Sandemans New Europe

This is the second trip in which I used Sandeman’s guides for tourism; first in Munich, now here in Berlin. I highly recommend them.
Stephanie Taylor was our tour guide for both the free Berlin walk and the next day for the Sachsenhausen trip. She LOVES everything Berlin, and I mean heaps of information was inside that brain of hers! In fact, she said this time next year she will be publishing a book about Berlin (thus, this is why I mentioned her last name, so I will be sure to check it out!)
I call my husband «The unhappy tourist» because he acts like seeing new sights is torture. He actually enjoyed the two tours because Stephanie was informative and humorous. Yeah!

Tour muy entretenido con David (de Graná!), ameno y muy bien explicado. Los tours de esta empresa son siempre un acierto.

We had an excellent time on this tour. Our guide, Leo was a pro. He gave us a crash course in German history and peppered each site with interesting tidbits. His closer on how the Berlin Wall actually came down was jaw-​dropping. Go with these guys and be sure to tip. They deserve it.

I love Sandeman’s tours. They never fail me.
I took a free walking tour with Leen, and she is awesome. She is so energetic and so knowledgable! We walked through a lot of Berlin in the three hours (including a twenty-​minute break), and it was fun. I got to learn about Berlin much more than I otherwise would have, and I understand Berlin much better now.
I love Sandeman’s tours. They are always from energetic, very knowledgable people, and I always learn so much. Highly, highly, highly recommend!

When I told people I was going to Berlin, everyone who had been to Berlin advised me to do a free walking tour. And very good advice it was. A friend specifically recommended Sandemans New Europe tours, and I recommend them too.
While the tour is free, you are expected (not required, but expected) to tip the tour guide, which is the source of their income. I like this payment structure, as if you are on a budget, you don’t have to pay more than you can afford. I’m sure there are some cheap (not poor, but cheap) people who try and get away with paying nothing or as close to nothing as possible, but the majority of people pay a fair rate. (My sister and I tipped € 10 each, which I think is pretty reasonable.)
When you arrive at Brandenburg Gate, the meeting spot for your tour, it’s a bit chaotic and unorganized. (We had pre-​paid for our tickets, and when we went up to an employee to sign in, we were told to go to her colleague, who told us to go back to the first person, and we were bounced back and forth between employees and despite the website saying you can skip the line if you’ve pre-​paid, we still had to wait for people who had paid. We weren’t impressed with the sign-​in process.) There were a LOT of people waiting for the tour, but thankfully the crowd was broken down into smaller groups of a more manageable 20 to 30 people. Our tour guide was Mark Connolly, and he was very good. He was informative and presented the information in an interesting and easy to understand manner. The tour was about three hours, and we saw various sights such as the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Holocaust Memorial. We liked the tour so much that we signed up for the Sachsenhausen tour the next day.
I definitely recommend them, and I’m thrilled to discover that Sandemans New Europe has tours in Prague, where I will be going in October.

This review is for Rob McCracken and his wonderful walking tour of Berlin. Rob was a history major in college and was extremely passionate and detailed when explaining why Berlin is his favorite city, as well as other places to check out while visiting. The tour did not feel rushed, he was humorous and kept us (group of around ~30) engaged and informed the whole way. My friend and I definitely left the tour with a greater appreciation for the city and learned so much history about it. Definitely a must do in Berlin and try and get Rob! Show up early as spots are limited and they don’t take stragglers. Only suggestion would be to go up to the wall/​spend more time closer to it as our group was across the street.

I’ve take this tour 4 times and live in Berlin. It gets worse and more condensed with shorter tours and less details every time. was rather disappointed w last tour guide who was more interested in plugging his other tours. He barely spoke about the memorial of the murdered Jews, didn’t show the other side of checkpoint Charlie, didn’t show the window of the burning books. Almost skipped right over it. Rather disappointing. Could have been an «off day». But I was far from impressed

