Sandeman’s New Prague Tours

We did this on day 3 of our trip, and our family with 3 kids enjoyed this more than the hop on hop off. Do this on day 1 unless there’s forecast for rain, then do the bus. Free Tours are at 11 and 2 pm everyday which meet outside the Cartier store which is passed the food booths behind the astronomical clock. Plan on a 3 hour walking tour, a break for snacks/​beer in between and if you are interested in more tours, the food stop offers options. At that point, you have mingled with other like tourists and you get professional guidance from your tour guide.
The tour guides are amazing. We were lucky to have Filip, local and highly versed in politics, history, architecture, and has great anecdotes. He sang this song about the Holy Wars and had a great story about the Velvet Revolution when he was only 7 months old which forever altered his family.
**** Highlight for me was Filip’s version of the clock, the apostles, and the rooster. So freaking hilarious, I’m still laughing about his facial expressions. ****
We purchased the Kutna Hora (Bone Church) bus tour which was excellent with Martin and the Pub Crawl which was $ 20 and really not that amazing, but then again, it was $ 20. We bought kids tickets to Kutna Hora only to discover the next day at the plaza, kids would have been free.
Best walking tour ever !! It’s free, but Filip is worth a 500 kr tip. I saw some guy hand over some coins and I thought, don’t be like that guy on the astronomical clock holding the bag of coins and fork over some paper money. You get a real pulse on Prage for 3 full ENGAGING hours, so stop and bring cash so you can tip accordingly.

We took the free tour of Prague first with Tereza, and she was so good that we decided to take the castle tour. They were both fun guides and very knowledgeable! Highly recommended

After having a great experience with this tour company in Berlin, a tour with them was on the top of my list of things to do in Prague. After my multi-​European trip in the spring, I now had a better idea of what to do when travelling, so I knew it was best to do the walking tour early on in my trip so that I could familiarize myself with the city.
I went on the free walking tour on my first full day in Prague. The meeting spot was at the Old Town Square, in front of the Czech Tourism Center, and the evening before, I made a point of walking to the meeting spot to ensure I knew where it was and how to efficiently get there (I knew from experience that even though I think it will take only 15 or 20 minutes to get somewhere, it’ll probably take closer to an hour, as I’ll get lost because the streets are twisting and winding, and the street signs are teeny tiny and halfway down the block on the side of a building – if there is one at all, and maps are not helpful if I don’t know which direction on the map corresponds with which direction I’m walking!) So because of my wanderings the night before, I was able to easily and quickly get to the meeting spot.
As expected, the free walking tour was very interesting and helpful with trying to get my bearings in Prague. We didn’t go on the famous Charles Bridge, but the tour guide did point it out, so that when I went to the Charles Bridge several days later, I knew where to go. Some of the sights that we saw were the Old Town Square, including the Astronomical Clock, the Powder Tower, and a walk through the Jewish Quarter (unfortunately I was not able to re-​visit the Jewish Quarter on my trip as I did so many other things, so I’m glad I had a quick preview of the area).
After the free walking tour, I signed up for the castle tour later that afternoon (it started about half an hour after the walking tour ended), as well as the Terezin concentration camp tour later that week. During the castle tour we didn’t go into the castle and see everything there is to see, but we covered the outside of the castle and the grounds, which was plenty, and it was a very interesting and satisfactory tour. One of the things we did see was the famous statue of the naked boy whose penis is shiny because stupid tourists like to rub it, because rubbing a young boy’s penis is totally hilarious and not at all inappropriate.

I have previously been on a Sandeman New Europe Tour in Berlin and had a great experience, so I had high expectations for the New Prague tour. I was not disappointed. Our tour guide Filip was a fantastic chaperone during the 3 hour tour of Prague, hitting sights such as the Astronomical Clock and Jewish Quarter. There was a stop half-​way through the tour at a café for about 30 minutes, where you could grab a quick bite to eat and something to drink. Filip was able to answer any questions people had at that time and make many great recommendations for places to eat and things to see during the rest of our trip. I would highly recommend the New Prague tour and hopefully you will have Filip as your guide and find out about his vital role in the Velvet Revolution!

Tijo did a great job on this tour. The tour provided a quick, comprehensive overview of the main attractions in the city center. It’s definitely a great starting point for learning about the city, including numerous tips on how not to get ripped off as a tourist. And as a free tour, you know that any money you pay goes directly to the guide. The only low point was where we stopped for food on the break. While reasonably priced with efficient service, the supposedly food arrived almost-​cold.

This was the perfect introduction to the beautiful city of Prague. Filip was absolutely fantastic … engaging, knowledgeable, and charming. From pub tips to ancient history lessons, we walked away from the 10:45 free tour feeling ready to explore the city on our own. Highly recommended!

