OxfordwalkingtoursofoxfordReviews of oxfordwalkingtoursofoxford.com

SCAM!!! We went on this tour at 11am.The guide introduced himself as “Matthew” saying he was replacing another person as this person was sick. To be honest he didn't look or sound like this Matthew person we were supposed to meet.He had a heavy accent and spoken with grammatical mistakes, which seems really strange for a person who studied at Oxford University and has been living for 14 years afterwards, but he seems to be friendly enough. He gave us the leaflets right at the beginning of the tour where dictated prices were mentioned.He told us what we were going to be seeing on this tour...All the places mentioned in the leaflet and on the website. At first it was ok but I was still looking forward seeing the colleges and old halls inside as promised. After about 20 min of the tour he said we were going to have a toilet break( which I thought was strange for a tour of 90 min and just after 20 min from the start.. )But that was a time for him to approach everyone separately and ask for payment for the tour! In the end the only places we went inside was the University Church and Weston library.We didn't go into any of the other places like Christ Church College, Trinity College, University Church Of St Mary, Bodleiam Library, Old School Quads, School Of Divinty, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford Printing Press, Museum Of Science, All Souls College, Exeter College, Jesus College, Brasenose College, New College, Balliol College, Duke Humphreys Library and Harry Potter locations..... These were all the locations we were promised and only a few of them were mentioned and some were pointed to but that was it.He said that we could visit them in our own time if we wish! The only Harry Potter location we saw was a top of a tree behind the fence used in one of the films. But he said it’s nothing special the tree is a tree like any other in the parks. He did take us to some locations but nothing like what was advertised and promised.Some buildings from outside or pointed out from the distance only. We were very disappointed and felt like we were scammed! Please avoid at all costs!!!

Misleading advertising, dishonest, poor value tour that is not free as advertised but forced pay, verging on scam to prey on tourists. They should be investigated by trading standards Went on a walking tour lead which was promised to go inside university buildings and colleges all included in the tour - after 90 mins we realised that we had been misled and weren't going to get what was promised. "Matthew" demands payment after 20 mins of the tour before you realise that you won't get the tour that was promised. They are a dodgy disgraceful company that should be investigated and shut down. DONT BOOK WITH THEM AT ALL!

We fell for this scam! We have done Free walking tours all over Europe and really enjoyed them. Generously tipping at the end after a great couple of hours. Matthew had gathered a big group (approx 60 people). About 30 minutes into the tour there was a 10 minute break during which he demanded payment. He was actually quite aggressive, saying we could leave if we didn't pay at least the minimum amount. We continued with the tour, which became a smaller group as quite a few people left. We really felt disappointed and ripped off. This is not a free walking tour, look elsewhere!

After finding this tour online I decided to email and make a booking as it said it was free and run by students of the university. We could donate depending on how enjoyable it was at the end. Upon arriving at the meet point- I took one look at Matthew and had a gut feeling to back out of this “tour”- as we were leaving I heard him discussing with the large group tourists about how much to pay. My family and I had a wonderful day walking about taking on the beautiful city, local people told me we were wise to avoid, and to watch out for scammers. I found all these reviews after coming back home and wish everyone would be directed to these reviews before booking. Please beware and look out for these types of scammers.

Wish I'd seen these reviews before the tour. Unfortunately, it is not free. 30 mins into the tour you have to pay. I said how can I pay on my satisfaction with only 30 mins in of a 1.5-2 hour tour. I got told pay or leave. We should have left! I paid £10 each and said depending on the end of the tour we'd pay more. We left before the tour ended. He refused an American family to continue with us as they said we'll pay at the end as per the website, he told them to disappear, then told everyone they were being rasist which they hadn't been. Avoid at all costs.

This is the worst website that advertised a free walking tour. NOT FREE AT ALL. What the website advertised was a fraud. At the beginning of the tour, Matthew wanted us to give money as he said this tour was not free. Matthew was rude and asked us to leave if we would not pay. We left as we didn't have money to pay.

Avoid at all costs! Mathew ran the worst walking tour service we've ever experienced. The whole thing seems like a big scam from the beginning and you are sure of it when, 20mins after the start and maybe 20 sentences of "the guide" he ask you to pay for the "free" tour and if you say that you want to do it at the end of it he, in a rude way, advises you to leave.

We booked “free” walking tour with “Oxford University Walking Tours” on the oxfordwalkingtoursofoxford.com website. The website, confirmation email and the leaflet handed to us by the guide all state that you can “pay as you like” depending on your “happiness” either before the tour starts, during the tour or before you leave. “Mathew” initially started asking for payment very early in the tour. We told him we would pay him later. He then asked at a later stop but we felt that was still too soon (about an hour into the tour) and said we would pay at the end. He then said that was unacceptable and we needed to leave the tour. When we tried to point out the wording in the email and leaflet he became belligerent and threatened to call the police if we didn’t leave. We tried to talk to him again when he appeared to have calmed down a bit and he said he would come back to us. We therefore continued to follow the tour to the next stop where he told the whole group we were being badly behaved and he didn’t give “consent” to follow him further. At this point we felt we had no choice but to leave. It was a very unpleasant experience and we would advise avoiding this tour.