Did the Harry Potter tour and Essential London tours during my stay in London. Both our guides, Jamie and Sam, were informative and entertaining. I wouldn't say that the itineraries are anything out of the ordinary (it's stops you could plan out yourself with research), but it was a good experience to go with an organized group tour. Both tours started/ended on time and booking was seamless. The tours, as others have noted, are pay-what-you-will, so it's up to you what you want to pay (I paid 10 pounds each). They do accept card payment, but cash seems to be preferred. read more

they charged me 200usd and didnt refund although i removed my tour (im a tour guide). they are a fraud.

I'm a big fan of free walking tours whenever I travel, and Strawberry Tours was a great find. I did the East tour and the West tour, both with Adam. He was so knowledgeable about the city, both in its history and culture! I especially loved his quirky stories, like about the executions that happened at the Tower of London and the dog buried by some politician and why. Now that I'm reading the reviews, I'm seeing a lot more options than were originally advertised in the brochure I got from my hostel, and I wish I'd known about them, as they all sound interesting and thorough! However, I do think the East and West tours are a great starting point and foundation into learning about the city if you're new to it. Look up their offerings on their website! The East tour I did covered St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, The Monument, Leadenhall Market, Bank of England, Lloyd Building, Royal Courts of Justice, and Temple Church. The West tour covered Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (from far away), St. James' Palace, Leicester Square (meeting point), 10 Downing Street, and the Horse Guards Parade. We were supposed to walk by the Churchill War Rooms, Trafalgar Square, and the National Gallery, but those were missed. And FYI, Big Ben is covered with scaffolding for the next year and a half for renovations, so you won't be seeing that, which was a bummer. The people on the tours themselves seemed to keep to themselves, so they weren't very social, probably because they're just quick day happenings. Regardless, look up Strawberry Tours when in London if you have a couple hours and are up to to walk around. read more

My family and I highly recommend the West End tour. Becky led our tour. To echo previous reviewers, yes, it is free, but pay what you can/feel. They do accept cards if cash is cumbersome. It was around 2.5 hours. The pacing and level of detail was excellent. We are novices to the area. This was a superb start to our trip. read more

We had a great time with both of our tours. We did the Harry Potter with Ash and the Jack the Ripper with Nathan. They were both very friendly, informative and just super nice all around. I would highly recommend tours with your company and would definitely do more with you if we ever go back to to London. Thank you!! read more

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OK, I admit, I was skeptical. Is it REALLY free? Yes. If you want, you can take the tour and not pay 1p (or a penny where I come from). I paid and was glad to do so. The tour was amazing. In fact, it was so good, I signed up for one of their paid tours, which was also exceptional. Both guides were exceptionally knowledgeable and engaging. If you get lost (like me) they have a bright red, strawberry print umbrella that they hold up, so they are super easy to follow. read more

Great way to tour London - for free! My friends and I did the evening Jack the Ripper Tour and were thoroughly impressed. The tour lasted a little over 2 hours or so and every minute was filled with information, history and chilling stories about the victims. Made several stops along the way and our guide explained the significance to Jack and/or his victims. Overall an excellent experience that I would highly recommend! While the tour is free, they encourage you to pay/tip what you feel the tour was worth. While I know people more than likely take advantage of the tour and don't tip, I really like their motto. Somehow though I still can't believe that several people from our group just walked away with leaving anything. Try a Strawberry Tour for yourself and don't forget to tip your tour guide! read more

First time in London and loved, loved, loOOoved London in a Day tour with Andrew. So glad we did it, it was the highlight of my Europe trip It's ~6.5 hour (with a 1-hr lunch at a Pub). It sounds long but we made frequent stops that you don't realize that you've walked 6miles by the end of the tour. My friends are not big fans of walking and they thought the tour was worth it too. The tour highlights everything you need to know about London so i recommend taking the tour the first day you can. Then on the second day, you can revisit or go in the places that interest you. (FYI all museums in London have free entrance) How Strawberry Tours operates is brilliant. The tour is free and in the end you tip the Tour Guide how much you think the tour is worth. (I saw on average people tipping ~20 pounds/person for the Day in London tour, I tipped more because Andrew did such an amazing job). If you don't like carrying Pounds converting currency, no worries! they're able to accept credit card tips. read more

