Private Viking Walk of York

John brings history to life !

John brought the Viking history of York to life . His depth of knowledge combined with his wonderful enthusiasm, made the experience truly memorable, and I believe we learned things about the Viking history of York that few people ever get to hear about can’t say enough good things I would recommend it to anyone I know and don’t know !

Excellent Tour with John

John was an excellent tour guide and full of knowledge of the Vikings. Impressed my husband who is a historian.

Highlight of our trip!

If you have an interest in Vikings, you HAVE TO do this tour! It was the highlight of our trip. John is so knowledgeable, fun, and engaging, and we learned a ton. No joke, I wish I could have hired him for the entire day. This tour is worth every penny.

Disappointed for missing half of itinerary stops and not staying on theme

I really wanted to like this tour, especially because the guide seemed interesting and upbeat. Unfortunately, the reality didn't match my expectations. The tour barely touched on Viking history, and missed half of the proposed itinerary. I can't recommend this tour as it was off topic and didn’t feel like a good value for money. Despite being promised insights into York's rich Viking history, the tour ended up being incoherent, with hardly any Viking stories. Instead, I got a mix of random facts, mostly focusing on Romans and history as recent as Henry VIII. The tour missed the mark on its Viking theme. What disappointed me even more was that we didn't visit most of the places listed in the itinerary, such as the Jorvik Viking Center, Castle Museum, cliff tower, and the Viking-themed bar. Considering it was a private tour with just me and the guide, we were extremely mobile and missing all those stops confused me. I asked about the Jorvik center at the end, and the guide informed me it was already closed and I couldn’t visit even by myself. This information should have been communicated earlier so we could adjust the start time, begin the tour there, or at least notify me of potential closures beforehand. While I understand Viking history is based on folklore, titling a tour "Vikings" is misleading when the tour doesn't live up to that promise. The tour was exactly 1.5 hour long. Overall, it was a disappointing experience.

Informative and entertaining

Brilliant tour. Learned a lot and we were thoroughly entertained Great insights into the history of York and the manifestation of that in the city today. Highly recommended!

Not what we expected

Perhaps we did not do enough research, but the tour was not at all what we expected. Our guide only spoke about the Romans and the Viking. No other history. But most importantly he said it was a private tour and we could see what we wanted. When we said we wanted to see the cathedral he said “no, not part of his tour”! He said we could go in afterwards, but when we did it was closed. A licensed guide of York, should know the hours of the main attraction.

Viking tour

Tour guide advised a pick up area closer to be able to give us a full tour experience. Our guide John was very informative and knew the history of York inside and out. Not only covering the Viking eta but also romans until Tudor period We found it very informative and easy to understand. My wife who is not a real history buff also said she enjoyed the tour (which is saying something ) Job. Also gave us tips on places to go and see. I would totally recommend John for a private tour

Really fun history tour

Really knowledgeable tour guide and had a lot of fun learning the history. Was nice and informative, and was a really great interactive experience.

Delightful walking tour through York

We started off on the York wall discussing the actual age of the wall and how the walls' shape was created from its history. We also discussed some anecdotal stories about the queen and her humor in regard to the wall. We learned about words and phrases that were created through ancient times. We then learned about the vikings' religion and their gods. It was an extremely interesting tour.

Brilliant!

Brilliantly guided by John. Animated, informative, humorous, knowledgeable, passionate. What more could one ask for?

The perfect York Tour - John’s the best!

Could not have asked for a more knowledgeable, interesting, passionate, friendly, energetic tour guide than John! We walked the entire fortress perimeter with him, walking and talking Roman, Norman, Viking history, new archeological finds, and city secrets. He appreciated and happily integrated our love of Netflix Vikings shows and their characters, differentiating between fact and fiction. So enjoyable! Thank you John! You were the best!

Loved it

Walked this with my partner as he loves vikings and the tour guide John was brilliant, he knew what he was talking about and it was so interesting. He took us to some places I would never have known were there, would definitely recommend as we loved it.

