very small groups and individuals to join.
- The number of people in a free tour is usually up to 25
- Finally, Free tours are made by non-licensed guides.
For example, if you are a group of 5 people, you can book a private tour just for your group. This will cost around €24 per person and it worth it!
Going on a Free Walking Tour is better than nothing. Most of the guides who make FREE tours know their subject very well.
Professional private tours are much better in quality and the guides have bigger and deeper knowledge.
Finally, If you are a group of people, you might even pay less to get a private tour rather than a Free one.
Find your Hotel in Warsaw
READ: Plan a DIY Trip to Poland & Save
What else to do in Poland?
Poland is an amazing country and there are a lot of cities and attractions to discover except the one in Warsaw and Krakow.
Ideas for Poland
In the first place, Poland was the center of the Nazi dirty plans against the Jewish nation.
You must visit a few Nazi Camps and I have the best way's to do it.
You will see that for every professional tour, you will find also how to plan it alone and save money.
Besides, you can take a traditional Polish food and Vodka taste.
Get to know the Polish tradition and why not, learn the secrets of the Polish cuisine?
Perhaps you should also consider taking a tour of Frederick Chopin.
The great composer was strongly related to Warsaw and still, his heart is Warsaw.
Finally, there are two very important sites to see in Poland.
One is green UNESCO, the Bialowieza Forest and the other is the massive Malbork castle.
Enjoy free walking tours in Warsaw old town!
Also free walking tours in Krakow and Other Cities!
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