Freedom Trail Walking Tour
Ten stops from Boston Common to Copp's Hill, past the Old North Church steeple where two lanterns hung on the night of April 18, 1775.
Compare apps
Which self-guided audio tour app fits your trip?
Pick by trip. For Hawaii and national-park drives, start with Shaka Guide (21 Hawaii tours, 55 park tours) or GuideAlong. Action Tour Guide sells one yearly pass for 230+ tours. VoiceMap has the most tours of the six, 2,355 in 87 countries. Autio plays short stories along any American road. Stories lets you hear stop 1 of a US tour free before you pay. If you are choosing one app for one trip, the catch is that these six sell different things, by the tour, the pass or the plan, priced per person, per car or per group. Here they are side by side, with every fact about the other apps taken from their own websites and App Store pages on November 10, 2026 and linked at the bottom. We make Stories, so read it knowing that.
If you want a person walking beside you, none of these will do, because every app here is self-guided audio.
How do the six apps compare on tours, price and free samples?
VoiceMap has the most tours of the six, at 2,355. Stories has the fewest, at 34, and the fewest App Store ratings, which is worth knowing before you buy.
| App | Best for | Tours | Price | Free to try | App Store (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaka Guide | Hawaii, national parks and scenic drives | 106 (its site), mostly drives | $4.99 to $24.99 a tour; island bundles $34.99 | Audio previews on each tour page | 4.9 from 15,449 ratings |
| GuideAlong | Road trips in the US, Canada, Iceland and beyond | 98 destinations, mostly drives | Mostly $14.99 to $24.99 a tour | Two whole tours are free | 4.9 from 16,360 ratings |
| Action Tour Guide | One pass for 230+ tours in the US and abroad | 230+ in 40+ states and 15+ countries | One tour (Gettysburg $14.99), or Action+ $99.99 a year | A free demo in the app | 4.8 from 11,817 ratings |
| VoiceMap | City walks by local writers, worldwide | 2,355 in 87 countries | Mostly $5 to $20 a tour; some free | Free tours, and previews | 4.8 from 3,452 ratings |
| Autio | Stories along any US road, no fixed route | 25,000+ short stories | A plan for 30 days, 1 year or 3 years | Your first 5 stories | 4.8 from 4,260 ratings |
| Stories (ours) | Hearing a US tour before you pay | 34: 29 walks and 5 drives | $4.99 a tour for your group, on up to 4 phones; $39.99 a year for every tour | Stop 1 of every tour, in your browser, no sign-up | 5.0 from 2 ratings |
Ratings are for each company's main app on the US App Store on November 10, 2026. Shaka also has island apps (its Maui app has 24,498 more ratings), and its site counts 110.9K ratings across its apps. Action Tour Guide's App Store page says 15+ countries; its home page says 14+. Prices are US dollars, before sales.
Which app should I use for my trip?
It depends on where you're going, and no single app covers every trip here.
- The Road to Hana, or any Hawaiian island
Shaka Guide (21 Hawaii tours) or GuideAlong. Both play offline and give directions. GuideAlong's Oahu drive from Waikiki to Hanauma Bay is free, and Shaka lets you hear audio previews on its site. Stories has no Hawaii tours.
- A national park
Start with the official National Park Service app: free, with maps for 420+ parks, self-guided tours and offline downloads. For narrated drives, Shaka lists 55 park tours, and GuideAlong and Action Tour Guide cover the big western parks. Stories has two park drives so far: Skyline Drive in Shenandoah, and the Gettysburg battlefield.
- A walk in a US city
VoiceMap, Shaka (17 walking tours), Action Tour Guide and Stories all do the Freedom Trail, Salem or Savannah. Stories has 29 walks in places like Boston, New Orleans, Charleston and New York, and you can hear stop 1 before you pay.
- Abroad
VoiceMap (87 countries), GuideAlong (Canada, Iceland, Mexico, Scotland, Australia) or Action Tour Guide (15+ countries). Stories is US-only for now.
- A long drive with no set route
Autio. Stories of a few minutes each play as you pass places, across all 50 states, some read by Kevin Costner, Phil Jackson or John Lithgow.