We found Sandeman’s at the recommendation of a friend who had recently enjoyed their tours in various cities throughout Europe. After looking them up a few months prior to our trip we booked tours for both Prague and Munich. Our tour in Prague was the best and we had a wonderful time getting to know a lot about the rich history of this city. Filip is also the best guide there is hand’s down! He brought a great sense of humor along with a personal history of being raised in Prague. We are so glad we had Filip to show us around and share his passion for this beautiful city. TIP: Book ahead online to make sure you get the date and time you want. They do fill up and can’t always accept everyone that walks up day of.

We had JP for the Old Town Square tour in the AM. JP was easy to spot in a crowd (towering at 6’7″) and we called him Czech Skelington. — our tour was pretty punny.
JP is extremely knowledgeable, bringing in not only the history of the city, but how Czechs see their own city. He has information that you can’t get in a book, the reason things happened they way they did in history. (I’d love to divulge a little more, but I think it would really take away from the tour.) I would EASILY pay for this kind of tour knowing the depth of information.
There was a stop after about 2 hours for food or coffee (or a beer, guys) along the way. Much needed and accommodating.
JP took into consideration local history of the people living in the Czech Republic, the involvement of the Soviet influence after the 2^nd world war, and the global intricacies that come with a city as powerful as Prague. 2^nd highest equestrian statue in the world — world facts like that.
If you have 3 hours, take ANY tour in the Prague area with Sandemans and JP. (someone on our tour actually did the exact same tour with him a the year previously) — That’s beyond impressive. — bring your walking shoes!

Andrea was our guide. Thus, the 5-​star rating really belongs to her. Great walking tour. The time passed so fast. She was articulate, informative, witty, passionate, and surprisingly funny. She uses her own experience as a Slovakian and Czech who grew up partly during the communism in this country. We laughed, we got teary. It was really a very well structured tour and experience. I will come back to Prague again and specifically look for other tours that are led by her.

If you don’t know much about Prague but you are dying to know more DO THIS TOUR! If you’re like me and not big on touristy things like tours and guides, you have to give this a go! It is an awesome, interactive and compelling way to learn about Prague.
Our guide was Sarah and she was fantastic, very entertaining to watch and listen to and she was extremely respectful of the beautiful city and its history.
The tour was 3 hours but included lots of ice cream and water breaks (it was a very hot day) and a half an hour lunch break. I was a bit skeptical of how long it was but 10 minutes in I was too intrigued to want to leave.
I felt like I learnt more on this tour than I did in any museum we had been to. If you love the juicy parts of history and all the little stories and anecdotes that go with it, do this tour. The information will stick with you and you’ll be thinking about if for days after.
I’m going to look for Sandeman’s Tours in each European city I visit now because it’s a great way to introduce yourself to a new city and become more aware of how it has become what it is today. I just wish we had done the tour a day earlier on our first day!

Went on the 2pm free walking tour, with Colin as our guide. He was very knowledgeable and made the tour a lot of fun. Because it was so hot, he tried to keep the group in the shade where possible. Highly recommend the tour if you have the time in Prague.

We were lucky enough to find this tour from Unilocal.When I was reading the reviews, I couldn’t believe that there are free tours being offered.
Carlos was our tour guide for the Old Town Prague tour. He was very informative and nice… He gave us tips about exchange places and taxis that as tourists we would have never known…
I can just sit here and type for 3 hours of what we went over and what rich information we learned from this guided tour…
Make sure that you get to the meeting place, in this case by the Cartier store in Old Town square, 30 mins earlier than the tour’s start time. Because it fills up fast…
Besides that, get ready to enjoy 3 hours of guided tour. There is a break in between where you get a chance to purchase any other tours that they offer. We ended up buying the castle tour (Vivien was the tour guide).
Make sure to tip the tour guide. The tour is free itself so might as well spend some money to tip right? :-)
Just a note that they offer tours in different countries… So make sure to check their website/​fb page for the list of their locations…

Going on a Sandeman/​s tour is one of the first things I like to do when visiting a new city, so also in Prague. Every day at 10.30 and 13.45 they collect under the big astronomical clock on Old Town Square and take you on a ± 3 hour-​long guided tour through the old city.
We visited basically all the places the average guide book says you should visit in the old part of Prague — but with lots of extra explanation and without getting lost.
Another good thing? It costs exactly as much as you want it to cost, as you pay nothing, but (sort of have to) tip the guide in the end.

