What: 3 hour private tour of Oxford University. We were interested in a campus tour of Oxford…read moreUniversity and since Oxford doesn't offer that and there is no actual "campus" since it's made up of multiple schools and buildings, we did the next best thing. Arron was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable, funny and full of stories and interesting insights on college life and the application process as he is a current student. We highly recommend this company!

"It takes one to know one"…read more That playground taunt easily applies to my experience with Footprints Tours, an organization through which you can make advance reservations for free walking tours of Oxford. Why? Because I, too, lead a free walking tour albeit elsewhere on the planet. As someone who leads tours and cares greatly about tour quality I recognize a great tour when I come upon one. Chris, my Footprints Tour guide provided exactly that. He was animated, interesting, kept things moving, and told interesting stories. A couple of days later I saw another guide leading a tour - assumedly from a different company - and after hearing what he said at a particular stop all I could think was "I'm so glad we went with Footprints and so glad Chris was our guide". The tours are supposed to run 2 hours. Chris went a bit over which was my sole criticism of the tour. Attention spans are short and that two hour maximum is at the outer edge of how long people will engage for. Assuming you book with Footprints Tours you'll arrive at the stated location and find a ton of tour guides assembled. But walk into the Oxford Tourist Information Center to check in and they'll promptly tell you which guide you are assigned to. People who lead these free tours do conclude with an "ask". That is: a donation is sought and assuming Chris' tour is the standard, it is definitely earned. I understand the worth of someone talking - actually, "performing" - for two hours and I happily made what I felt was a generous cash donation. You'll likely be inspired as well. After I'd booked my free Footprints Tour I had begun to think perhaps a paid tour would be better and momentarily thought of canceling. I'm so pleased that I didn't. The Footprints Tour led by Chris (on June 22) would be quite difficult for anyone to top. Excellent.

For fans of the ITV/ PBS series Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, and/or Endeavour, the Inspector…read moreMorse Walking Tour (from the Oxford Official Guided Walking Tours) is a MUST!! Our guide was Heidi, and she was fabulous. Enthusiastic, clear-speaking, and a font of knowledge about the Morse-based TV shows, and their filming in Oxford. It's a 2 hour walking tour...at a brisk pace over cobbled streets....so wear your comfy walking shoes! Also, although some random facts about Oxford and the various colleges are thrown in here and there, don't expect this to be a good introductory tour to Oxford in general. (The tourist board does offer other, more general tours of Oxford though, all at very reasonable prices!) So, book yourself for the Morse tour, and I'm sure you'll be like me, and will have some marathon streaming sessions of the series when you return home!

great guide( honestly laughed all the way), great tour and the most accommodating company - allowed…read moreus to reschedule due to last minute sickness and been the most helpful along the way. highly recommended

Heidi Boon Rickard was our tour guide and she is so passionate about what she does. Ask for her…read more Learning of Oxford and how many genius minds came through here is incredible. Go through Christ's Church; beautiful.

I am so glad I found this tour! Lisa was an amazing tour guide! She was very friendly and funny…read more She took our group around Oxford and told us so many historical stories, showed us some excellent views and even gave us suggestions about where to eat/drink, and how much it costs to get into local museums and colleges. She certainly knew a lot about the area and can answer your questions. I cannot believe that this 2-hour walking tour was FREE! Yes, you heard that right. Lisa operates solely off of tips (aka what you think it was worth). I wish I had more money on me since she was so excellent. There is just so much to see and learn in Oxford. Since my group was smaller (about 11 people versus the max of 20), we were able to get into Balliol College to view (it was discounted since we went as a group). It was absolutely stunning! Make sure you bring comfy walking shoes since there is quite a bit of walking (all flat), and have coins handy in case of admissions to places (several pounds works). Also have your camera handy since you will want to forever capture the moments. I think young children would probably be bored on this tour, since it is very historical-based. As long as you don't mind moderate walking, viewing some amazing architecture and listening to stories about World War II, college rivalries, etc., this is the tour for you!

We really enjoyed the 2 hour Morse tour. The guide, Leigh, was extremely knowledgeable, and had…read moreensured our entrance to some of the colleges beforehand. Those of us with some Morse/Endeavour/Lewis knowledge were invited to share it, and had great discussions. Photographs were encouraged, and we met some key Oxford locals - one shop owner even had photos of Kevin Whately on his phone to show us!

