MELBOURNE Spirits and Ales Haunted Pub Tour

Fantastic experience with a terrific host and lots of interesting stories and some great places to stop at. Found it extremely entertaining and informative

While the guide was friendly, they were more focused on convincing us ghosts are real (mainly by talking about their own grief and loss) than on telling us the spooky history of Melbourne. It got uncomfortable when they asked if anyone had recently lost someone and then started using those people and their grief as part of the ‘experience’. Even if participants said it was okay, they should never have been put in that position. It felt crass and exploitative. The tour leaned heavily on dowsing rods to ‘communicate’ with the dead, often trying to prove their use instead of offering more interesting storytelling. Nothing was planned or booked ahead, so we ended up awkwardly standing in bars, sometimes even taking over reserved seats, hoping no one would kick us out. If you weren't drinking, you were just stuck sitting around doing nothing for a long time while the guide chatted with others about dowsing rods. Worst of all, the guide ditched us before we finished. Apparently, they were banned from the final location and just pointed us in the right direction before leaving. Honestly, that was a bit of a relief because we were already running way over time; I just left at that point. Overall, this was poorly organized, full of gimmicks, and disappointing in terms of locations. Unless you’re eager to play with dowsing rods, I’d recommend skipping this one. Go to the bars on your own for free.

I enjoyed the tour! 3 pubs with some stops along the way to talk ghosts and history. Tour guide Linda was fun and engaging.

An informative tour around Melbourne CBD. Our tour guide Linda presented an interesting knowledgeable and enjoyable trip with a lot of the local history. The trip is well worth doing.