Self Guided Tour

Frankfurt is a great city to be explored on your own if you have the right tools. Even if you don't speak German, there is information provided in English and my Frankfurt Map contains the most visited places, buildings and museums which are easy to find. 

To receive your free Frankfurt map, just send me an email and I will send a link back for download. 

The downtown area of the main part of the city has most of the landmarks within walking distance, so with a good map you can visit Frankfurt's highlights on your own. This is recommended for advanced travelers with good sense of orientation and spontaneous adventurers.  

If you would like to get more information on the full self-guided-tool kit, included public transportation info from/to the Airport, please provide your email for details to: tourguide@ok.de 

Holiday Season has arrived...!!!

Every Year, Frankfurt opens its gates for one of the most famous Christmas markets in Germany. 

Frankfurt Christmas Tree

With a Spirit of Tradition and the German Christmas Atmosphere, this market is the highlight of every Holiday season, also called Advent, as a time of expectant waiting and preparing for the Christmas Celebration.

The main quay of the Market is on the Roemer (Roman Hill) near the cathedral in the heart of old town Frankfurt all the way down to the River Main. It opens every day at 10am until about 9pm until it ends finally on December 22nd, 2013.

Get your first impression here before visiting:

provided by©Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main

Come and join me to explore this special event, try some Glühwein (Hot Wine or Punch) to keep warm inside and maybe get this last minute Gifts with a traditional German touch. 

Orchestra playing Christmas music

I will be happy to guide you on your Frankfurt walking tour while telling you the story of this important and historical event including a visit of the Christmas Market.

Contact me now to reserve your tour: tourguide@ok.de

Jewish Frankfurt

Frankfurt is one of the four largest Jewish communities in Germany

Jewish Museum

...and developed over the centuries into a center of Jewish learning, with famous rabbis whose legal authority was respected far beyond the confines of the community.

Old Jewish Cemetery 

 Jewish Cemetery

Jews have lived in Frankfurt continuously for nearly 900 years, longer than in any other German city. They worked as merchants, bankers, politicians, philanthropists, artists and scientists. In 1949, after the National Socialist devastation, the Jewish community was re-established and played an important role in the economic development of the city. 

My Partner Guide, Barbara and myself will be happy to show you the Jewish Frankfurt.

She is very experienced and knowledgable to this sensitive subject.

We will get to the SHUM cities (Speyer, Worms & Mainz) in another blog! 

For more Info, details or availability, please contact us at: tourguide@ok.de  

Rhein River Cruise

Rheingau, Rüdesheim and the Vineyards

Rhein River

Taking a boat trip along the river 'Rhein' starting in Rüdesheim, is one of my favorite tours given in summer time.

We drove from Frankfurt to the city of Rüdesheim in the Rheingau valley to take a stroll through the village before we get on our boat to start the 'Burgen-Tour' castle tour for about 1,5 hours.

Burg Rheinstein

view from Rheinstein castle towards west

If you are interested in the marvelous history of german castles, this is the perfect river cruise along many beautiful sights of historical castles and vine valley of Rheingau.

We cruised along Burg Rheinstein, which is also open for visitors to take a castle tour.

                          

Germania Monument

If you would like to visit the Germania (Memorial) and explore the beautiful Landscape around it from above.... come with me, I will customize your tour for yourself, your family and for groups of all sizes upon your needs and wishes to have an unforgettable day.

When do you want to take a boat ride with me...?

Contact me for more info, details and availability: tourguide@ok.de

view on the rhein river towards east

How to pay your guide

Online payment can be risky when you don't know who is on the other end. 

How to prevent fraud ?                You can only become a winner if you                                                                                      are willing to walk over the edge.                                                                                                        ~Ronald E. McNair~

In my longtime carrier as a travel concierge and tourist guide, my best strategy is to only ask for a deposit in advance. Depending on how much preparation has to be done in advance, it can vary from a small fee to maximum 10% of the total amount, to reserve my time as I also don't know how serious the traveler is.







After we discussed, confirmed and I customized your tour, the remaining amount will be paid upon arrival and conducting the tour, not before.




I believe that everybody has to show a little trust. My visitors who hired me, often extended their time with me and were more than happy with my service to become regular clients and/or recommend my service to their friends, family members, work partners and even their travel agency.

So, please don't worry about me not showing up to give you the tour booked. I trust that you are on your way to meet me as well, so we can explore my country together.

For any questions or concerns about payment and deposit please contact me:

tourguide@ok.de

I am also available for a skype meeting upon prior appointment. Please send me your skype name and minimum 2 optional appointments. (please consider a time difference) to: skype@toursntravel.eu

Timing and Preparation

Timing is essential when requesting a tour. 

Although there is always time in between tours where a guide might be able to make a tour available but then it runs the risk of being not quite right due to lack of preparation. For a tour guide, preparing for a tour is as important than conducting a tour, especially when the request does not contain crucial information such as specific starting times, expected duration or even a firm date. What is your tour guide to do?

Think of a friend you haven't seen or talked to for a while. You are planning to travel to a city near them and want to spend some time with your friend while you are there for a long or short layover. Would you wait until the last minute to contact them? Even if it's a short span of time that does not allow any advance preparation, would you expect your friend to be available for you, not knowing how their schedule is or what else might be going on in their life? You might think, well, it doesn't hurt to ask, right? But generally you would not take the chance missing your friend due to lack of preparation on your part.