This review is for Stephen and his Free Walking Tour and the tour to the Sauchenhausen Concentration camp.
Stephen is a wonderful tour guide — incredibly and engaging and funny (when appropriate). We first went on the Free Walking Tour with him by chance and intentionally chose to go to the concentration camp on his tour — he was that good.
We spent at least 8 hours listening to his stories over the course of two days and barely any information was redundant. There are very few people I know who could teach me so much. I can’t say that I really enjoyed these tours, but please don’t take that the wrong way. The tours, particularly the tour of the concentration camp, made me want to vomit, cry, and scream. I think they changed me forever. Sure, I read about these things in history books as a kid — I even read the book Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (highly recommend) recently. There is nothing like seeing it for yourself. Plus, Stephan told me so many things I didn’t know before. Stephan describes the whole country as a crime scene and it’s true. Everywhere you turn, you’re in the spot where another sick event occurred.
If we had time, we probably should have done the Alternative City Tour which highlights what Berlin is today — what it is becoming. I definitely got to see a lot of history during the tours and I wouldn’t trade that for anything, but that is not all Berlin should be known for.
As a side note, I read online that the Sandeman’s tour guides who do the Free Walking Tours have to pay the company 3 euro per head and hope they at least break even. That article was written in 2010, so I would guess they have to pay the company at least 4 euro per head by now in 2015. So all I’m trying to say here is don’t you dare tip less than 4 euro per person, and please tip them more. I suggest between 10 and 15 euro per person. These tour guides know an impeccable amount of history, are super entertaining, and many have left more lucrative jobs to do something they love. Free tour does not mean free.

I went on the free walking tour, and our tour guide was Theo. Not only was he very knowledgable, but he made a 3.5 hour tour in the bitter cold interesting enough that I barely thought about the fact that I couldn’t feel my hands. There weren’t too many stops, but he spent a good amount of time at each explaining the history in detail, which, because I am a history nerd, I thoroughly enjoyed. He also had a bunch of anecdotes and side stories about little tidbits of history you wouldn’t have been taught in school. Always a plus!
He seemed genuinely passionate and excited about giving the tour, which was infectious. i cannot recommend the tour enough.

I used this tour company many times during my backpacking trip in Europe. The tour guides all speak strong English and every single one of them is funny.
I used this tour in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague. All three tours were great. Our tour guide in Berlin knew everything there was to know about WWI and WWII and he gave a great depiction of how Berlin was shaped by it’s history and how there are parts of history that they are not so proud of. He was working towards his PhD in History so I should not have been surprised about how good it was. (
What is great about hear companies is that there are some tours that are free (you can tip the guide) and then there are other tours you can pay for. They have bar crawls, beer tours and more involved historical tours.
The bar crawls are for people down to party, whereas the beer tours are a little more tame. All of them are good and the tour guides are great resources for tourists.
If you go to any of the cities that this company covers, you should definitely consider using them!

What a great tour! We joined the free city tour on our first day hoping to get a layout of the land and that we did! Rob M. was our guide and he had extensive knowledge about the history of Berlin, the architecture, the food and drink and the people of the city. We learned a lot that we didn’t know about the Cold War and WWII as well as the art culture of Berlin. Rob was very friendly and offered suggestions for other tours based on our interests. I would highly recommend you not only use Sandemans Tours, but that you ask for Rob M. by name. Thank you for a wonderful experience ROB!

I cannot say enough good things about this tour! One of the best ways to learn more about Berlin and its history.
Our tour started at 2pm and we met outside the starbucks in front of the Brandenburg Gate. There were a lot of people and they split us up into four groups of maximum 20 people per group. Our tour guide was Stephen, he was originally from Australia and seemed very passionate about his job so it made the tour more enjoyable. He was also very entertaining too! The tour covered some of the main tourist attractions like Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin wall, the Holocause memorial (he gave us 5 minutes to talk around and take pictures) and lots of other sites. We also walked by Angela Merkel’s favorite kebab place growing up.
We took a break half way through the tour at a café shop where we could rest our feet for a little bit and recharge since we had more walking to do. Overall the tour was really great and completely free! We ended up tipping our tour guide at the end but it’s not required!

