Williamsburg Walking Tours
Williamsburg Walking Tours
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About
Our Walk About History tour is a 1 1/2-hour introduction to the history of Williamsburg -- its historical importance, development in the 18th century, glimpses into daily life of colonial inhabitants, and modern restoration. Our unique African American History Tour is specific to the Black experience in Williamsburg and lasts 1 1/2 hours. Our newest tour is The Civil War in Williamsburg, also a one-of-a kind tour of 90 minutes that covers The Peninsula Campaign, Battle of Williamsburg and the Union occupation of the town. Tours are outdoor walking tours. We do not go inside the buildings. All are excellent choices if you have limited time to visit Williamsburg, or are looking for an in-depth orientation on a particular subject before touring the town on your own.
Williamsburg, Virginia
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Williamsburg Walking Tours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
613 reviews
Excellent
560
Very good
38
Average
8
Poor
2
Terrible
5
mmc2849121
1 contribution
Oct 2021
I set up the African American Walking Tour for a group of friends and we attended on Oct 6, 2021. All I can say is that the tour was outstanding which that was also the thoughts of the other five that attended. From the start, when I was initially thinking about registering for the tour after researching things to do in Williamsburg, I called and spoke with Dave of the tour company. Dave was very helpful/knowledgeable and answered all of the questions that I had. He spoke of the tour guide (Trish) and had nothing but good things to say about her. Upon checking out the Williamsburg Walking Tour site and looking at the reviews, I saw nothing but outstanding reviews for Trish. Once signed up for the tour, I had an additional question and upon calling the company, Trish answered the phone and was very helpful. On the day of the tour, I received a call from Dave to make sure the group didn't encounter any issues making it to the tour site. Upon arriving at the site, I saw Trish walking up as I recognized her from the website photo. From the start of the tour, Trish had our attention. We were amazed by her knowledge as there was so much that she spoke about which a large portion of it was about history that was not part of the teachings when we were in school. The tour was an eye opening experience and I would recommend it for everyone regardless of ethnicity. Someone from my tour group highly recommended the tour to someone they knew as they were also in Williamsburg; and decided to attend the tour on Oct 8, 2021. Trish is the ultimate professional and is the type of tour guide that anyone would want to lead them through a tour. She deserve 1000 STARS as she was just that good. Trish is a wealth of knowledge and her story telling of history will hold your attention was start to finish. Go Trish!!!!!
Written October 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
f16swgal
1 contribution
Mar 2021
Enjoyed the tour. Learned interesting details about life and people in colonial Williamsburg. Guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. My only issue was this: The tour started at one end of the street and finished at the other end. At the end of the tour the guide just left us saying "if you have tickets you can go inside some of the buildings and talk to more people". It would have been nice to know that before-hand so we could have gotten tickets. The guide didn't even say where to buy tickets. And we just felt kind of abandoned.
Written March 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We try to make it clear on our website and tour reservation pages that we are a private company. Payments and confirmation emails are issued by our booking agent under our company's logo. Our tour descriptions include maps of the route's starting and ending points along Duke of Gloucester Street, and our guides are as helpful as possible in pointing out the historic area's eating establishments, merchants, public restrooms and bus stops along the way. Colonial Williamsburg tickets are not required in order to take our tours; therefore, we have no way of knowing beforehand which of our guests have or have not purchased them.
Written April 22, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jordanrowena67
Dayton, OH1 contribution
May 2022 • Family
The tour was excellent. Our guide, Patricia Duncan, was knowledgeable and passionate about the history and sharing her information with us. She is a great teacher and storyteller. It was clear that Patricia had done years of research on the subject and was succinct in delivering that information. Our group, my mom and my two sisters—all grown, appreciate the time and detail she gave to the subject.
Written May 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Izzer
Columbus, OH25 contributions
Jul 2021
Trish was the most knowledgable, entertaining guide. She catered her discussion to her audience (we were an all female group and she asked what we were interested in learning). My teen daughters LOVED her ability to relate her tour to what their lives would have been like, and current events that run parallel. She was able to discuss characters from Hamilton (which my daughters also love) and was able to bring depth and background to the songs in the play. Now, when they listen to the music, they'll talk about what Trish taught them. THANK YOU TRISH!!
Written July 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
doncole777
The Woodlands, TX6 contributions
Oct 2020
Our 90 minute walk about history tour with Trish was excellent! She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history. The tour dud not enter any buildings. Trish covered much history that we did not hear about when we purchased day passes the following day allowing us entry into the buildings. The self guided tour completed the tour. Her tour would be recommended prior to taking the self guided tour allowing entry into the buildings.
Written October 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you. Our 'tour-guided tours' have become favorable over 'self-guided tours' of Williamsburg.
Written November 5, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lynn M
20 contributions
Feb 2020
This was an intriguing tour revealing an abundance of facts about the transatlantic slave trade and insights into historic life in the Williamsburg, VA area. Our guide, Trish, was well researched, very engaging, and even provided additional resources for continued study. I highly recommend Williamsburg Walking Tours.
