I wanted to get an overview of Berlin on my first day and all of the hop on/ hop off busses got…read morenegative reviews and frankly looked way too touristy for me. I was delighted when I found the reviews for Jens' magic bus berlin business. I was able to book a 2+ hour tour of the city with Jens for myself, my sister and my Mom. It was so fun driving around in his 1970s restored van and getting a personal tour of the city from someone who was knowledgeable about the city's history and could give us his own stories about growing up in Berlin when the wall was still up. Jens started the tour with a brief history of the city and then we took off. Along the way he did a great job of showing up photos of "before" photos to give us a sense of how much the city has changed. He also pointed out all the places where the wall had previously stood as we drove around. I highly recommend that instead of going on the hop on/ hop off bus you hire Jens instead!

Amazing experience. Jens was very knowledgeable. The bus provided the perfect lens to view the…read morecity. We only had one day in Berlin but this allowed us to see so much and learn about the history. Highly recommend.

**STREET ART WORKSHOP & TOUR**…read more WHERE: Met at noon (plenty of time to grab breakfast beforehand) at Alexanderplatz TV TOWER next to entrance of Starbucks. However, the tour ends at the workshop in Lictenberg. DURATION: 3.5-4 hour tour and workshop. COST: 18 euros per person and can book online. PART 1 ======= Took the back streets and discovered some of the latest, greatest, and oldest examples of street art, graffiti and mural art. Our guide, a street artist/expert on the scene, showed us some of the best: - stencil art - throw ups - mural art - tagging - ad busting - heaven spots - burners; and - installations while teaching us who was who and their motivations behind their artwork. PART 2 ======= We then visited their workshop in a former abandoned margarine factory in Lictenberg we were instructed how to stencil and spray paint. Yes, we took our piece home as well. So much fun. PRO TIPS: - Make sure to tip your guide. - Purchase an AB transport ticket for this tour. HIGHLY RECOMMEND for those who like street art, graffiti, and history of Berlin.

Today I took the alternative Berlin tour. Fabulous. It wasn't about putting a visual to textbook…read morehistory. We went into neighborhoods and saw an discussed their tolls before the wall, during and how they transitioned after the wall went down. This is the tour that puts life into Berlin. Colan ( I mai have gotten name wrong) was the best

I did the Berlin Highlights and Iconic Sites tour with Ru in late September. Ru was a good mix of…read morekeeping things educational but used humor when appropriate. It's clear he loves his adopted hometown and was full of recommendations for things to explore on our own, and kept the tour moving at a good pace. There's so much to learn and Ru was honest that we were just scratching the surface, but I got a lot out of the tour.

It takes a great guide to make a great tour. I took two tours with Insider (Explore Berlin and…read moreThird Reich Berlin), and both were guided by Hannah. She is one of the best tour guides I've yet encountered and I've taken a hell of a lot of tours. She speaks very clearly (we're both native speakers of American English, so that helped as well), projects her voice well, and almost always speaks with clear intention. I never felt she was wasting our time with too much detail or circular talking; the pacing of the route and stops worked very well. She did a great job managing the group, making clear where we were going and where we should stand to see and hear everything while not blocking pedestrian traffic. She encouraged questions and made the experience interactive, which kept us fully engaged the whole time. At no point was I bored or wondering when the tour would end; in fact, I was surprised at the end of both tours that 3 hours had already flown by. Hannah did a great job of demonstrating the modern relevance of history and exploring the conflicting interests and biases of the people involved in historical events. A lot of this history is very heavy, particularly on the Third Reich tour, and she gave it all the gravity and respect it deserves. I highly recommend these tours, especially for history-lovers.

Everything worked smoothly for us. In fact, the driver was patient with me and allowed us to get on…read morethe bus even though I hadn't gotten the actual tickets yet. We drove slowly at times due to traffic. Narration was pretty brief but thorough. We first sat in seats that had funky audio but it was easy to move to a functional audio seat. Drop off and pick up locations worked well for us. We use hop-on buses as much as we can and I certainly recommend this company!

