Sites and Insights: An Expert-Led Edinburgh Welcome Tour

I want to emphasize that my low likelihood of recommending Context is not at all based on Sergio. Sergio was wonderful and he did a great job, especially as he had to step in at the last minute. My problem was with the disorganization of Context. We received a call the morning of our tour, about an hour before it was supposed to begin and we'd been rushing around to make it on time, stating that our tour guide had cancelled, but they had located a replacement (that was fine with us). What was annoying was that this replacement suggested pushing the tour back by an hour, due to a marathon going on at the same time, which we were told may make things crowded. Did our original tour guide not know about this marathon? Were they just going to take us through the race? And how did Context travel not know there was the Edinburgh Marathon happening that morning? It seems like poor planning and something that should have been on your radar. A 10:00 am tour never should have been a possibility if there was a marathon route going through the tour route. It's your company's job to know if there are events that will disrupt a tour. As it was, we had to push our tour back an hour (we were given the option to keep it at 10:00, but when told "you can still do it at 10:00, but it'll likely be very crowded" it doesn't exactly feel like a choice). As it was, we had to miss another reservation we had at 1:30, we'd rushed around all morning to make it on time for our originally scheduled tour, and basically it messed up our plans for the day. I've taken tours with many companies, all over the world, and this was a first. Again, I understand that guides get sick and cancel, that was not the issue. I was just very struck by the lack of organization and forethought on Context's part, especially as this tour is on the more expensive side. I really don't get how it was worth nearly 300 GBP for the two of us. Not that Sergio wasn't good, he was, but I think it's overpriced when I compare it to other tours. When I expressed my disappointment to the woman on the phone, she said she was working remotely (I believe in Italy), and that Context relies on the guides to know about events that may impact tours. That's basically how it felt--like a bunch of disconnected people who don't know what's going on in a given place. For that reason, the cost and the terrible organization, I wouldn't recommend you guys.

Jane is very knowledgeable and a great story teller as well. We really enjoyed our time together. She made the Old Town come alive for us.

Alice was extremely knowledgeable and was a pleasure to learn from.