Written February 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our thanks for your kind review. Our work involves a great deal of research, and we are always willing to share our resources.
Written July 7, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
sjopa
Pennsylvania12 contributions
Jun 2020 • Family
Wow! Our guide,Trish, was so,so personable, interesting and knowledgable . She fine-tuned the information provided to meet the interest levels of our group...two historians and a dancer. The stories were part human interest while brimming with factual detail. She referenced books we might like, and side trips for further exploration as well. She clearly loves her job and was passionate about Williamsburg history. We highly recommend this walking tour and Trish!!
Written June 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If we can learn even a little about a guest's interests or where they live, we can tailor a tour to reflect it. That can help us keep our material fresh and make every tour unique. Thank you for coming.
Written July 7, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Marc David Miller
Washington DC, DC33 contributions
Jul 2020 • Solo
It pains me to write a negative review of a walking tour company, as I had a travel company for Russia and ran many good walking tours.
Unfortunately, I was not able to take the tour due to an error on their part as well as poor communications. Thus I can’t recommend Williamsburg Walking Tours.
I called on Friday afternoon to book a tour, gave my credit card number, my phone number, and email, reserving for 10am the next day. I then had meetings all afternoon and early evening. Around 8pm I saw a text message, “Your tour at 10 is not confirmed unless you contact me. No charge, no tour.” I had no idea what that meant, but sent a message back saying “I will be there.” Later I listened to my voicemail, he left a message saying that he forgot to take the CVV code. I tried calling back, no answer, sent further text messages with my code and asking for a confirmation. I called in the morning, no answer. At 922am, he sent a message “No tour @ 10”. I asked if the tour can be rescheduled, and never received an answer.
Problems and changes occur every day in the travel business, and good travel companies are such because they handle such issues with ease, and communicate changes and mistakes. It is a shame that these simple hurdles weren’t properly addressed.
Unfortunately, I was not able to take the tour due to an error on their part as well as poor communications. Thus I can’t recommend Williamsburg Walking Tours.
I called on Friday afternoon to book a tour, gave my credit card number, my phone number, and email, reserving for 10am the next day. I then had meetings all afternoon and early evening. Around 8pm I saw a text message, “Your tour at 10 is not confirmed unless you contact me. No charge, no tour.” I had no idea what that meant, but sent a message back saying “I will be there.” Later I listened to my voicemail, he left a message saying that he forgot to take the CVV code. I tried calling back, no answer, sent further text messages with my code and asking for a confirmation. I called in the morning, no answer. At 922am, he sent a message “No tour @ 10”. I asked if the tour can be rescheduled, and never received an answer.
Problems and changes occur every day in the travel business, and good travel companies are such because they handle such issues with ease, and communicate changes and mistakes. It is a shame that these simple hurdles weren’t properly addressed.
Written July 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We pride ourselves on professionalism, a positive attitude, respect for others and basic common courtesy in our communication with others. If you had shown any of these qualities, things would have gone differently.
Written July 7, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Duane Orr
Charlotte, NC5 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
Awesome. We, an adult group of 5, took the African American History Tour led by Trish. This is our second time taking her tour. She passionately toldls the stories and conditions of Black life in the colonial times. Her personal research, depth and span of knowledge and zeal to tell the unvarnished truths of slavery in colonial times distinguishes hers from other colonial Black history tours. I recommend it for anyone who wants to understand what Colonial Williamsburg was really like.
Written October 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Betty E
Hillsborough, NC125 contributions
Oct 2019
If you are passing through Williamsburg, take one of the walking tours. The Williamsburg Ghost tour is very well done. Williamsburg is filled with historic sites but we stumbled upon the tour and it was worth the money. There is a charge for the tour.
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your comments. Williamsburg Walking Tours offers Walk About History, African American History and Civil War tours of the city. All are unique in Williamsburg.
Written February 11, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Would I be able to bring my dog on the walking tour? She is well behaved.
Written October 4, 2020
We welcome dogs on our tours, as long as they are on a leash, are not disruptive and are kept close to you. (Think of it as canine social distancing.) Also, you accept liability for your pet's actions.
Written October 4, 2020
Is a ghost tour offered? I can’t find any information on the website about one
Written June 21, 2019
No, they used to have them. But if you call the tour company one of their tour guides, who used to do the ghost tour may be willing to accommodate you. Good luck
Written June 21, 2019
Where is the best place to park?
Written April 1, 2017
There are several paid lots nearby. We parked at the Visitor's Center which was free. It was a little farther away and made for a good walk, but certainly not horrible. Just make sure to allow yourself plenty of extra time if you choose to park here.
Written April 2, 2017
If ones takes the tour is a pet allowed?
Written August 4, 2015
Does the price of this tour include entry into Colonial Williamsburg? Or, is there a separate fee for entry to Colonial Williamsburg, in addition to the price of this tour?
Written July 10, 2015
Although fares to Colonial Williamsburg are sold - there is no fee to enter and shop and explore. Certainly, no entrance ticket is necessary to do the one day tour.
Written July 11, 2015
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