About Moin Hamburg Tours

The guides behind the stories

Walking tours in Hamburg built around the specific histories, people, and decisions that shaped the city — not the version in the guidebooks.

How Moin Hamburg Tours started

Hamburg wasn't supposed to be permanent. I came from South Africa in 2011 to study, and the plan was always to move on. But Hamburg has a way of keeping people. By 2014 I was guiding on weekends. By 2016, guiding was the job.

The reason I started was frustration, honestly. The city I was living in — the one with the specific fire in 1842, the exact spot on Große Freiheit where John Lennon played his first Hamburg show, the merchant families who shaped the port and everything attached to it — wasn't the city in most tours. I wanted to build something tighter and more honest. Max 15 people, because beyond that you can't have a real conversation. Local stories, because Hamburg's history is genuinely strange and interesting if you tell it right.

Moin Hamburg Tours runs in English, German, and Spanish — genuinely, not with a translator on the side. Every tour is a single-language experience, and that changes the quality of the storytelling. If you speak a language as your own, you can be more specific, more funny, more like a person and less like a script. That's what we're going for.

The people

Meet the guides

Kalvin Brookes

10 years guiding in Hamburg

Guides in English, German

Kalvin grew up in South Africa and came to Hamburg in 2011 to study — and never left. Over ten years of guiding in English and German, he has built tours around the stories that most guidebooks skip: the specific people, decisions, and accidents that shaped the city you're walking through. He knows where the Great Fire started, why the Rathaus tower is exactly one metre taller than St. Petri, and what the Beatles were actually doing on Große Freiheit.

Favourite fact“The Great Fire of 1842 burned for three days and destroyed a third of Hamburg's old city — but it also gave the city the chance to rebuild with the wide streets and drainage systems it desperately needed.”

Ramiro Otilio Fernández

7 years guiding in Hamburg

Guides in Spanish

Ramiro moved to Hamburg from Argentina seven years ago and never quite left — the city got under his skin fast. As a professional guide, he's spent those years exploring its streets and tracing the stories that built it, from its earliest beginnings to right now. For Ramiro, a good tour isn't just facts delivered in order — it's knowledge paired with a genuine experience. His aim is simple: share Hamburg's history and culture properly, and make sure every guest leaves with a memory worth keeping.

Favourite fact“Hamburg has more bridges than Venice and Amsterdam combined.”

Lukas Widmann

5 years guiding in Hamburg

Guides in English, German

Lukas grew up in a small town in Bavaria — and fell for Hamburg precisely because it offered everything his hometown couldn't. He studied computer science and economics before becoming a guide, and it shows: he tells Hamburg's history with the same care he'd bring to a spreadsheet, equally happy with a good story and a precise number.

Favourite fact“For 116 years, Speicherstadt had its own customs border within the city of Hamburg.”

Our approach

How we do it

Small groups, always

We cap every public tour at 15 people. The average is 6–8. That means you can ask a question without everyone staring at you, stop for as long as you want at a building, and have a tour that actually feels personal. We don't do bus tours. We won't start doing bus tours.

Stories, not facts

Every stop on every route has a person behind it. The Great Fire of 1842 isn't a date — it's a decision about property rights and a candle in a chimney flue that changed how a whole city was built. We tell it that way. If we can't make something interesting, we don't include it.

Three languages, genuinely

English, German, and Spanish — each tour is one language, start to finish. No translation, no switching, no compromise. If Spanish is your language, your tour is in Spanish. We think you get more from a story when the person telling it speaks your language as their own.

By the numbers

10+: Years guiding in Hamburg
200+: Five-star reviews
3: Languages
15: Max group size