Tour guide was excellent....

Tour guide was excellent. So much knowledge. Picked us up from our hotel. Would recommend to anyone. Well worth the money.

Excellent and very interesting

Me and my wife really enjoyed our walk with John our tour guide he was very knowledgeable of the history of york and nordic mythology, we really enjoyed seeing bits that we wouldn't have found otherwise and the history behind places. I would highly recommend booking a tour we are already thinking of doing another one in future

Such incredible history

Such incredible history told by a super engaging tour guide, John. The insights and stories shared were so vivid as we walked the paths of this fascinating part of the world. Highly recommended!

I fell in love with York and will definitely back for more history and discovers

It was absolutely enjoyable walk around most important places in York and also incredible dive in history that helped to understand logistic of the city

John was a great tour guide. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging.

John was a great tour guide. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging. We were a little late to the tour having missed our first train but he met us at the station and adjusted the tour. Can we give him 10 stars!

Great tour!

Fantastic experience! John was very kind, informative, and patient. My mother is moving slower these days and very free with her opinions on history as she understands it, and he was patient and kind throughout while still correcting where she had it wrong. We both came away with a deeper knowledge of the town of York, the Viking experience, and the Victorians habit of adding useless details to medieval architecture. He gave us excellent directions back to our lodgings and gave recommendations for a Viking pub/restaurant to visit. Overall a great tour!

York Roman to Viking Tour

Thanks for really fascinating afternoon; highly recommended. Walked the most interesting locations from a historical perspective.

I’m going to sum this up...

I’m going to sum this up briefly. John was an excellent tour guide on Viking history I would suggest using him.

John’s bespoke Viking tour

John was so passionate and knowledgable. The tour was totally bespoke based on what we wanted to see and talk about. Without doing this tour I don’t think we would have seen the hidden gems John showed us. Included far more than just Viking history. Would highly recommend!

The experience of a walking tour in York

Discovery. John super guide turned the Viking tour into Roman and Viking tour. We felt like explorers gaining knowledge and understanding for some of the vast History of York, both above and what was beneath our feet.

Excellent, enjoyable, personalized tour

Was excellent! He personalized it in a very enjoyable way. I got to learn about stuff I wanted to learn about.

Great Experience

John was great and gave us an indepth and engaging experience. He was super enthusiastic also... Highly recommend!

Not just about Vikings, this is a great historical tour of York.

We had a fascinating tour of a familiar place to us which kept us interested despite the freezing cold weather . We learnt a lot about York we didn’t know and like other reviewers I would say this tour covers vastly more about the history of York than just the Vikings. The animations of historic buildings were really helpful to visualise what we were seeing when it was originally built. Johns premise was that history is very subjective, being based on the viewpoints and agendas of whoever wrote it down. Which I agree with. But he also has quite strongly held opinions about early Christianity based on his own reading. As this is an area on which my husband has also read widely with different conclusions there were some uncomfortable moments. I think early on there was the opportunity for John to have tailored some of his talk to the audience which he probably missed. I would highly recommend this tour but if you hold any strongly held religious belief be prepared for discomfort. Highlights: The multifaceted tower. Lowlight: God is a dog on a leash.

Must do when in York

This is an excellent tour of you like Roman and Viking history, (and even if you don’t!). John was very knowledgable and, more importantly, brought the history of York to life. Highly recommend this to anyone visiting York.

Amazing time!

We both had such an amazing time! John was so knowledgable and friendly. We experienced York in a way we wouldn’t have, if we didn’t do the tour! I would recommend to anyone especially if you want to learn about the Vikings history!

Excellent Tour with a Knowledgeable Guide

Although this tour was billed as a ‘Viking Tour of York’, it was actually much more covering the complete history of the city from Roman times through to the modern day. John was very knowledgeable and knew his subject inside out. His commentary was both informative and interesting and he pitched it at exactly the right level for his audience. An excellent tour and highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of the city.