- Lots of trips this year
Action+ is every Action Tour Guide tour for $99.99 a year. Shaka sells all 21 Hawaii tours for $79.99. The Stories Pass is every Stories tour for a year, $39.99, but that is 34 tours, not hundreds.
How much does a Freedom Trail audio tour cost?
One tour of Boston's Freedom Trail lists at $4.99 to $14.99 on these five apps, the one route all five sell, and what you get differs: 10 stops on ours, 18 plus 9 across Shaka Guide's two parts, 44 locations on VoiceMap.
| App | Price | Stops | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaka Guide | $6.99 for Part One, $4.99 for Part Two, $9.99 together | 18 + 9 | Part Two crosses to Charlestown for Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution. |
| VoiceMap | $11.99 | 44 locations | You can also listen on its website after you buy. |
| GuideAlong | $14.99 (App Store) | Not listed | Mostly a driving-tour app; this is one of its walks. |
| Action Tour Guide | $9.99 per person on its site; $24.99 with Salem as an App Store bundle | Not listed | Its Salem witch trials walk comes in the same bundle. |
| Stories | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | 10 | Boston Common to Copp's Hill. Stop 1 plays free in your browser. |
Stops as each app lists them. Autio isn't a tour app, so it isn't here. The Freedom Trail Foundation sells its own official app for $9.99, with over 1.5 hours of audio and interviews with historians.
How much do the same tours cost on each app?
One tour of the same place costs $4.99 on Stories and $6.99 to $19.99 from the other four sellers. These are list prices for one self-guided audio tour of each place, in US dollars, read on November 10, 2026. Stops, length and who a purchase covers differ from one to the next, so compare what you get as well as the price.
| Place | Stories | Shaka Guide | VoiceMap | GuideAlong | Action Tour Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom Trail, Boston | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | $6.99 Part One; $9.99 with Part Two ($4.99 alone) | $11.99 or $14.99 (two walks) | $14.99 | $9.99 per person |
| Salem | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | $9.99 each (two walks); $14.99 for both | — | — | $14.99 per person |
| Savannah | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | $9.99 (Haunted Savannah) | $11.99 or $14.99 (two walks) | — | $14.99 per person |
| Charleston | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | — | — | — | $14.99 per person |
| Garden District, New Orleans | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | — | $11.99 | — | $14.99 per person (French Quarter, not the Garden District) |
| Central Park, New York | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | — | $19.99 | — | $9.99 per person |
| Brooklyn Bridge, New York | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | — | — | — | $9.99 per person |
| National Mall, Washington, DC | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | $9.99 | — | — | — |
| Colonial Williamsburg | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | — | — | $14.99 | $14.99 per person |
| Gettysburg battlefield, by car | $4.99 for up to 4 phones | $13.99 | — | $16.99 | $14.99 per car |
A dash means we didn't find or couldn't open that seller's page for that place on November 10, not that it has no tour there. Sellers run sales and bundles; Shaka Guide and VoiceMap show bundle or group prices beside these. Each page is linked under the sources below.
Which apps work with CarPlay and Android Auto?
GuideAlong says its audio plays through both. Shaka Guide works with CarPlay but not Android Auto yet, and Stories works with neither so far, so you play it from your phone or over your car's speakers.
| App | Apple CarPlay | Android Auto | Offline | In a web browser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaka Guide | Yes | Not yet; play the audio through the car stereo from your phone | Yes, after you download the tour | Audio previews only |
| GuideAlong | Audio plays through it | Audio plays through it | Yes, after you download the tour | Its pages don't say |
| Action Tour Guide | Audio plays through it; the map stays on your phone | Audio over Bluetooth, USB or Aux; the map stays on your phone | Yes, after you download the tour | Its pages don't say |
| VoiceMap | Its pages don't say | Its pages don't say | Yes, after you download the tour | Yes, after you buy |
| Autio | Its App Store release notes mention CarPlay | Its pages don't say | Yes, for stories you download first | Its pages don't say |
| Stories (ours) | Not yet | Not yet | Yes, in the iPhone app after you download the tour | Yes, every tour; it needs a signal |
"Its pages don't say" means we didn't find it on the pages linked below on November 10, 2026, not that the feature is missing.