Frequently asked questions

: We cap every public tour at 15 people — and the average is usually 6–8. That means you can actually hear the guide, ask questions without feeling awkward, and have a genuine experience rather than a march through the streets.
: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour. Cancel within 24 hours and you'll receive a full refund. Cancel on the day — no refund, but we'll do our best to reschedule you if there's space.
: Tours run in all weather — Hamburg is a rain city, and locals know it. We walk past covered arcades and sheltered spots on every route. Bring a waterproof jacket. If the weather is genuinely dangerous (storm, thunderstorm), we'll cancel and refund in full.
: Yes — children aged 8 and up generally enjoy the tours. The walking distance is around 3 km over 2 hours at an easy pace. Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult. If you have young children or a pushchair, let us know in advance and we'll advise on the best route.
: Meeting points vary by tour. St. Pauli starts at the Pegelturm (water-level tower) at Landungsbrücken. The Speicherstadt tour starts in front of the Chocoversum chocolate museum at Messberg 1. You'll receive the exact meeting point details in your booking confirmation email.
: At Rathausmarkt, 20095 Hamburg — in front of the main Rathaus entrance, at the top of the steps facing the market square. U3/U2 Rathaus is about a 2-minute walk; S1/S3 Jungfernstieg about 5 minutes. Please arrive 5 minutes early. Exact details are also in your booking confirmation email.
: Often yes — check the live calendar on this page for same-day availability. Spots are limited (max 15). If today's join-in departure is full, private tours in Hamburg can sometimes run on your schedule when a guide is free.
: For most first-time visitors, yes. The Old Town route covers the Rathaus, Great Fire of 1842, wartime history, and the merchant city that made Hamburg rich — the orientation most people want on day one. If you already know the centre, try our Speicherstadt & Elbphilharmonie tour or the St. Pauli & Reeperbahn tour next.
: This is a paid, small-group walking tour (max 15, usually 6–8) with a professional local guide and a fixed €30 price — not a tip-based free tour. You get a quieter group, specific historical stories (Great Fire, Operation Gomorrah, Hanseatic trade), and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Book online on this page for instant confirmation.
: Often yes. At six people, a private tour in Hamburg is usually only a little more than six join-in tickets — and you get the guide exclusively, with a flexible start time and route. Call or WhatsApp to compare; we reply within a few hours.
: Around 3 km over 2 hours at a relaxed pace — we stop frequently for stories and to take in the surroundings. Comfortable shoes are recommended. The Old Town and St. Pauli routes are fully paved and wheelchair-accessible. The Speicherstadt tour passes through a historic district that is predominantly cobblestone throughout — manageable, but worth knowing in advance for wheelchair users, pushchairs, or anyone with limited mobility.
: Tours are available in English, German, and Spanish. Each tour is a single-language experience — not simultaneous translation. Book the tour in your preferred language. If your group speaks multiple languages, a private tour is the best option.
: We recommend at least 48 hours to lock your preferred date and time. Corporate groups of 15+ or school trips: about a week is ideal. Same-day private tours are often possible when a guide is free — call or WhatsApp (+49 176 16527761) to check.
: Choose join-in if you are 1–5 people and want a set departure: Old Town walking tour, Speicherstadt & Elbphilharmonie, or St. Pauli & Reeperbahn from €30/person. Choose a private tour in Hamburg if you want your own guide, a flexible start, a custom route, or you are roughly 6+ — per-head cost is often close to join-in at that size.
: Around six people. Six join-in tickets are about €180 before fees; a private tour for up to 10 starts at €250 direct (€265 online). You get exclusivity, timing, and route control for a modest step up. WhatsApp us with your headcount and we'll compare options.
: Yes — fully. Core options mirror our public walks (Old Town, St. Pauli, Speicherstadt) plus Grand Hamburg and shore-excursion timings. Tell us interests, language, and any must-sees; we adapt pace and stops. Prefer a fixed public departure instead? See the Old Town walking tour calendar.
: Yes. Private tours run as a single-language experience in English, German, or Spanish — the whole group hears the same guide throughout. Multi-language parties usually pick one language or split into two private groups.
: Yes. We meet near the terminal, cover Old Town or Speicherstadt highlights that fit your all-aboard time, and keep the pace on schedule (2–3.5 hours). Available in EN · DE · ES. Message us your ship and times on WhatsApp for a same-day feasibility check.
: Yes. Book directly by phone or WhatsApp to receive a formal invoice with VAT breakdown. Online bookings through FareHarbor do not include a separate invoice — for corporate expense purposes, the booking confirmation email serves as your receipt.
: The 6% fee is charged by the FareHarbor online booking platform on online transactions — it's not a fee we set. For private tours, book directly by phone or WhatsApp and pay the base group price with no platform fee. Public join-in tours are booked online via FareHarbor, where the 6% fee applies.

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