FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Most frequent questions and answers
Can I combine Tours or create a special itinerary?
Yes, of course. We can create a unique tour tailored to your interests, your time and your special requirements. If this is the case please contact us and we will be glad to help.
Do you offer tours for families with kids, or for people with special needs?
Yes, we do. If you wish to design a special tour, adjusted to young children or to people with special needs, please contact us and we will be glad to help.
How do we move around during the tour?
All our tours are walking tours with public transportation where needed. Most of the tour we just walk from site to site. In some tours we need to get from one area to another and we do that using Berlin’s excellent public transportation.
Do you offer tours with a car and is it recommended?
We also offer tours with a dedicated car and driver. We use a Mercedes Minivan Service with a professional driver. This allows the guide to sit with the guests and focus on the tour itself rather than on driving. This also means that we don’t have to worry about parking and the car drop us off and pick us up exactly where we want to.
In some cases we can offer a car without a designated driver. Some of our guides have the special license (“P-Schein”) that allows them to take passengers.
But is a dedicated car really necessary?
For most tours, and for most guests, a walking tour is the best option. If you wish to see the city, the best way is to walk on foot. Our tours are designed so that we can walk slowly from site to site.
In those cases where sites are too far from one another to cover the distance on foot, we use Berlin’s excellent public transportation. The same goes for the beginning of the tour when we go from your hotel to the starting point of the tour.
If you prefer not to use the public transportation we could also get a taxi. Even if we use a taxi for two or three legs during the tour, it will still be less expensive than having a dedicated car for the entire tour.
We recommend using a dedicated car in the following cases:
- Some group members have a physical disability that makes walking difficult.
- You plan a special tour with many sites spread around the city. In this case, having a dedicated car allows you to see more sites in a short time.
- In the winter when it is very cold or in the summer when it is very hot – and you are willing to pay the extra cost.
- For tours that include sites in a relatively remote area, it may be useful to have a car for that part of the tour and then continue on foot.
- When this is your preference, regardless of other considerations.
If you decide on booking a dedicated car, please keep in mind that in order to see the sites we would still have to go out of the car then back in, sometimes quite often. Additionally, if we go into a museum the car would simply wait outside for that period of time.
In the end it all depends on your special needs and preferences and on the tour itinerary. If you are considering having a dedicated car we recommend that you contact us and we will be glad to advise you on your best option.
Do you offer shore excursions from Warnemünde / Rostock Port?
Yes, we do. If you come on a cruise-ship tour and would like our driver to meet you at the port, take you to Berlin for a tour of your choice and then bring you back, just contact us and we would be glad to help.
Please bear in mind, that Warnemünde Port is about 3 hours drive from Berlin. This means that your touring time in Berlin has to be used wisely. The car will stay with you for the entire day to enable you to make the best of the time and still be back on time to meet the ship.
Is Berlin safe? Is Pickpocketing an issue?
Berlin is a relatively safe city and in general you can feel safe walking around the city during day and night without worries.
Having said that, there are some areas with a higher crime rate, especially on weekends and late at night. Alexanderplatz is one of those areas and so is the area around Warschauer Straße train station, and some areas in the neighborhood of Kreuzberg like Kottbuser Tor and Görlitzerpark.
Even those areas are not such that one should avoid them altogether, but one should exercise caution especially late at night.
Pickpocketing is not as bad as in some other cities but one should pay attention especially when in crowded places. We would recommend adopting the following precautions:
- Don’t put your wallet in the back pocket of your pants. It makes life easier for thieves.
- When riding the S-Bahn or U-Bahn, if the train is full, watch over your bags, and make sure its properly closed. It may be a good idea to hold your bag in front rather than on your back. And avoid from holding your mobile phone when standing close to the doors. It has happened before that thieves just snap your phone from your hands and jump out of the car seconds before the doors close.
