Strawberry Tours

A booking site for free walking tours

Strawberry Tours is a website for booking free walking tours, the tip-based kind where there is no upfront price. Its FAQ defines the product plainly: "Free Tours are walks provided by passionate local guides without requesting any upfront payments." Each tour page has a "Guides Leading this Tour" section, and the booking FAQ says "each guide sets their own limit of guests per booking and departure", so the tours are led by individual guides working through the site. The site does not say whether those guides are its employees or independent, or how the site itself is paid.

The homepage headline is "Free Walking Tours Worldwide", with a "See all Cities" link. The cities it highlights as "Most Popular" are Bogota, London, Madrid, Milan, Mexico City and Santiago, each with a review count and rating: London shows 11454 reviews at 4.91, Santiago 2896 at 4.95, Madrid 458 at 4.87, Mexico City 278 at 4.84, Bogota 268 at 4.89 and Milan 224 at 4.91. London is by far the most developed, and the "Most Popular Tours" on the homepage are all London walks. The site is also available in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Polish.

The London tours

Free Jack the Ripper Tour London (2-2.5 hours, 2786 reviews, 4.93). The page promises to "Unveil the secrets of Whitechapel" and explains the history: "from 1888 to 1891, the entire world was shocked by the story of a mysterious murderer who killed five women (or was it more?)." It names the women, Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Kelly, covers the living conditions of the Victorian East End and the range of suspects "from a young waiter to a doctor in the service of the royal family", and ends "in the vicinity of the infamous Ten Bells Pub". The page says even readers of Alan Moore's "From Hell" or viewers of "Ripper Street" will learn new things.

Free Harry Potter Tour London (1.75-2.5 hours, 2222 reviews, 4.88). The route goes past the Palace Theater, where "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" premiered in 2016, Cecil's Court as Diagon Alley, Godwin's Court as Knockturn Alley, Hardy's Sweet Shop with its Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a "Ministry of Magic" stop by the red phone boxes, and Trafalgar Square, which the page calls the scene of the Deathly Hallows Part 2 premiere, "the biggest premiere in British film history".

Free Street Art & Graffiti Tour London (2 hours, 2070 reviews, 4.95). "Most tours will focus on and around Brick Lane", the page says, and cover Banksy, El Mac, Stik, Space Invader, Jimmy Vision and SHOK-1, including the Stik mural of "a couple holding hands" and "the famous giant crane by ROA". It also visits the Truman Brewery, which the page says has stood since 1666, and passes Spitalfields market, where the page traces trade back to the 12th century. The page also sets the scene: Brick Lane is home to a thriving Bangladeshi community today, and was once the heart of London's Jewish community, with the bagel shops still there as a reminder.

Other London walks listed are the Essential Free Tour London Westminster (1800 reviews, 4.85) and the Free City of London Tour (710 reviews, 4.92). Each London tour has versions in the other languages, such as "Free Tour Jack el Destripador Londres Español" and "Free Tour Kuba Rozpruwacz Londyn Polski".

How booking works

Booking is compulsory and free. The FAQ describes the typical guest as "travelers of all ages and backgrounds seeking to enjoy authentic experiences". The homepage FAQ says "It's mandatory to make a booking to ensure group sizes remain manageable and Guides can provide a better experience for all guests. Making a booking is absolutely free and it will take you less than one minute!" Each tour page has a date picker and a "How many people are coming?" selector, and the homepage shows the next departure for each popular tour.

Meeting points are not shown on the tour pages. The FAQ explains: "You will receive the full meeting point details and a map after you finalize your booking, in a confirmation email." After booking, "you will be able to message your guide with any questions that you might have after making a reservation, up until the start of the tour."

For larger groups, the answer is "Maybe!": "each guide sets their own limit of guests per booking and departure", and the way to find out is to select the group size and see which departures are still available.

Paying the guide

"There's no set price; instead, the guides rely on the tips of participants to sustain their livelihoods." The FAQ asks guests to contribute "a fair amount that reflects the value you receive from the tour". It gives no suggested amount, and the tour pages mention no booking fee.

The tour pages lean on reviews, which carry dates and the reviewer's country; one Jack the Ripper reviewer praises a guide named Sam as "exceptionally knowledgeable". The pages also say the Street Art walk has "been designed to accommodate all types of visitors, from avid fans of street art to novices", and that guests will leave "with lots of recommendations for the rest of their stay."

What the site leaves open

The site does not publish a cancellation rule, although with nothing paid upfront the main thing a traveler needs to know is how to cancel a reservation, which the site does not explain. Meeting points only arrive after booking, so it is hard to plan a day around a tour before committing. Group limits vary by guide rather than being stated per tour, and the site does not describe how guides are chosen or checked. Accessibility and what to bring are not addressed on the London pages.

For travelers in London who want a themed free tour, whether Jack the Ripper, Harry Potter or East End street art, Strawberry Tours offers clearly described routes with large review counts behind them and versions in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Polish. Visitors heading to its other cities will want to check the city pages for how much choice there is before counting on it.