100% impressed with this tour company.
We took a few of the tours they offered and we dont regret it at all. We were visiting Berlin during Christmas time and began our first day by taking the free walking tour. The walking tour was absolutely perfect as it allowed you get your bearings on the city and see where main landmarks are located and basically situate yourself. The tour was about 4 hours and it touches pretty much all of Berlin’s famous spots and landmarks.
The tour guides are fun, young and entertaining. The size of the tour wasn’t terrible there was about twenty of us. We started the tour at the Brandenburg gate and ended back on the same spot. Our tour guide was Alex (I believe) he was german and was funny. The temperatures then were super cold so he made sure we were always moving to keep our toes warm.
We also took a tour with them to the Sachsenhausen Memorial. We took the tour with Paul (I think – terrible with names) but he was from the UK. He was very knowledgable about the history of the camp, germany, everything! He presented the information in a way that was almost scholarly. I went into the tour knowing very little and walked out knowing a great deal of facts. We were there for about 5 hours total and again it was time well spent. The camp in itself is remarkable and you can rent an electronic guide when you arrive but we were all glad we went with a real guide so we could ask questions and actually get an answer.
The last tour we took from New Berlin was the tour out to Postdam. We originally were going to go out to Postdam on our own but decided to go with Sandemans since we had been enjoying their tours so much. We did have to pay for this tour (16 Euros) but again well worth it. This was about a 5 hour tour with the lawyer from Australia. She was such a sweetheart and super smart. The Sanssouci Palace was my favorite part of Postdam. It is one of many parks and palaces that is part of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Postdam.
So if you are in Berlin and are in need of some tours, knowledge and want to explore the city the right way– going with Sandemans you will not go wrong! :]

We attended a free walking Berlin Tour at 11am, hosted by Sandemans/​New Europe Tours. We met at the Starbucks near Brandenburg Gate. On the tour, we saw the following: Pariser Platz, Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Site of Hitler’s Former Bunker, Luftwaffe HQ, Berlin Wall, Former SS Headquarters/​Topography of Terrors, Checkpoint Charlie, Gendarmenmarkt, and
Bebelplatz/​Humbolt University. Tour ended around 2pm.
Our tour guide, Alex, was very informational, especially since he studied political science and German in college and lived in Berlin for the past 4 years. Don’t forget to tip the tour guides well since they do not get paid from Sandemans.
I made a reservation on the New Europe Tours website, but you can easily show up at the meeting location to secure a spot.

Great 1^st Order of Business in Berlin
I was in Germany a week ago. The free walking tour of Berlin was fantastic and A LOT of it had to do with our fabulous guide, Sam Noble. Definitely try to get in on his tour. He is a wealth of German history (he’s got his Master’s in History in Berlin for crying out loud!) and he directs the tour with that British wit that makes it so fun, and he is happy and eager to answer any and all questions. Me and traveling buddy enjoyed him so much we booked the paid tour (€ 14-​€ 15)he led of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
While the walking tour is free, tipping is highly encouraged and for what you would pay for such a tour. But Sam earns every Euro of it.

We joined this tour from our hostel on a super rainy day. It seemed the best option to get to know the city quickly while we figured out the rest of our itinerary. Someone came to pick us up in the lobby and usher us to Brandenburg Gate, and she sort of set the mood. We were all not sure what was happening, but there were minimal instructions, and she looked like she didn’t really want to be there. We joined a huge crowd of people at the gate waiting for tours, and when we finally got going, the groups were so large it was difficult to hear.
Our guide Simon was really nice though, he tried his best to make sure everyone was included, worked hard to keep the group together while navigating traffic, and share his knowledge of the city in a fun and interesting way.
Overall, it may have been fun if it weren’t pouring rain, but I also thought a lot of the sites weren’t close together, and it was really 3+ hours to account for all the walking time. We revisited a lot of the sites by train and bus a few days later and it was much faster.
On another note, I asked a Sandemans tour guide directions to the Sachenhausen camp from the train station even though we werent part of the tour and his information was quite useful, so regardless of whether you’re with the tour or not, they all try to be helpful for the most part.

BEST TOUR COMPANY IS BERLIN!
While in Berlin for a month, I went on many sponsored tours. Sandeman’s was by far the best. The tour guides are young and absolutely love what they do. The are extremely knowledgable in everything from history to fun-​facts!
Tours I went on:
Free Walking Tour: Great way to see the city in less than 4 hours. This tour touches nearly everything that Berlin is known for. You will learn Berlin basics for spots all around the city.
Pub Crawl:
You know a pub crawl is fun when you are literally crawling home. I did this crawl with 8 other classmates, and we had a blast. You go to 4 awesome bars (all different genres, keeps it very interesting!!) and one fun club! The tour guides are there to have fun with you, and they definitely don’t babysit, so you are free to have a great time! There are also unbeatable drink specials, including many free drinks throughout the night. Our group was actually considering doing a second pub crawl with them just because it was such a good deal! HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend!
Sachsenhausen Memorial:
Very touching memorial. A tour of this site is normally administered via electronic handheld devices that you check out at the front desk. However with the New Berlin tours, you actually get a real tour guide who speaks English! They are extremely knowledgable about the concentration camp, and present all material in a non-​biased, sensitive manner. They give you time to walk around each part of the camp and experience it for yourself. The tour guide also helps you find the darn camp. It is somewhat off the beaten path, and if you don’t know exactly how to get there, you could end up in the middle of no where. If you are considering visiting this site while in Berlin, definitely consider taking the tour with New Berlin!
Overall, VERY VERY impressed with this tour company. I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Berlin!

