Best of Both Worlds: Guided Independent Travel with Tour by Locals

~ Seeing the City of of Frankfurt with an expert Guide~

If you travel long enough, you eventually have to succumb to a lousy airplane schedule that leaves you with a long layover. My number was up on a recent trip to France that connected through Geneva and had a layover in Frankfurt. Counting up the numbers, I had an eight hour layover in Frankfurt. I groaned inwardly. Was I really going to spend the better part of a day trapped inside the airport of a foreign city?

Not likely.

An eight hour layover was a perfect amount of time to get out and at least hit the highlights of Frankfurt, turning my slightly unfortunate plane ticket into a mini-vacation to a city I had never explored. My plan was to arrive at the airport, immediately check-in for my later flight to eliminate my baggage, and head into the city.  Because Frankfurt was a new city and my time was somewhat limited, I planned to find a guided tour to make the most of my time.

That’s when my plans hit a snag.

A Solution for the Independent Traveler

Many of the typical city tours started before I was comfortably able to arrive, and the subject matter and focus was unappealing for an independent traveler used to calling the shots. Instead of compromising, I was just about to spend the afternoon wandering around the airport gift shops when a Google search for Frankfurt Layover Tours led me to Tours by Locals.

As a traveler that is somewhat allergic to the typical cattle car tour company, I was instantly attracted to the idea of touring the city with a local.  As I researched further, I knew this was exactly what I needed. With an easy search, I could browse customized tours by a professional who knows the area and could maximize my time and fit my flight schedule. Suddenly my long layover in Frankfurt was less about airport food and German themed tchotchkes, and more about seeing the real city on terms that fit my needs.

Meeting My Local

A four hour tour seemed like the perfect choice to give me ample time to get back to the airport, so I booked the tour with Barbara. Tour by Locals gave me the option of scrolling through their guides and reading their biographies to get a good idea of who would be a good match for me. As a museum tour guide with an interest in the arts, Barbara was a perfect fit, and fortunately, she spoke fluent English (as well as three other languages!)

Once my tour was booked, Barbara contacted me to get a feeling of my interests and expectations, as well as to arrange our meeting location. She suggested that we meet at a well-known subway station in the city, but quickly offered her willingness to meet me at the airport if I was uncertain about navigating on my own. I certainly appreciated the safety net of having her as my guide from beginning to end, but agreed to meet her at the suggested subway station.

After a long overnight flight, I was extremely grateful to meet my guide and let her take the lead, while I sat back and enjoyed the experience. Fiddling with maps and finding my way around a foreign city would not have been fun in my bleary eyed state, and it certainly would not have been as informative. Barbara offered keen insight into the city’s past, present, and future. Having her along was much more like taking a stroll with a knowledgeable friend, rather than enduring the typical tour group spiel. As we traveled, she interjected everything from history to current political climate to real estate prices. When jetlag really began to catch up with me, she knew exactly the coffee shop to visit for the best pastries and hot chocolate, and when I wanted to shop for local souvenirs, she knew where to go, as well.  In total, we covered over five miles of city and saw many of the main sites in downtown Frankfurt. I know I would not have been able to see as much, or learn as much without her by my side.

~Highlights of my tour of the City of Frankfurt with Tour by Locals~

How Tour By Locals Works

Tour by Locals is a tour marketplace that connects travelers with independent, local tour operators. Think of it as the Etsy of tour operators. Tour by Locals essentially serves two customers, the tour guides and the travelers, by providing a place where they can find each other. This allows passionate and knowledgeable locals to offer authentic cultural experiences to travelers in a unique way. Every tour with Tour by Locals is private so you can go at your own pace and customize the tour to your liking. Surprisingly, this individualized experience is extremely affordable. Prices are listed by the tour, rather than by the person, so for a family or group, the prices are actually less than a typical ‘big bus’ tour.  The best part of the experience, though, is right in the name. Taking a tour with a local, a person who calls the city home, is the most eye opening way to get acquainted with a new place. 

~Tour by Locals provided a complimentary tour during my visit to Frankfurt. They did not require that I express a particular viewpoint and all opinions are my own.~