Can a free tour really compete with a shore excursion offered by the cruise line?
My 7-night Anthem of the Seas cruise would take me to the Spanish town of La Coruna, and I was looking at ideas for what tours to book.
Usually I book a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean or simply explore on my own. Before I could pick one of these options, one of our readers, Leeor, emailed me with an alternative.
"I thought you might want to try a free walking tour for Bilbao and Coruna," he wrote in his email after hearing about my cruise plans.
"Those tours are with local guides who love their city, are tip based, and are a great way to make the most out of a short visit. They usually last about two hours and my wife and I always do one when we first get to a new European destination."
I have to admit, I was skeptical because I worried how good a completely free shore excursion could really be. However, it sounded like the perfect introduction to a port I've never been to before. Plus, it was only 1 or 2 hours, so it was a very low barrier to entry.
I went ahead and booked my tours through GuroWalk, which lists a few different tours in each of the cities. Sure enough, they're free and all you have to do is book it in advance via the website or app.
The "catch" to these tours being free is you're encouraged to tip at the end based on the quality of the tour.
I booked a walking tour in Bilbao and La Coruna, although the Bilbao tour got cancelled a couple days before my reservation because the guide was sick. I ended up exploring Bilboa on my own and had a great time.
Once the tour is confirmed, you get an email with where to meet and who to look for. Transportation is on your own, but this tour advertised as being good for cruise ship guests and it was a very short walk from where Anthem of the Seas docked to the the statue of María Pita meeting spot.
The confirmation email also has a link to Google Maps to be able to easily get walking directions to where to meet. Because I bought an eSim for this cruise, I was able to easily use my phone around Europe without costly roaming charges.
Sure enough, about 10 minutes before the tour began, the guide was waiting where he said he'd be with an orange umbrella.
Our guide, Cesar, greeted me and said we'd wait for the others. He indicated he expected about 9 of us in total, although only 5 would end up showing.
Cesar lives in a suburb of La Coruna, and he does these tours on a volunteer basis. I asked him how many people usually show up for them, and he said it varies considerably, but the groups are much larger at the peak of summer in June and July.
Joining me on the tour was a solo French tourist and a three people from England on a motor bike tour of Europe.
Cesar had a speaker with him, but did not need it given how small the group was. He started by explaining the significance of the plaza we were meeting at, and why there's a giant statue of María Pita. She's the heroine of the city who helped defeat an English attack in the 16th century.
Cesar carefully explained the details of each site we would visit, pointing out the historical significance, architectural intricacies, and other facts about the area.
Although he apologized for his English, I thought he was very easy to understand and extremely knowledgeable. In fact, I was blown away how much he knew. Being a free tour, I was expecting someone who was a walking Google Map at best, but he knew lots of details and clearly was well-versed in the information.
I was also leery of a glorified sales pitch, but once again, he had no angle or anything he was pushing.
We took a very leisurely pace through the old city of La Coruna, and made at least 9 stops that I could count.
We visited historic churches, military buildings of significance, scenic overlooks, and famous spots.
The tour took 2 hours, although he volunteered to keep going longer. I would have taken him up on the offer, but it was 12:30pm and I was getting very hungry for lunch. To his credit, he provided a Google Map link with all of his favorite restaurants in the area.
At the end of the tour, I tipped him €20, although I observed others were tipping about €10 per person.
I was very impressed by this tour offering, and I think Leeor is definitely right these are great introductions to any European city to get a sense of the place before you venture off on your own.
If you're someone who wants to get a walking tour of a city, GuruWalk seems like a really good choice.
During our tour, we passed other tours that were significantly larger groups and clearly from the cruise ship. I can't speak to what they may have included beyond the walking tour, but I felt good about my choice in tours.
As an example, the "Historic Old Town Stroll" shore excursion offered by Royal Caribbean costs $50.99 per adult ($30.99 per child) and its description sounds exactly like what we saw on our free tour.
The downsides to the GuruWalk tours are there's no telling how big your group will be, nor who your guide will actually be. And there may only be one or two tours offered that fit for a cruise ship visitor.
Moreover, these are quick walking tours. If you're looking to see more than a few square blocks, a paid cruise ship shore excursion might be a superior choice.
But if you're looking to get a look at what makes the city you're visiting interesting and then go off on your own after, these might be a good option for a city port visit.
