WalknTours App Review: The Best Audio Walking Tours for Families

You know we love a good walking tour. While being guided is usually better, it is not always possible or fits in with the schedule of the teenagers who like to wake up late (or the littles who cannot sit still and stay on other’s schedule). I have found that audio walking tours are a great alternative to seeing things at our own pace while still getting to learn about a city through walking. When in Vegas this January I discovered a new app, WalknTours, and I think our vacations may never be the same. A location aware app that allows you to buy individual walking tours all over the United States and the World. We have used it to explore Vegas, Vancouver and Seattle and I cannot wait to use it to explore even more.

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How I discovered WalknTours

Woman listening to a walking tour in downtown las vegas

When I was in Vegas with my husband while he was on a business trip, I wanted to explore Fremont Street and old Vegas. I had heard so much about it being started by Mobsters, so I was interested in learning more about the history of Vegas. None of the guided walking tours fit my schedule, but some searching found me the app WalknTours. For $7 I could download the Historic Downtown Las Vegas Neon Lights and The Mob Walking Tour. I decided that was my best bet, downloaded the app, and started exploring Fremont Street. I discovered an incredible app that provided location aware information, clear instructions, a map, and cool detours that I would have never expected.

How to Use the WalknTours App

It is free to download the WalknTours App, and you can create an account that is attached to your email. Once you have an account you have the option to purchase individual tours or purchase a year-long membership that provides you with unlimited tours for the year. Once you have downloaded the tour you are interested in, you can look at the tour to find the starting point. At the starting point, you can start the tour. As you listen to the tour, it will tell you where to look, provide you with some interesting stories or history, and tell you the next place to go. In the app you will see the maps. The app uses your phone’s GPS to tell your location and will not start the next part of the tour until you are in the area where it is supposed to start. Missed a turn or got lost? Open the map to see where you are as opposed to where you are supposed to be. You can backtrack, take a side quest, and come back to the tour, or more. Using your own headphones, you are immersed in a world of history coming alive around you. (For my oldest he used his Sony headphones, my husband used his Air Pods, I use my Bose Noise Canceling Headphones, and my daughter uses her Beats.)

Why I love the WalknTours App

Pictures found on WalknTours Tours, a gold nugget in Vegas, a market in Seattle, a statue of Lenon in Seattle, Lees Donuts in Vancouver and a Chinese garden in Vancouver

While the tours cost money (unlike Rick Steve’s), the tours are a little more in depth. But the best piece is the fact that the app is location aware. When using other walking tour apps, you have to pause if you are slower than the narrator, or not yet where you need to be. This app will stop and not start again until you are in the area of the point it wishes to talk about. I also like that some tours have side quests. In the Historic Downtown Las Vegas tour, there was an option to go to the Mobster museum or skip it. There were areas that had more in-depth stories if you were interested. It allowed you to learn more about what you wanted and skip what you did not (or did not have time for). It helps personalize the tour for you.

What Tours I Have Done

We have used three of the tours available.

Things to Look Out For

A woman and two teens with the Fremont Troll in Seattle

Make sure to download the tour on Wi-Fi BEFORE you leave for the tour. My kids did not listen to this advice and starting the Vancouver tour was a rocky start.
The GPS helps but is not perfect. At times it will skip ahead if you enter a new area, and you have to go back to manually listen to the end of the previous item. Or it does not accurately pick where you are, and you have to go in and manually select the point you are at. It happens when GPS or service is spotty, or you have an old phone that just is not handling the GPS properly.
The annual subscription comes with ten free codes to share with people. This seems like a great option for families because you cover the cost of five tours with one annual subscription. However, you can only share one code with each family member, so you cannot use those codes to purchase a few tours as a family.
The tours are generally around $7 – $12 a tour, which is a reasonable cost for a tour that you get to do at your own pace.
WalknTours was kind enough to provide us with a discount code. Use the code Fam20 to save 20% off any purchase on their website!

My teenagers are always on their phones, and I find that if I work with it instead of against it, I can get them to engage more in the vacation. WalknTours lets them engage, learn, and participate in a meaningful way in the trip. Plus, the location awareness allows them to be independent, going at their own pace, and not feeling tied to a group and mom and dad. Thanks to the tour they encouraged us to visit Lee’s Donuts in Vancouver, and explore the Sunday Market in Fremont in Seattle, things we would not have done if not for the tour. The phones are here to stay. Put them to good use and use this app to learn more about the city you are visiting on your next trip.