Who does one purchase cover, and can you get your money back?
Stories covers your group on up to 4 phones for $4.99 and refunds within 7 days if a tour didn't work for you. Action Tour Guide sells drives per car and refunds in full within 24 hours, and the other companies' pages say less, as the table shows.
| App | One purchase covers | Does it expire? | Refunds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaka Guide | Some in-app purchases may be shareable through Family Sharing, its App Store page says | No. It says a tour never expires once you buy it | Its app FAQ doesn't give a general policy |
| GuideAlong | One phone per vehicle for drives; tours unlock for the Apple or Google profile that bought them | No time limit or expiry | No stated policy; it asks you to write in if you weren't happy |
| Action Tour Guide | One tour per car for drives; for walks it recommends one per person. In-app purchases work only on your device | No, valid for life. Action+ renews each year | In full within 24 hours of purchase, then an exchange or gift card |
| VoiceMap | Its pages don't say how many phones one tour covers | No. You own a tour you buy, and there are no subscriptions | Its pages don't say |
| Autio | A plan rather than a tour; its pages don't say about sharing | Depends on the plan, from 14 days to 3 years | Its pages don't say |
| Stories (ours) | Your group, on up to 4 phones | No. A tour you buy stays on your account; the Stories Pass runs 12 months and doesn't renew | Within 7 days of purchase, if a tour didn't work for you |
Read on each company's own site and US App Store page on November 10, 2026. Terms change, and sale pages can add their own, so check before you buy.
What does each app do best?
Shaka Guide and GuideAlong are built for drives, VoiceMap for walking a city, Autio for a road trip with no plan, Action Tour Guide for many trips on one pass, and Stories for hearing a US tour before you pay.
- Shaka Guide
Its 106 tours are mostly drives, with turn-by-turn directions, offline maps, and stories with music and travel tips. Bundles cost less than buying each tour, and it has been at it for 10 years (1M+ downloads, its site says). It works with CarPlay but not Android Auto yet.
- GuideAlong
This used to be GyPSy Guide. It covers road trips in 98 destinations, with trip planners and itineraries, tours that never expire, and two that are free (Waikiki to Hanauma Bay, Calgary to Banff). Audio plays through CarPlay and Android Auto.
- Action Tour Guide
It sells 230+ driving and walking tours, with drives priced per car, not per person. You can buy one tour, an area bundle, or Action+ for all of them.
- VoiceMap
Its 2,355 tours in 87 countries are mostly walks, made by historians, journalists, podcasters, architects, licensed guides and local enthusiasts. Prices vary by tour, some are free, and every tour works offline after you download it.
- Autio
Autio sells stories rather than tours, more than 25,000 short pieces about what you're passing, many read by famous voices. It's good for long drives where you don't want to plan.
- Stories
Every tour is $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones, walk or drive. Stop 1 plays in your browser with no app or sign-up; the app adds GPS auto-play and offline downloads. Each story is written from public sources, and a fact-check compares up to 10 of its most specific claims with them.
Is Stories the right app for you?
Yes, if you want to hear a US city walk or one of our 5 US drives before you pay. No, if you're bound for Hawaii, Alaska, most national parks or anywhere abroad, or if you want a human narrator or a long track record.
- Pick Stories when
You want to hear a tour before you pay, without installing anything; a group wants to listen on their own phones for one $4.99; or you're walking one of our 24 places, from Salem to Savannah, or driving Route 66, the 17-Mile Drive, Skyline Drive or Gettysburg.
- Pick another app when
You're in Hawaii, Alaska, most national parks or outside the US: we don't go there yet. You want a human narrator: a synthetic voice reads ours, while Shaka, VoiceMap and Autio credit people. Or you want a track record: our app has 2 App Store ratings so far, theirs have thousands.
Stories tours on the same routes
The Freedom Trail, Salem, Gettysburg and the scenic drives the other apps cover too. Open one and press play on stop 1.
