Seeking Private Tour-Guide Recommendations in Copenhagen

[Paulmj]

A group of us (10 adults) will be on Celebrity's Constellation next July. The ship makes a 2-day stop in Copenhagen.

 

I am looking for recommendations of private tour guides who can handle a group our size and also give us a good presentation on the highlights of the city and the surrounding area. There are a number of websites listing tour operators, but I would prefer feedback from some people who have had some first-hand experience over there.

 

Thanks.

[SueMo]

You might want to check out the Baltic Sea boards...they are specific to Scandenavia & Russia. My DH & I were on that very ship last year and we did Copenhagen on our own. The ship offers a free shuttle into the downtown area and we used Rick Steve's Scandenavia guide book to tour. Be sure you take a canal boat ride (use the Netto Badene company, they're cheaper and just as good as the others). We also visited Tivoli Gardens the first night and had a lot of fun! The Stroget (main shopping area) is also a must see.

[Bruin Steve]

The best (and most highly recommended) guide in Copenhagen is an American expatriate, Richard Karpen

 

http://www.copenhagenwalks.com/

 

We took one of his tours (Rosenborg Palace) when we did our Baltic Cruise in 2001...Absolutely first class...

[juliejoe]

We took two of Richard's Walking Tours and they were very good. However ----If you are already a group of 10, you could end up in a group of 30 + for his tours. The two we took with him were really too big at 20+. At Rosenborg we were there at the same time as several even larger tour groups. It was terribly crowded and IMHO we'd have done better being on our own with a good guidebook. By the time our tour was over, it had thinned out considerably so we went back in by ourselves so we could see what we could not see (or hear about) when we went through with Richard.

 

These tours were on the same day - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Some of the others were on both tours, but not all. Maybe Richard has gotten too popular? When it's not a private tour, you have no control over the size of the group. Richard did not cut off at a certain number and who can blame him?

 

Copenhagen is very easy to do on your own.

 

Julie

[Paulmj]

JulieJoe, is your "Richard" the same as BruinSteve's?

[juliejoe]

JulieJoe, is your "Richard" the same as BruinSteve's?

 

Yes - the same.

 

IMHO any walking tour of more than 10 or 12 is too big. With the smaller group I'm sure Richard's tours would be first rate! He did say that both tours that day were unusually large. If you want a guide, I'd try to find someone that would take just your group.

[Aussie Gal]

We find Copenhagen such an easy city to walk around and if you have a good guide book you can easily do it on your own. We have been to Copenhagen twice and feel we have just about seen everything. It would be impossible in a group of 20, just like being in a bus tour group, having to follow the leader all the time.

 

In my opinion it would be better to split your group into half and just plan to follow the same itinerary.

 

Jennie

[HowardB]

I tend to agree with some of the other posters here. The main sites in Copenhagen are quite near each other and it's easy to walk around. I also don't think there is any need to stay all together the whole day. If you split up, each group of people could focus on what best suits them (e.g. shopping, historic sites, museums, cafes, etc.) I don't think you need such a "group mentality". - you'd be saving $$$ by not hiring a guide and by splitting up you'd have a greater chance for serendipity!!

[trvlnliz]

Richard also does private tours when he is not doing the group walking tours. We used him on a Sunday for a private tour of Rosenborg Palace. He is great!

Liz

[Paulmj]

A very good way to tour a city is with the so-called Hop-On, Hop-Off buses. We used this company in Dublin and enjoyed it very much:

 

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/index2.htm

 

They have a Copenhagen operation as well as in many other cities worldwide.

 

If you only have a few hours, you can hit the high-spots, get off if you want to explore further, or drive on by after at least seeing the place from the road. It is a very efficient way to see things and the cost is nominal.

 

The Copenhagen map indicates that one of the stops is the Langelinie Pier where the cruise ships tie up.

[dbh62ark]

I also recommend Copenhagen on your own. Our ship was there overnight, so we went to Tivoli on the night we arrived. We got up early the next day did two of the Frommers walking tours the next morning, and they included all the highlights such as the Little Mermaid (near where our ship docked) and the Nyhavn old waterfront that is featured in most of the postcards of Copenhagen.

 

After that, we used the trolley type public transportation to go to Christiansborg Palace (note that you'll need to time carefully to get an English tour) to see the state rooms. Then we split up, and my husband went to the Resistance Museum (he's a WWII buff even though we are in our early 40's) while I went to Rosenborg Castle to see the royal jewels and other exhibits.

 

We also had time to shop on the Stroget, although this is not one of my favorite shopping cities in Europe by any stretch of the imagination.

 

English is widely spoken, the public transportation is fast and cheap and so are the taxis, and it's an easy city to see on your own. I highly recommend that route so that you can see more than you could see in a group and have a quality experience (not one of those drive-by tours that I detest).

 

Hope you have a great time,

 

Donna

 

We did all this without being rushed