So these tour companies are pretty similar, but I had to give a single star because of…read moremisinformation. They advertise stops which are unavailable. It takes 2.5 hours for a circuit and only runs one direction. It is a hop on and off format. I only wanted to get off for two stops, East Gallery and Charlotten Schloss. The later is supposedly only on weekends. What? This was not disclosed anywhere, and worse was the manner in which one of the vendors replied. Guess they already had a captive customer. It would be too much effort to file a formal complaint so I YELP. My brief research with the competition. Be Berlin has an app to trek buses. Another company breaks it off into 2 separate routes so you don't have to go a full 2.5 hours if you want to stop in a certain quarter. However, maybe due to the yellow color I noticed this bus more often than the others.

Our tour guide, Maggi, did a great job showing us around Berlin. This was my second bike tour ever…read moreand it just confirmed it is an activity I will have to seek when visiting a city that is bike-friendly. They have bathrooms, drinks, and sunscreen at their HQ. I would highly recommend! 3hours went by so quickly. Maggi also gave us enough time for bathroom breaks, walking around, and taking pictures.

Really great bike tour of some of the important historical sites in Berlin. Our guide Sam had an…read moreextensive and detailed knowledge of the history and culture, and delivered it with passion and humor. Well done, we highly recommend!

Our three-hour Walking Tour of Berlin with Glen on the hottest day of the summer was absolutely the…read morecoolest activity in which we engaged during our whirlwind four days in the City. From the moment Glen introduced himself, he shepherded our group from site to site, finding us shady spots whenever he could whilst sharing his voluminous historical, cultural, and cultural knowledge of Berlin and Germany. He also used multimedia very effectively to explain the sites and sights. His knowledge of Berlin and Germany is matched perhaps only by his love and respect for both--the latter of which was particularly manifest when he explained the book burning site, the location of Hitler's bunker, and the Holocaust memorial. Not only do my partner and I recommend the Original Berlin Walking Tour, but we also strongly recommend you ask to be in a group led by Glen.

Benny did a fantastic job with our tour group. He was engaging, informative, insightful and…read moreentertaining. He gave us great insight of both sides of the east and west Berliner perspectives through history.

It was somewhat different from what I was expecting but it was also better than what I was…read moreexpecting. You know how it is when you're travelling on your own or as a couple in a new country. You don't know much of the language or the culture and you've only been there a few days. Then you meet up with, say, a friend of a friend, and that person takes you out for an afternoon or evening. It is quite a treat: (i) You don't have to worry about understanding the language because your host can translate. (ii) You don't have to figure out which places to go or what to order when you get there because you've got a local expert. (iii) You don't get lost en route -- you don't even have to pay attention to where you are or how to get back. (iv) You can quiz your local host for advice on what to do and what to see and what to eat while you're in town. Our evening with Dirk was like really lucking out in finding a friend's friend who happens to be an expert in local food and ale and who speaks great English and who is not only a native of the city but local tour book writer and journalist. There were three of us plus Dirk for the evening adventure. We met at a designated place and time (6 pm) and then walked to the Covered Food Hall where we sampled some cheeses and meats at one of the stalls. Next was a stop for some delicious ale (I have no problem believing Dirk's assertion that it is at the best beer in the city). Then we travelled by U-bahn to a cozy restaurant in the Mitte where we enjoyed a typical sausage and sauerkraut dinner, followed by dessert and coffee. The food was tasty but the element that made the evening five-star was sharing the meal and conversation with two interesting and congenial people who we wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting otherwise. Note: We did Dirk's "Berlin Food Tour" rather than the "German Food Tour". However, because I don't see the Berlin Food Tour as a separate entry on Trip Advisor, I'm adding my review here. The Berlin Food Tour costs a few euros less than the German Food Tour.