if you're into experiencing history beyond just museums, I highly recommend the nighttime Jack the Ripper walking tour throughout Whitechapel. I've been to London before - 12 years ago - and was looking to do some more eclectic things on this go-around than just the usual tourist highlights. it's about two hours, with several stops made along the way to explain the significance; we learned about the historical importance of the East End and the old wall of London, the various places where Jack murdered his victims, where evidence was found, and so on. Alex was our guide on a Saturday night and he did a stellar job. instead of treating it as just a cheesy horror tale and wearing makeup/costume (as I had read some other tour companies will do), he told the story of Jack, the victims, the blundering police forces, the vigilantes, the suspects, and more, as a historical crime investigation. I enjoyed that take on it. the website asks you to make a (free) reservation ahead of time so they know how many tour guides to book. this worked out well as they were able to split us up and get a smaller, closer experience, about 30 people. bring good walking shoes, since you'll be on your feet for just under two hours and will likely tread over a fair amount of cobblestone in that time. no real chance for a bathroom break, though - just a warning. Strawberry implements a "pay what you want" business model, similar to some other walking tour companies, where instead of paying upfront, you tip at the end. I've done something similar in other cities and honestly I enjoy that; I've yet to be disappointed. I also like that Strawberry has a committment to pushing a portion of their tips on to a rotating lineup of charities, and you can verify that they've done so on their website. they offer a multitude of tours - aside from Jack the Ripper, there are various tours of different neighborhoods, food crawls, pub crawls, art/architecture crawls, and plenty more. also, they're in multiple cities around the world, and all seem to have solid review streaks. I would certainly consider doing another Strawberry Tour. read more

This was such an amazing experience! My sister and I had a short day in Leicester Square area and didn't really know what to do other than walk around and people watch. Luckily she found Strawberry Tours for a Harry Potter walking tour and it was lovely. It was around 3 hours total, and we were guided by Samy who was AMAZING. Such an incredible person, he was so genuinely friendly and helpful, and was such a whiz with all-things Harry Potter! I can't imagine all of the research he must have done to learn all that he knows. Our group learned so much about the places and people that inspired J.K. Rowling's books, and it was so invigorating seeing these places in person and learning more about where scenes were shot, etc. I was so impressed with Samy, and so glad he chose this as a profession because he is truly meant for human connection and I appreciate all of the little things he incorporated into the tour to help make it special for all of us. It was an experience I will never forget. I love the concept of tipping what you feel is fair - although it's a gamble for the company/tour guides, I truly appreciate the trust being put into the experience. Thank you for making this possible! read more

(Note: I wrote this review when Strawberry Tours operated under the name Free Tours of London.) So on a whim, my mother and I decided to go on a Jack The Ripper tour that this group had advertised outside of the Tube stop by the Tower of London. And what a great tour! Our guide, Hilary, was a fantastic tour guide, and she took us on an incredibly informative tour. Not only was it informative, it was powerful - Ripper is definitely not a topic for those with a sensitive stomach, especially since the tour guides bring photos of the victims. (You may want to plan on eating well before you take a Ripper tour, if you plan on seeing any images the guides share.) I addition to finding the tour full of interesting facts of trivia, another thing I really liked was that the Ripper tour takes you through sections of London you may never walk through otherwise - because while these spots of town aren't particularly dangerous, Jack the Ripper didn't exactly terrorize central London. He terrorized an area that was once a very poor neighborhood. In fact Whitechapel was once home to most of London's immigrant population. And as you may recall from a history class or two, 1800s immigrant neighborhoods weren't exactly the kindest area to live in. Again: Whitechapel today is very different, but that history does mean that many tourist attractions developed in other areas of London entirely. Ripper tours ultimately take you out of this area, and add yet another layer to London's incredible history. At the end of a tour with Free Tours of London you have the option of leaving a tip of some sort. It basically means that while the tour itself is technically free, you should be prepared to leave at least some money - specifically, you should leave the amount of money that you feel the tour guide has earned. This "pay what you wish" system is what allows Free Tours of London to operate. I know that my mother and I left a decent amount each after our own tour - Hilary and the group definitely earned it. And I would absolutely venture out for another tour with this group. P.S. Thank you very much again if you're reading this, Hilary! read more

We could not have asked for a better tour guide than Olivia for our Harry Potter tour. She was extremely knowledgeable in the subject and showed her passion for the series as well as for the author. She knew the area very well too and kept us entertained for 2 hours. She has a great personality and made the tour very interesting. We were also able to walk by attractions we wanted to see anyway. We had time to take pictures too. Highly recommend!! read more

Carlton was a great tour guide, he was very knowledgable and was humorous throughout the tour and kept us entertained. He was also very easy to talk to and answered the questions I had for him. Great tour! read more

I thought my Jack the Ripper tour was great! I was surprised at first to hear that so many Londoners were also on the tour, assuming it was mainly geared toward tourists, but I'd definitely go on another tour with Strawberry Tours if I lived in London. Our guide, Ben, was nice, knowledgeable, and knew how to keep things interesting on a 2.5 hour walk. And, when he got interrupted in the middle of a story by a drunk man, rolled with it like a pro! I'll definitely keep Strawberry Tours in mind if I end up traveling again in the future. read more

Went to the Harry Potter & Nathan was amazing. He was so knowledgeable. Highly recommend!!!