Well worth the money

John is very knowledgeable, private is well worth the money, tailored and easy to ask questions. Go at your speed. Able to meet at our hotel. Very good for disabled people.

Fantastic experience

John is an excellent communicator and narrator. My son was enthralled with his knowledge and communication style. Would highly recommend.

Very informative tour with lots of detailed information

Very knowledgeable guide with lots of detailed information about the vikings and where they fitted in the history of York

Excellent Tour All Round

John was an excellent tour guide. He was knowledgeable and friendly and we all thoroughly enjoyed the tour. His screen and paper maps of various time periods helped bring his information to life. My wife is writing a children's novel set in Viking England and this tour provided a great start to her research. Many Thanks.

Thank you

Thanks to our guide John, we had a brilliant time and found it very informative, all while taking a beautiful walk around the sites of York. We would definitely recommend

Amazing Tour

I booked this guided walk for my history enthusiast husband and I, whilst on a trip in York. John our guide definitely did not disappoint. John being so knowledgeable he brought the whole tour to life. We both came away knowing much more about the history of York than we’d known before. So glad we did this. John you are amazing! Thank you for a very enjoyable afternoon. A definite must for all enthusiasts!!

A must for anyone wanting to know the history of York

I booked this guided walk for me & my 13 year old who is mad on history & especially Vikings. It definitely did not disappoint. John our guide was very knowledgeable and made the walk fun as well as informative. We both came away knowing much more about the history of York than we’d known before. Thank you for a very enjoyable afternoon

Viking tour of York

Excellent tour! John is very knowledgable and enthusiastic which made this tour so interesting. He has fantastic insights into Viking times and answered all of our questions and more! Would definitely recommend!

Great Tour

Great tour, very informative, covering not just Vikings but the history of the area and periods each side. John was a great host, funny and engaging.

viking walk in york

The tour was very informative and the guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. One of the best things on our very enjoyable trip.

York is amazing place where we learned about Roman and Viking times.

Our guide, John, was so well-informed, fun and dramatic that this tour was one of our favorite things on our trip to England. We saw Roman and Viking era ruins which helped history come alive, but John was needed to make sense of it all. I wish I could have spent more time with John and more time in York. There's so much to see there and in Yorkshire!

Private York Viking Tour

Great tour. John our guide was incredibly knowledgeable of the history of York and gave us a perspective we could not have gotten on a larger group tour. He catered the trip utilizing what we already knew and adding a whole layer of history on top. Highly recommended!

This is tour will bring out your inner Viking!

To begin, John is a very kind, accommodating and well mannered person. That, apart from his immense knowledge of the city’s history, Viking lore, and so much more, made this an incredible experience. I would recommend this 100% if you’re in the hunt for someone dedicated enough to share his time and mastery of York’s history. Someone dedicated well beyond duty. He addrsssed all my questions, and regaled us with such glorious trivia as we walked the avenues, and walls of the city of York. We ended up sharing a drink at Valhalla pub as he had a few moments before his next booking. Matt, the owner was very affable himself. So, now you know, book this trip! John! I’m looking forward to your interactive York game, it’s looking awesome!

City trip York

Wij hadden een minicruise geboekt vanuit Rotterdam naar York. Daarbij hadden wij een Private Viking Walk of York geboekt voor een rondleiding door de stad aangezien mijn man en ik geïnteresseerd zijn in het leven van de Vikingen. Onze gids voor die dag was John. Wij hadden met hem afgesproken dat de tocht voor ons hotel zou starten. Het was een fantastische rondleiding. John vertelde alles heel duidelijk en met veel humor. De tijd vloog voorbij. Wij hebben een super leuke ervaring erbij en kregen veel informatie van John en hij liet ons genoeg speciale plekjes zien die ons terug laten kijken op de Viking periode van York. Zeker een aanrader !! John, thanks for the fantastic walk !