Although I am a virtual stranger and not the friend you are thinking of above, I would like to welcome you, as a friend would, when visiting from out of town. Sure, my time as your personal guide is not a free service, but because of that, I want to make sure you will get your money's worth. In order to do that, I would like to properly prepare for you and your customized tour. The most important thing for me to do that is to get notified in advance, and I mean, at least a week or more prior to your arrival.  One or two days notice, especially on weekends, will result in me declining to be your tour guide as I will be otherwise booked for other tours and activities. As they say, "the early bird gets the worm" and the early travel request gets booked first.

I am setting up a free calendar so that potential clients can track my available time.  Recommendations are welcome as to how this calendar can best be utilized by you, the traveler.

In the meantime, I appreciate every inquiry and I'm looking forward to meeting you in person soon.

Email me today!  Sabine:  tourguide@ok.de 

     

When Do You Need a Tour Guide?

Find Out When Hiring a Tour Guide Is Essential
Sometimes hiring a tour guide can dramatically improve a trip -- even for go-it-alone travelers who value independence. On the other hand, certain kinds of trips are best suited to freewheeling exploration, and a tour guide might just spoil the fun. These are three suggestions why you should hire a guide:

1. When you have very little time.
A knowledgeable guide can give a laser focus to any sightseeing visit, and this may never be so valuable as when you have very little time in one place. This is a very common occurrence in modern life -- hence the popular "36 hours in..." features in the New York Times every week. If you don't have a copy of the Times' recommendations, or you want to go off the beaten path they have cleared, the right guide can give you a customized and thrilling blitz through the destination of your choice.

2. When language barriers are likely to be severe.
When visiting a place where you do not speak the language and the locals are extremely unlikely to speak yours -- for most of our readers, that will mean places where exposure to the English language is minimal -- a local tour guide who does speak your language can be invaluable in countless ways. When choosing a guide, try to chat with the guide on the phone to determine how strong his or her command of your language really is.

3. To hand off the logistics of travel.
The hassles of obtaining tickets, making reservations, checking operating hours, figuring out options when you have problems -- all of this is easy stuff to a good tour guide. If you are on vacation and don't want to have these mundane tasks on your plate while traveling, a tour guide may be a good option.


Think about it and contact me if you need assistance with any arrangements: tourguide@ok.de

Where are your ancestors from?

The largest ethnic group in the United States are German-Americans. If your ancestors are from Germany, are you curious where they lived? Would you like to visit your forefather's hometown?






I had recently the opportunity to guide some visitors to their ancestor's village to see where they were born, got married and lived their live... so thankful for such a nice experience.

Do you need assistance or guiding service? Contact me today: tourguide@ok.de

     

Visit Frankfurt city during your airport layover

While on layover in Frankfurt, see the city highlights on a private half-day tour with round-trip airport transport. The airport is approximately 8 miles (13 km) from the city center, made for an easy-to-do layover tour!

Great for first time visitors to get their introduction of the city with orientation for future visits.



As your local guide, I will take you by public transportation on a walking tour to see the main landmarks, with the opportunity to stroll through neighborhoods such as Old Sachsenhausen. The itinerary can be customized to accommodate your private group's interests and requests.

After pickup from the Frankfurt airport your private layover tour begins at Frankfurt Central Train Station (Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof), just west of the city center. On route the old Opera house while passing skyscrapers we will walk to the Frankfurt stock exchange (Boerse) while catch sight of Hauptwache (main guardhouse) and Goethe House – birthplace of the 18th-century poet we head on to the Zeil (pedestrian zone) where you get a bird-eye-view of the city landmarks from the top of the gallery. Next, we’ll go to admire Römer, the site of city hall for 600 years and considered one of Frankfurt’s most important historical buildings. After viewing the Frankfurt Cathedral (Kaiserdom) you can enjoy some free time exploring on your own until we regroup to cross the MAIN river by walk on the Iron bridge ( Eiserne Steg). From there, we continue to Old Sachsenhausen, a pedestrian district of Frankfurt famed for its lively cafés, bars and restaurants, where you can enjoy a traditional meal in one of the typical apple-wine restaurants if you wish. Then, head back across the River Main again by way of Alte Brucke (Old Bridge) to end the walking tour at the train heading back to the Airport. Times spend at different locations can vary depending on length of tour and time of the day.

Your private tour ends with return transport to the Frankfurt airport.

Please note: This private sightseeing tour of Frankfurt can be customized to your interests; please list any special interests you have (e.g. art, architecture, history, culture, shopping) at the time of booking so that I can better prepare for your private tour. This tour can also be arranged as a driving tour with some adjustments upon request.

I am looking forward to meet you!

Please contact me for more information : tourguide@ok.de

Winterwonderworld

Neuschwanstein Castle, only a day trip away from Frankfurt. 

Come and join me on your next visit... !

Sabine - Private guide in Gross Gerau, Hessen, Germany

Sabine - Private guide in Gross Gerau, Hessen, Germany

need assistance ?

If you travel to Germany and need assistance with trip planning, please contact me here:
tourguide@ok.de