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”
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…”
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 .”
Self-guided Bridgerton Bath walk on the Trippy Tour Guide app: Royal Crescent, Assembly Rooms, Holburne Museum, audio in 6 languages. $9, 2 hrs.
“Fun for Bridgeton fans and to be reminded of certain scenes shot in the locations. Great way to wander much of the city centre. A couple of places were pinned in the wrong place and a few of the audio prompts for turns were the wrong way. Check and follow the map. Maybe update with some season 3 and Queen Charlotte titbits. Excellent value at £7 and you can wander at you own pace and stop start as suits you.”
Play a self-guided Birmingham Quest from the Bullring to Birmingham Cathedral, solving puzzles along a 2 mile walk for up to 5 people.
“Thank you for trhe 5* review! So glad you enjoyed your Quest. Hope to see you on another adventure soon!”
Self-guided Cambridge puzzle walk from Great St Mary’s church, 2 miles of clues in the Go Quest app for up to 5 for $37.
“Our family had a great time exploring Cambridge over half term. Some of the puzzles were a bit difficult for the younger kids, but it kept the older kids interested and they actually liked a 'tour' around a city! Will look for more of these in the future.”
Self-guided Chester puzzle quest through Roman streets, city walls, Grosvenor Park and River Dee. Start anytime, play at your pace.
“Clearly well researched activity but way too long and too detailed. Some questions were incredibly hard to even understand how to solve, plus if you do digital then do it all the way. Puzzles and crosswords that requires pen and paper while walking are ridiculous. We ended up skipping a lot of questions.”
Self-guided Brighton quest via app from the Pier to the Royal Pavilion, solving puzzles and trivia for up to 5 for $37.
“Het was best uitdagend, leuk dat het niet te makkelijk was. helaas werd er flink aan de weg gewerkt en waren sommige opdrachten moeilijker bereikbaar”
Every kind of day out, from stone circles to stadium tunnels.