My family took the Harry Potter tour and Matthew was the absolute best guide. He knew so much about the books and movies and was clearly very passionate about all of it. It showed in the tour how much he cared about Harry Potter and the city itself and he was more than willing to answer any questions thrown his way. He had a very engaging personality and kept the tour interesting for people of all ages and varying interest levels in the subject. He made sure that everyone had adequate time to take pictures of whatever they wanted and made sure we were all accounted for. It is safe to say that we would absolutely take another tour given by Matthew in a heartbeat. read more

Absolutely loved the Harry Potter tour! Matthew was amazing and so knowledge of Harry Potter and London. He made everything exciting! Definitely recommend. read more

We took the Jack the Ripper Tour with Olivia and we really enjoyed it. The tour was free but tips are suggested. It's a great deal for a full two hour walking tour. Olivia was really funny and informative and she made the tour very interesting. I would definitely recommend anyone visiting London to take part in this tour! read more

Highly recommend the Strawberry Tour for Jack the Ripper. Best way to learn about the working class area of London in the 1800s. Highly recommend Jan as a tour guide - he was the best. Explained so much about the town, the history and the victims. Great time. Will look for more strawberry tours. read more

Nick was a great guide for the West London tour. He was knowledgeable and friendly, and took us through some fantastic London highlights. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting for the first time like me! read more

We took an all Day London Tour with Nathan. He was an excellent guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and kept my grandsons (ages 16 and 19 ) attention. The pub chosen for lunch was also excellent. Definitely recommend Nathan and would do tours with him again!!!!! Thank you Nathan. read more

Karan was knowledgeable, personable and funny! Great tour, great fun!

Jaime is easily the best tour guide that I have ever had. Hilarious and historical at the same time. I felt like I was treated to a 3 hour stand up comedy show while learning some pretty amazing historical facts about the city of London. I wish history was taught like that in school, I sure would have learned a lot more. Thank you to Jaime and Strawberry tours for the incredible experience! read more

Paddy was a super energetic and informative guide! It was quite warm and insanely crowded in London the day of our tour but he never wavered from his humor and energy...and was very attentive to make sure his 'flock' was together and made every crossing safely. We had no idea about the City of London and came away feeling richer in our understanding of this great city! There is too much world to conquer so we may not return to London but if we do we wouldn't hesitate taking another Strawberry tour! Thank you, Paddy. read more

Nick was absolutely fantastic! He covers everything. Make sure you wear great walking shoes. Lots of London will be covered and they are the most important things that you will want to see. Ask for Nick! He is simply the best! read more

This was such and amazing tour. Alex our tour guide took the time to get to know everyone in the group individually and really made it fun! He was very knowledgeable and answered any questions we had. I would recommend this to any Harry Potter fan!! read more

I signed up for Jack the Ripper tour and was very delighted for what the tour guide has to offer. Nate was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the tales of the gruesome murders. Their reservation process was official and organized. You will be put on standby list for future tours if you don't show up. Their donation-suggested policy is very kind and thoughtful. My experience was thoroughly enjoyable. read more

Our family of adults and teens participated in the Jack the Ripper tour with Will in June. Will was an excellent host - friendly, engaging and a knowledgeable "Ripperologist". We learned a lot more about Jack than we expected, and it was fascinating to walk the very streets where this all took place. The only reason I rated this as four rather than five stars is that it was not entirely what we expected at the time of booking. We thought it would be more of a fright-night, jumpy tour, but felt this was more of a factual, crime mystery tour. Will made a very good point at the beginning of the tour - this was a real crime with real victims, so it didn't feel right to make light of that. We also came to that same conclusion as Will did such a great job of telling us the details of the victims' lives, and we left wanting to learn more about the crime theories and suspects. I would recommend this tour for teens upwards who are interested in learning about the Ripper crimes. read more

I'd done a few of these free tours in other countries while traveling and I thought I'd do this one to learn about the city I call home. Couldn't be gladder that I did. I may be from London, but that doesn't mean I know all its history. I learnt a ton of stuff I didn't know. Great tour! read more

Strawberry tours was great, but what was even greater was our tour guide Olivia. Olivia took us through the streets of London on a Jack the Ripper Tour giving all of us a new perspective on all of the murders -- focusing on the victims. She was as entertaining and she was knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend for anyone interested! read more