- In cafés and restaurants, beware of leaving your phone on the table unattended. It has happened that thieves pretend to be tourists, enter a café, put a map over the table and ask for directions. At the same time they snap your phone from under the map. Beware of such tricks.
Have a look at the following videos to help you avoid some of the common tricks.
Where do you pick us up and where do you drop us off?
We normally meet our guests at the lobby of your hotel at a time of your convenience. However, if you prefer us to meet you elsewhere, just let us know. It’s totally up to you.
In some cases, when the available time is short and your hotel is far from the touring area, we may recommend meeting closer to the starting point of the tour, to save on time.
We can end the tour at any location you desire. However, travel time has to be calculated into the length of the tour. In order to allow you to make the best of the time, we recommend that we end the tour in a central location close to the last site on the itinerary. Your guide will be happy to explain how to get back from there to your hotel or to any other site you wish to go to after the tour.
Does the tour include a break for lunch/coffee and snack?
On tours longer than 4 hours we usually recommend taking a short break for rest and for coffee and snack. We would normally not recommend sitting for a full lunch as this would take too much time from the tour itself.
However, in the end this is all up to you. If you do not wish to take a break at all, this is fine with us. If you wish to enjoy a leisurely lunch, this is fine with us as well.
Can I choose my guide?
Yes, you can. If you are already familiar with one of our guides and wish to book her or him personally, just let us know. If she or he is not already booked on that day, we will be glad to oblige.
What are your payment options?
We are using a very well established booking service, which allows using all major credit cards for payments.
If you wish to pay cash at the day of the tour you may do that. In that case, just contact us and we will finalize everything over email and send you a final booking reservation for your approval. You can then pay cash to our guide at the day of the tour.
What is and what is not included in the cost of the tour
The payment includes one of our professional guides who will take you on a tour of your choice, with a group of your choice, for the length of the time that was booked.
What is not included in the payment?
- Public transportation tickets.
- Food and drinks.
- Gratuities.
What is your cancellation policy?
You may cancel free of charge and get a full refund up to 7 days prior to the date of the booked tour.
If you cancel your booking 6 to 3 days prior to the date of the tour you may still get a 50% refund.
There will be no refund for cancellations under 72 hours prior to the tour.
Do you offer tours outside of Berlin?
Yes! Aside from our regular tours to the city of Potsdam (just 24 km south-west of Berlin) and to Dresden the capital of Saxony (180 km from Berlin), we can offer special tours to the cities of Leipzig, Hamburg, Wittenberg Lutherstadt, and many more cities. Contact us and we would be glad to help!
Can I keep my Kippa/Yarmulke?
The Germans have a special word for this – Jein. It is a juxtaposition of ja (yes) and nein (no). In other words, the answer is yes and no.
This issue has been a subject of much discussion and opinions and is related to the much larger issue of antisemitism in general.
To make things simple – we would say that in central areas, where tourists usually go, there should not be any problem in wearing your Kippa in open. It will most probably go totally unnoticed.
The decision is in the end up to you.
Is a visit to Potsdam and Park Sanssouci recommended during the winter?
The city of Potsdam, located just 24 km south-west of Berlin, and sometimes referred to as the ‘Versailles of Berlin’, makes for a beautiful day trip out of Berlin. The main attraction – although not the only one – is Park Sanssouci, designated a World Heritage Site, where Frederick the Great built his palace and other impressive structures.
Beautiful as Potsdam and Park Sanssouci is in the summer, it is much less impressive in the winter months.
In the winter months, trees are without leaves, there are no flowers, the marble statues are covered with wooden structures to protect them from possible freezing temperature, and the fountains are inactive. The palace is still open to the public but the opening hours are more limited and some other structures are closed.
It therefore makes for a much less attractive visit.
One can visit Park Sanssouci in the winter but you need to be aware of the conditions and adjust your expectations accordingly.
Below you can see Sanssouci Palace and the famous terraces in the summer as well as in the winter, to give you a visual impression.
