Touring a city is one of the most enjoyable, unique, and memorable activities to do when visiting a new place—or even if you’ve lived in the city for years.
A walking tour, more than any other kind of tour, is one of the best ways to explore a city. It gives you the opportunity to really get to know its personality. You get to stop, fully take in the surroundings, and hear about the city’s storied past.
Wander Spokane, Spokane’s premiere tour operator, has offered a variety of public walking tours since its inception in 2018. Some of these will still be offered. However, an exciting change is on the horizon.
In the near future, Wander Spokane will move towards personalized tours, tailor-made for you and your group.
Why Choose a Walking Tour?
You can find public walking tours in most cities across the nation and in other countries. In fact, some walking tours are famous—think Boston’s Freedom Trail, where 4 million people tour every year. That’s a busy trail!
Walking tours offer variety. You can find a range of walking tours depending upon your liking:
Free, paid, or pay-what-you-think
Guided or self-guided
Public or private
Themes include historical, haunted, culinary, or cultural.
Guided walking tours are a popular choice because they give you a new perspective of the city you are exploring. A local tour guide is able to take you on an excursion that shows you the city as it is now and also lets you experience the history of the city as you are walking.
This creates a 2-in-1 experience as you explore—walking in the present and in the past of a city.
Your tour guide can also take you into hidden spaces or delightful alleyways. These are places you wouldn’t normally see when exploring the city on your own or even be able to physically fit into if on a driving sightseeing tour.
As a local, your tour guide wants you to experience the city in a unique way. This means they not only know all the ins and outs of the city but also love it and want to share that passion with you. This creates an engaging and entertaining outing for you and your tour group.
Excursions That Reflect What You Value
Walking tours give you the comfort of knowing your values are embedded into the experience. When traveling or planning a fun outing, you don’t leave who you are behind. What you value at home, is what you value when choosing a tour.
A walking tour supports the local economy.
Most walking tour operators are local business owners. They are giving back to their community by offering a service that highlights the local culture, history, and flavor of their city. They are making a difference locally and by choosing them, you are too!
A walking tour is environmentally friendly.
While other types of sightseeing tours use transportation that puts pollutants into the air, a walking tour is naturally eco-friendly. With global warming a significant topic in tourism, walking tours are a great choice for the environment--they are already a sustainable part of the city's ecosystem.
A walking tour promotes a healthier you.
Although you won’t be walking the entire time, you will get some exercise! More than that though, a walking tour gets you outside, breathing fresh air, looking up to the sky, and interacting with others. Connection with nature and with people are two of the most healthy things we can do for ourselves. Studies show that even being in “urban nature” can boost one’s mood and levels of happiness! Doesn’t that sound like walking tours = happiness? Yes!
So What Is a Personalized Walking Tour?
Open-to-the-public tours can be a lot of fun and are informative, of course. But imagine being able to enjoy a tour customized to your liking—a tour based on your interests, desires, and even your group dynamic.
A personalized walking tour is a private tour that is uniquely designed for you and your group.