Pavel was our guide. He did a fantastic job and was very good with the group. He had a great sense of humor and was able to really keep us engaged at each pointed the tour, throwing in history, comedy and seriousness all at once. The personal stories were a great addition.
The tour showed us quite a bit of old town, the Jewish quarters and a bit of new town. We had a 30 minute break at a café for drinks. Wasn’t big fan of that place, but oh well. They had brochures on other tours that they could sell but we’re in no way pushy about them. I really appreciated that.
The tour was a but over 3 hours so plan your day accordingly. Was definitely worth the tip we gave Pavel.

Declan (the Irish guy) was the best tour guide we could have asked for! He really loves the city, and, as he promised, by the end, he made us understand why! He knows so many interesting historical facts and stories, and delivers them with enthusiasm and humor. He is engaging and great at what he does! We even ran into him the day after our tour and he gave us some MORE great tips! Tour with Declan, and take care of him, this is his livelihood!

Although we had traveled to many European cities, we had never heard of Sandemans and the free tours they offer. We were not expecting much so we were very pleased to discover a wonderful 3 hour tour delivered by a passionate, informed, engaging young man named Filip who is a native of Prague. Filip delivered an excellent experience with knowledge and humor to a group of 25 people and he didn’t lose a bit of enthusiasm over the entire tour.
The tour included important churches, synagogues, the astronomical clock, the old town square and the old Jewish quarter and Jewish cemetery. It also included a brief restaurant stop where you could get a quick bite to eat (and book other Sandemans tours). While this tour is free, you are (gently) encouraged to give a tip and also offered several other tours which are not free but are quite reasonable. Overall we were impressed and will seek out Sandemans in the future.

This review may well depend on the guide you get, but ours was fun and enjoyable her name was Tatiana. We were attracted to the «free» aspect of the tour having toured the castle ourselves and the day before having done a Segway tour of the city. Our tour today focused on old Prague. We learned a lot. It would have been interesting to get more of the Velvet Revolution into the mix, but overall our guide gets high marks. The break was taken at a pub obviously connected to the tour operation. We weren’t hungry, so ordered no food. The beer was tasty. & refreshing. I did feel a bit trapped into breaking w/​the group, but I bet you could bypass the break and meet back for the remainder of the tour w/​no problem we tipped our guide b/​c she was worth it. So much for free. But over the course of the tour, we passed by numerous other guided groups w/​guides looking both bored and participants bored to tears. I like that Tatiana had to work for the tip. It proved a very entertaining tour.

If it wasn’t for the beer, the Sandeman’s tours of Prague that we went on would be the highlight of the trip.
I would highly recommend trying to be in Filip’s group for any tours. He is born and raised in Prague and is very, very knowledgeable of the history of all of Praha, with some great comedy that you’ve come to expect from Sandeman’s.
The only exception of who you should want for your tours is for the beer tour, where you will want to have Radim be your guide, because I think he would take a bullet for beer and I respect that so hard.
¹⁰⁄₁₀

We had a fabulous time with the free three hour walking tour with Sandeman’s New Prague Tour. Our tour guide, Martin, was from Prague and lived in the U.S. for a few years. He was very funny by sharing his experiences in Prague and the U.S. and provided good history of the city. We saw the following areas: Old Town Square & Astronomical Clock, View of Charles Bridge, Church of Our Lady before Týn, View of Prague Castle, Rudolfinum — Czech Philharmonic, Old New Synagogue & the Golem, Art Nouveau Municipal House, Spanish Synagogue, St. Nicolas’ Church (with the hand), Old Jewish Quarter, Kinský Palace, Wenceslas Square, WWII — Prague Uprising, Statue of Jan Hus, and Powder Tower. At the end of the tour, we gave him a tip. Tips are how the tour guides get paid as the do not receive compensation from the tour agency.

This was our first Sandeman’s New Europe Walking Tour and we LOVED it. The concept is easy: they market the tour as free but you tip your guide as much as you think the tour was worth. And the thing is, at the end you WANT to pay.
Our guide was called Colin, a Scottish guy who lives in Prague. He was super friendly and approachable — answering any question you threw at him. He kept the group captivated and entertained throughout the tour. It was brilliant and gave us a thorough tour of the main city sites (of which there are plenty! Our tour lasted about 3 hours with a stop off for a bagel in the middle!)
Sandeman’s was recommended to us by a friend and in turn we have recommended it to others. We just did a Sandeman’s Tour in Edinburgh and had the same positive experience. Looking forward to doing more of them around Europe!
(Sandeman’s market themselves mostly on Trip Advisor –booooo!- and their reviews are really excellent. It is sad that the other two reviewers before me didn’t enjoy their tours but for more confirmation of how good the guides are, have a sneak on Trip Advisor. But rate them on Unilocal ;))