From the owner: Award winning and qualified guides. Group tours incl. Christ Church, Harry Potter tours,…read moreMorse/Lewis and Endeavour tours or private bespoke tours of Oxford.

I am pleased to do the first Yelp review for this tour! We…read morewere picked up at the agreed upon time/place by Graham. The van was a Vauxhall van with plenty of room. He is a friendly guy, and we were immediately put at ease. He showed us a couple places around Oxford to get our bearings and then off we went! Blenheim Castle was our first stop. It was jam packed that day because of a car show, but it was an added bonus to see all the vintage Rolls, Ferraris, and a lot of other cars. Gorgeous vehicles! The castle itself is stunning, and the Churchill memorabilia is very interesting. Graham knew all the stories behind the estate, and pointed out the things of interest. We also took a short walk around the grounds because it was a beautiful day. Then he took us to some nearby village for lunch. Best meal of the whole vacay! Afterwards, we drove to the Cotswolds and walked amongst the thatched houses. From there, he took us to another village where we got some candy and then we headed for home. He was very amenable to our schedule, very easy going, and knows the area well. We had such an enjoyable day letting him do all the driving. I highly recommend this tour!

From the owner: At Undiscovered Cotswolds we offer small group tours and private tours of the Cotswolds and…read moresurrounding areas including Bath, Stonehenge, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon and more

Let me start by saying the Cotswolds are absolutely beautiful. Our guide Steve, went the extra…read moremile to make sure that we had a good time and answered all of our questions. Steve was the most knowledgeable since he lives in the village. He was personable and helpful. I would highly recommend this tour. I would recommend this tour to family and friends, and ask for Steve.

Our family recently completed a 2.5-day private tour of the Cotswolds with Dave, and we highly…read morerecommend him and the entire Go Cotswolds team! From initial outreach to planning/booking to the trip itself, our 8-person group had a fantastic time, and loved our experience in various villages of the North Cotswolds plus Castle Combe and Bath. Lisa was incredibly helpful throughout the planning process, helping us to shape a multi-day tour for our family. She was highly responsive and communicated clearly in answering our questions and helping us consider the options. Once we arrived in the Cotswolds, Dave provided an amazing experience for our multi-day tour. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and funny throughout the tour, and provided excellent advice on when to rearrange the itinerary to get us to popular spots before they were overrun with people. We greatly appreciated his expertise and flexibility in adjusting the plan as we went to let us spend more or less time in spots based on our preferences -- which, given our family, was necessary more than once, and a huge bonus to a private tour vs. public tour. The Go Cotswolds vehicle was roomy, comfortable, and well-air conditioned, a plus given that we arrived mid-heat wave. Our tour was the perfect way to explore this beautiful region for the first time. We can't wait to come back!

We had a delightful afternoon tea cruise (1.5 hours) that was not only scrumptious (best scones I…read morehad this trip), but the guide was quite hilarious. Back to the food for a moment: Finger sandwiches, scones, cake, and tea! AND they had gluten-free option available meaning my spouse could enjoy as well (I did order in advance, but same day). We had a lovely cruise on the river and enjoyed seeing the Christ Church meadows, all the rowing clubs, and going through the Iffley locks. Our boat could accommodate eight people (maybe ten?), so it was a cozy experience. It was the first thing we did when we arrived in Oxford and it was a delight!

This was a nice float down the river, but not much more than that. I was looking forward to…read morelearning more about...anything really. The river itself, the wildlife, the connection to classic literary works, etc. Instead, the guide seemed to have limited information and only spoke about licensing on the river, the poor conditions of many of the boats, and the names of the colleges associated with the rowing houses (only some, though). He admitted hadn't been living there long and didn't know very much. He also let one group member dominate the trip, and spent most of the time answering his questions, which were completely unrelated to the river and really only related to himself. The trip started late because we were waiting for a group of seven, which was annoying. We had literally run from the train station to be there on time. The tour therefore felt rushed and still got back late, which made us late for our next event. Overall, I would not recommend as it is not worth the cost.