Induction and Orientation Tours of London

A head start in London for people moving to the city for work or study.

Often booked by:

• Individuals, couples and families who are relocating to London for work or study.
• Employers relocating staff to London.
• Parents & guardians of students or employees whose child is coming to live in London for the first time.

So, you are relocating to London to work or study, welcome!

London can be a bewildering place to move to, even for local Brits. The massive range of choices available, the unique transport system, its own etiquette and way of doing things. It can be even more confusing if you are moving to London from outside the UK. Of course over a period of a few weeks or months you’ll feel completely settled in and totally at home, millions of people have moved here over London’s 2000 years of history and have managed to fit in and get on just fine.  It is a friendly place and you’ll soon make new friends who will be happy to give advice. But in your first couple of days you might feel like you want someone sensible to show you the ropes in an unbiased way, I can do that.

My Service

I aim to give you a rapid head start in London. I am local and committed to staying up-to-date on a huge range of subjects. My whole life is London based both personally and professionally. Whatever you want to know about daily life in London I’ll show you and if I don’t know then I’ll promise to find out and tell you (“Meaning of Life”, “Secrets of Wealth” and “Eternal Good Health” exclusions and similar apply!)

The Questions I’m Most Often Asked:

• What is good, interesting and perhaps little known about the neighbourhoods that I am planning to live and study/work in?
• How does the transport system work and how might an Oyster card save me time and money?
• How do I charge an Oyster card without waiting on line?
• How can I exchange the vast amount of meaningless small change I am accumulating for free? (Newbies always pay with notes, well, I know I do when I am abroad.)
• What is the difference between a taxi and a mini-cab? I can explain and also tell you why you’ll never need to use Uber in London.
• For tips on how to stay safe.
• For tips on tipping.
• How can I order a drink in a bar without looking like a tourist and what is unique about London’s pub & bar culture?
• Where is the nearest grocery store/laundry service/pharmacy/doctor?
• Places to eat and places never to eat? My answers to this are totally subjective!
• What is the best route to take to and from work or university?
• Where can I still enjoy my sports and hobbies?
• How best to explore the rest of the country and Europe?
• What different slang terms mean.
• Places to avoid on a Saturday night? Well, Leicester Square is one, I’ll give you that tip for free! Unless you like that sort of thing, gross,  in which case I’ll happily suggest it as a must-do!
• The best and most reliable local websites, for a massive range of interests?
• How can I respect local customs and tribal behaviour? Well you wouldn’t want to mess up at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party, nor cheer too loud for Man Utd at a sports  bar, especially if they are playing Chelsea and you are near Stamford Bridge!

Your Tour, Your Questions:

Before and on the day we will focus completely and totally on your questions and you. These are my most personalised tours.

You maybe staying in Wood Green and studying at UCL or living in Chelsea and working at Canary Wharf. You might be a boxer studying ancient history or a ballerina with a penchant for maritime insurance; a total whiskey hound or completely teetotal. The chances are I’ll never ever get the same combination of locations and interests again, so your tour will be a true one-off in every possible respect.

I have put options for tours up to eight hours long below but very often four hours is enough time to answer most questions. In eight hours we could do some personalised sight-seeing as well, if you are interested.

Key Advantages

• Save time, money and energy “learning the ropes”.
• Explore the places you want to see, answer your questions and skip the things you aren’t interested in or are already familiar with.
• We travel at your own pace, pausing for a break whenever you like.
• Explore hidden places that you probably wouldn’t find for yourself.
• Have the exclusive services of an award winning, insured and fully qualified professional guide.
• Enjoy total flexibility.
• Receive follow up after the tour: for example a map of the route we took, links to websites, recommendations, suggestions, tips and hints about anything we happen to have been talking about during the day.

Unique Features

• I believe I am the only professional guide in London offering such tours. If I am not the only one I’ll confidently bet I am the first one to do so and the most experienced!
• I never take more than one private booking per day so you will have my undivided attention and I can be totally flexible about where and when we start and finish.
• I don’t use scripts or set routes. Well I couldn’t for a tour like this!
• My focus will always be to save you money and time so that you really get the most out of your time in London.

What I Can’t Offer

• Any tours outside London. I am exclusively a London specialist.
• Any driving tours. All my tours are by foot or by London’s excellent public transport with an occasional cab where that offers a benefit.
  

My rates include

• My expenses during the tour (refreshments, public transport).
• Pre-visit consultation/advice.

They don’t include

• Your transport costs, entry fees, refreshments.

Payment

• You can pay me on the day in cash, or beforehand by credit card/bank transfer or Paypal.
• Depending on the tour we plan I may ask for a small deposit.

Cancellation

• If you need to cancel your tour for any reason I’d appreciate as much notice as possible. Given notice I will refund any deposit or pre-payment, less transaction fees, in full. For bookings cancelled within 24 hours I can’t offer a refund.
• If I need to cancel (this has only happened once in my entire career) I’ll refund any payments including fees in full immediately and will do my very best to find a trusted colleague who is available and fully briefed to run the same tour we have planned and I’ll follow up with a phone call to answer any questions.

How to Book - All bookings are suspended for the time being

For a genuinely tailored tour it’s obviously helpful for me to know a little about you and what you are planning.

• The date(s) you are looking at.
• How many people in your group and their ages? Normally I run this tour for one or two people only, if you are a larger group I’ll quote you a different price.
• Any special requirements?
• Are you visiting London and have you been before? Or are you British?
• Where are you planning to stay?
• Where will you be working or studying?
• Any particular enthusiasms, passions, hobbies, professional interests you have. Or any things you really don’t want to see and aren’t interested in.

If you like my ideas for a tour we can come up with a more detailed plan, by email or phone, before you decide whether or not to book.