Cambridge Tour by Alumni™ & Punting + Optional King's College
Description
Looking to visit King’s College Chapel? Please ensure you book the specific tour option that includes entry, as it is not part of our standard walking tour. This tour gives you a unique chance to see Cambridge both on foot and from the water, all in one visit. Enjoy a complete Cambridge experience by combining our 90-minute student-or graduate-led college walking tour with a 45-minute chauffeured punting trip. The tour takes place outdoors. If you choose when booking, after the walking tour finishes, you can add a self-guided visit to King's College Chapel. Then, without needing to arrange anything extra, you’ll board a traditional punt and glide along the peaceful River Cam. Passing the famous college college riverfronts and bridges, and you’ll see parts of Cambridge that most visitors dream of, when coming here. It’s a perfect way to enjoy both Cambridge’s rich academic heritage and its tranquil riverside scenery—all in one experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your Alumni Guide outside King's College, on King's Parade. Your guide will be wearing an item of royal blue clothing—such as a jacket, scarf, cap, beanie, or polo shirt—with the heraldic symbol of Alumni Tours on it.
Learn about the fascinating story behind the design of this famous clock, noticing the details than an uninformed observer could easily miss!
Visit The Eagle pub—where history lives in every corner, from WWII airmen to the scientists of the nearby Cavendish Laboratory. With over 400 years of history, this pub holds countless remarkable stories.
Discover the place that put Cambridge on the map of the scientific world—a place that changed the history of science and the history of humanity as well.
Listen to your student-guide describe the (somewhat dark!) history of Corpus Christi College, and feel free to ask any questions about the College or student life
Hear about the reason why this is Queens' College rather than Queen's, and discover the myths that abound about the nearby Mathematical Bridge
Walk along by the famous College Backs while you learn about the history of King's College and how it is related to three different King Henrys
Home of some of the most famous Alumni, hear a student's take on the rivalry between Trinity and St John's!
Admire the magnificent profile of St John's College, known for its grand architecture and notable alumni. A perfect blend of history and beauty along the River Cam.
##IMPORTANT: this option must be selected as an upgrade of the walking tour ticket. Please, make sure that you select it. The visit of the chapel is self-guided at the end of the 90 minutes walking tour, and it is not supervised by our official guide. The duration of the visit is a basic approximation, but you can leave the chapel when you prefer.
Get a student's perspective on the practice of the public announcement of grades, and get a glimpse into the particular traditions of the University of Cambridge while you hear about the graduation ceremony.
After experiencing the above (and more!) on the walking tour, take a short break before heading to Scudamore's Mill Lane punting station. Your punting tour will begin 2 hours after the start of the walking tour if you have not purchased access to King's College Chapel, or 3 hours after the start if you have purchased access to the Chapel.
Sit back and appreciate your excellent view of the bridge that somehow manages to get a graceful arch from a series of straight timbers!
Following the walking tour, you will be punted along the River Cam past 8 colleges and 9 bridges while your local student-guide explains famous Cambridge history and anecdotes about each landmark. Start your tour by gazing upon the Georgian and Victorian architecture of the college with strong connections to the family of Charles Darwin, one of the most famous alumni of the University of Cambridge, while hearing your guide relay some of the fascinating history of the college, university and city.
Admire the stunning Gothic architecture of King's College and its Neoclassical neighbour, the Gibbs Building — one of the most famous colleges in the University of Cambridge — from a new perspective.
Listen to your chauffeur describe the second-oldest surviving college of the University, which was one of the first to accept women as undergraduate students.
Learn about the history of the most prestigious college of Cambridge, located in one of the most beautiful meanders of the Cam, all while relaxing as your chauffeur punts you expertly along the river.
Relate to Queen Victoria as you look upon the bridge that was said to be one of her favourite spots in the city!
Complete your tour of the College Backs with Magdalene, known as one of the most traditional of the colleges. Make the most of these last few minutes to ask your knowledgeable guide any final questions to satisfy your curiosity! After this stop, the punt will return to the punt station you left from.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- ##IMPORTANT: Please ensure you have booked the King’s College option in advance, as it cannot be purchased during the tour—only before or after the walk
- The punting station can cater for wheelchair users providing they can communicate how best to assist them, or have a carer with them who can do so
- Not recommended for travellers who cannot complete a 90-minute walk
Reviews(730)
I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion. There is more to Cambridge than you would know. Our tour guide Lucy is currently studying at Cambridge and well-versed in the history and also was happy to share her experiences as a student. Take the punt tour for another perspective of the amazing architecture.
Great experience, amazing tour with a great tour guide with knowledge, stories and clear explanations
We had a good time on our tour and everything went as expected. Our tour guide, Arusha, was articulate and did a great job of explaining all the sites to us. We especially enjoyed punting in the Cam.
I went on the walking and punting tour through Cambridge. Lucy was a wonderful guide. So knowledgeable about history and architecture. She gave great recommendations, too. I stayed on for the Evensong at King's College Chapel after. Highly recommend. Magical.
It was great touring Cambridge two ways--by guided walk and by punting. AG was great tour guide and was very personable. The punting tour guide was also great. I recommend this!
Our guide was a graduating student with a lot of knowledge of Cambridge. The punting tour was great. King Chapel was wonderful. Couldn’t have asked for anything better. Gave us a great recommendation for lunch.
We had an enjoyable walking tour, which was very informative and we learnt a lot. When the walk had finished, we went for our punt experience. That also was very enjoyable and informative. We had an hour and a half on the walk, then a 45 minute punt along the River Cam, seeing the College Backs.
Thank you very much for your review! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed both the walking tour and the punting experience, and that you found them informative and enjoyable. Our guides work hard to share the history, stories, and unique atmosphere of Cambridge, so it's wonderful to know that this came across during your visit. If you felt the experience deserved it, we would be incredibly grateful if you would consider updating your review to 5 stars. It makes a huge difference to our guides and to a small independent business like ours. Thank you again for joining us, and we hope to welcome you back to Cambridge in the future!
Informative tour led by historian Dr John (Doctorate graduate). The history of the college and accompanying interesting anecdotes really introduced the university to us as first time visitors to Cambridge. We chose to do the optional punt too and are so glad we did. It was relaxing and gave us a different perspective of the colleges from the river. I would definitely recommend this company if you are visiting Cambridge.
AG is very knowledgable, couldn’t recommend her enough!
The Cambridge walking tour (with punting) was an outstanding experience. Led by a recent graduate, the tour was filled with history and interesting facts as we saw a large number of noteable Cambridge locations. It was very warm, but we were able to find enough shade to make it pleasent. And the punting was worth doing.
