Britain · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
Good self-guided tours fill up weeks ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Step behind the scenes at Emirates Stadium with an Arsenal audio guide, visit the dugout and tunnel, then explore the Arsenal Museum in 90 minutes.
“Thoroughly enjoyed the experience well worth the money. Definitely recommend 👍🏻”
Roman Baths in Bath with an audio guide, museum highlights, costumed Romans, and spa water tasting from a 43-mineral tap.
“Superb! The Audio-guides allow you to get so much more out of the experience. Very informative and did mean you didn't have to spend so much time reading boards etc. This made for a more 'comfortable' viewing”
Explore Canterbury Cathedral with an audio handset, classic cloisters, historic Chapter House, stained glass, gardens, and exhibitions in one day.
“The audio guide was both informative and easy to follow. It offered the suggested route to follow, natural breaks or segments which gave you to option pause and absorb.”
Explore Churchill War Rooms and political London with self-guided audio. Walk underground history and visit 15 landmarks with an e-ticket.
“It was a great little attraction. We spent about an hour and a half touring the war rooms - recommended to everyone.”
Walk St James Park and The Mall, then skip lines at Buckingham Palace. Audio guide plus royal collection rooms in about 2.5 hours.
“Great tidbits of in formation before touring the Palace. Tour did say you will tour St.James Park, but it really was just walking through it. Set aside time before or after to explore the park on your own.”
A self-guided audio walk across Bristol, from Bristol Bridge to the Docks, with Banksy art, markets, and geofenced stories for $6.
“Great way to see the city. Liked that we could go at our own pace and stop where we wanted to.”
A 2-hour self-guided Notting Hill walk by app, with movie photo stops, 20+ audio points, and directions from Gate to Westbourne Park.
“I really enjoyed this self-guided Notting Hill walking tour. The app was easy to use and took me to all the key spots, including famous locations from the Notting Hill and Love Actually movie scenes, plus so much more. A great way to explore the area at your own pace and really soak in the charm of the neighbourhood. Highly recommended!”
Timed Buckingham Palace State Rooms entry plus the Royal London audio app, exploring 19 rooms in about 2 hours with self-paced stops.
“Veel te duur voor wat er geboden wordt. Versailles is goedkoper, en er is veel meer te zien. Is het geld echt niet waard om 5 kamertjes te bekijken”
Walk London’s Harry Potter film spots with an app, from Platform 9¾ and the Millennium Bridge to real Diagon Alley at Leadenhall Market.
“Tour molto interessante e carino, si riescono a vedere scorci di Londra mentre si ha l’opportunità di immergersi dietro le quinte di Harry Potter. Difficoltà nel sincronizzare il tour con l’audio guida ed il gps. Proverò sicuramente a riprendere da dove l’ho interrotto.”
A 45-minute Oxford city and universities walk with a live English guide and Vox City audio routes, covering High Street, Bodleian, and more.
“It really gave a fantastic peek into the history of Oxford in all its glory warts and all. It left you wanting to explore more yourself and dig deeper into the aspects that really stood out. We have to come back to visit Oxford. So much more to see and do. Excellent!”
Short Avon cruise on an Edwardian boat plus a self-guided Stratford audio tour with multilingual commentary and big river views.
“I enjoyed seeing the sights, from the Avon & listening to the audio, giving us some interesting facts about, very relaxing .”
Self-paced Isle of Skye driving tour from Portree with the Trippy Tour Guide app, 30+ narration stops at Loch Fada to Quiraing.
“Complete and utter waste of money. I did everything advised. I downloaded the maps beforehand, turned off WiFi and data. All I got was the intro, no driving instructions. Tried driving, nothing. Turned data back on, nothing. A couple of years ago I used a similar app for Route 66. It was plug & play. No faffing, it just worked, unlike this rubbish. In the end we just used our Airbnb hosts instructions direct into Google Maps. Worked perfectly. TBH the app's Californian twang would sound stupid touring the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Surely a soft local accent isn't too hard to accomplish? Then again, in my experience they…”
Self-guided London history tour app with 30+ audio stops in 3 hours, from Sky Garden and the Tower to Borough Market and St Paul's.
“Nous n’avons pas pu terminer le tour l’application a eu un bug en plein milieu et impossible de finir… très déçu”
App-guided Stonehenge walk with admission included. Enjoy a self-paced 2-hour visit with interactive maps, solstice stories, and skip-the-line entry.
“There were no headsets to use for app guide and no clear instructions on alternatives. Stonehenge was crowded and even more so at the closest point. Sadly both impacted the experience. Since we booked a time, I did not expect the volume of people.”
A 2-hour app guided walk through Bath’s icons, from Royal Crescent and Roman Baths to Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, Holburne Museum, and Jane Austen sites.
“Audio was in heel veel talen beschikbaar en zeer duidelijk. Beter zou zijn om vooraleer te starten , reeds een 10 tal locaties op de kaart van bath te zetten waar men kan starten. Wij bezochten vooraf de Romeinse baden en gingen dan naar het opgegeven startpunt van de tour , ongeveer 2 km naar het noorden van de stad. Daarna de hele weg terug als onderdeel van de wandeling. Indien we dit geweten hadden, zouden we de audiowandeling gestart hebben aan de Romeinse Baden .”
Every kind of day out, from stone circles to stadium tunnels.