I took the Sachsenhausen tour and was blown away by the knowledge of our tour guide. He was an American who majored in German and minored in Russian at the University of Georgia. Additionally, his passion came from a very personal place. One side of his family was Jewish and interred at the camp (his family members can be found in Sachsenhausen’s Book of the Dead), and the other side of his family were members of the Nazi party. You could definitely tell that despite his family’s history, our guide was dedicated to educating us to the best of his capacity. If Sandemans employs all their tour guides given this young man’s passion, I would definitely take a tour in any city that I happen to be in.
I am very happy to see Sandemans employing a diverse group tour guides. All the tours meet at the Starbucks near Brandenburg Gate and from there, they disperse to the trains or on the walking tours. The prices are pretty easy on the pocket and what you get out of it is worth so much more than the 18 euro that I spent to go on the Sachsenhausen tour.

This was the first New Europe tour I took several years ago and have since taken several others in different countries because this one made such a great impression on me. The «free tour» was really great because you get to see most of the sites all in one shot. The «free tour» is tips-​based, essentially you pay whoever you feel your tour was worth, so the tour guide does tend does want to wow you for your $$.
The pub crawl was pretty good as well, my tip is bring something with the address with where you are staying on you and $ 20 Euro bill stashed because you could end up partying until 4am and if you are a tourist getting back at that hour could be difficult.
The Sachsenhausen tour was very educational and if you are not going to do any other concentration camp tours it is well worth it but it is a debbie-​downer, it has a quite serious tone. Luckily German train stations’ newstands sells beer to help cheer you up.

It really depends on our guide (and how they feel that day I guess).
I did the free tour with Chris and he did not know any of the answers to the questions I (and some of the others) asked, making it seem like he had only memorized what he had to for the tour even though he said that he had done it for awhile. Overall it was really informative though, and I learned a lot about the city – like things I had walked past and not known what they were, such as the parking lot that used to be Hitlers bunker.
My second tour was the alternative tour where you see graffiti and street art (you can see that yourself, but you also receive an explanation) and that was with Leo who was great. He really seemed like he knew where he was going for everything, even though sometimes when we got to places he would say that his favourite piece was gone but now there is something new (and he would probably know who the artist was and what they were about).

This is a review for the New Berlin FREE* TOUR.
It really depends on who your tour guide is, but my tour guide was awesome. I don’t remember his name. Maybe Chris. Eh, doesn’t matter. He had black hair and he’s from Missouri. I also heard great things about every other New Berlin tour guide.
This was the first guided tour I took during my summer backpacking, and it was because of this tour that I actively seeked out Sandemans in other cities.
I learned infinitely more about Berlin on this half-​day tour than I ever could have in a week by myself. My tour guide’s knowledge was really impressive, and he imparted it to us in a very engaging manner. He also made an effort to constantly ask us questions to get a feel for our knowledge and our impressions of Berlin and Europe.
Although this is a «free» tour, please tip the tour guides well. They don’t get paid anything from Sandemans for these tours and if you feel like you had a good time and learned a lot, you should pay them accordingly.
I also did the free tour in Prague, Munich, and Paris. I left halfway through the Prague Free Tour. one star.
But I also did the pub crawl in Prague. After about an hour, I was dancing with a German girl to «Party in the USA» wondering why she liked that song. I don’t remember anything that happened past midnight and i woke up in conditions that I won’t share here, with the worst hangover EVAR. 10 stars.
Munich was good. 3 ½ stars.
Paris free tour was also great fun but my tour guide there was not on the same planet as the one in Berlin. Also I just think Berlin is so much more interesting than Paris. Four stars.