Stop 1 is free, no sign-up. The whole tour is $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones.
Salem 1692: The Witch Trials Walk
It starts at Proctor's Ledge, where 19 people were hanged in 1692, and ends at the House of the Seven Gables, built in 1668.
Gettysburg Battlefield Driving Tour
Nine stops from McPherson Ridge, where Buford's cavalry held on July 1, 1863, to Soldiers' National Cemetery and its 979 unknowns.
Skyline Drive Through Shenandoah
Six stops from Dickey Ridge at mile 4.6 to Lewis Mountain, opened in 1939 as the park's area for Black visitors.
17-Mile Drive: Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach
Seven stops from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach Golf Links, opened in 1919, with Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress between.
Route 66 in Arizona: Painted Desert to Oatman
Seven stops from the Painted Desert Inn to Oatman, with the 1950 Wigwam Motel in Holbrook and the Winslow corner from a 1972 Eagles hit.
Read next: Shaka Guide alternatives, and Shaka Guide vs GuideAlong on the Road to Hana · VoiceMap vs GPSmyCity, for city walks · Every Stories tour.
Questions people ask
What is a self-guided audio tour?
It is a recorded tour you take on your own, on foot or by car, with no guide and no set departure time. An app or web page plays the story for each stop, and most of the apps here use GPS to start each one as you arrive.
What is the best audio tour app?
It depends on where you're going. Shaka Guide or GuideAlong for Hawaii and national-park drives, Action Tour Guide for one pass across 230+ tours, VoiceMap for city walks worldwide, Autio for long drives with no set route, and Stories to try a US tour in your browser before you pay.
What is the best app for audio walking tours?
For the most choice, VoiceMap: 2,355 tours in 87 countries, most of them walks. In a US city, Shaka Guide, Action Tour Guide and Stories also sell walks, and Stories lets you play stop 1 free in your browser before you pay $4.99 for your group.
Is there a free audio tour app?
The National Park Service app is free, with maps for 420+ parks and self-guided tours. GuideAlong has two free tours, Autio gives you 5 free stories, VoiceMap has some free tours, and stop 1 of every Stories tour is free in your browser.
Is there a free app for national park audio tours?
Yes. The National Park Service's own app is free, covers 420+ parks with self-guided tours, and works without a signal if you download a park first.
Do audio tour apps work offline?
All six do, once you download the tour (or, for Autio, the stories) before you go. Stories also plays in a phone browser, which needs a signal; its app downloads tours for offline use.
Which audio tour apps work with CarPlay or Android Auto?
GuideAlong says its audio plays through both. Shaka Guide works with CarPlay but not Android Auto yet, Action Tour Guide plays audio through CarPlay, and Stories doesn't work with either one yet.
Do I need an app for a self-guided tour?
For most of these, yes. Stories tours play in any phone browser (keep the screen on), and the app plays each stop by itself with the phone in your pocket. VoiceMap also lets you listen on its website after you buy.
How much does a self-guided audio tour cost?
A single tour costs about $5 to $25 on most of these apps; the most we saw was $49.99, for Action Tour Guide's Iceland Golden Circle. Among the passes, Action+ is $99.99 a year for 230+ tours, Shaka Guide's Hawaii collection is $79.99 for 21 tours, and the Stories Pass is $39.99 a year. Autio sells plans instead of tours.
Is the GuideAlong app free?
The app is free to download and two tours are free, Waikiki to Hanauma Bay and Calgary to Banff. Other tours are mostly $14.99 to $24.99 each, paid once, with no expiry.
Can a family share one tour?
Stories covers your group on up to 4 phones. Action Tour Guide sells drives per car and recommends one tour per person on walks, and GuideAlong needs one phone per vehicle for drives. Shaka's App Store page says some purchases may be shareable through Family Sharing.
Where these facts come from
- shakaguide.com: home page (tour counts, offline, ratings)
- shakaguide.com: how it works (directions, CarPlay, Android Auto)
- shakaguide.com: app FAQs (tours never expire, car audio, downloads)
- shakaguide.com: Boston Freedom Trail, Part One
- shakaguide.com: Boston Freedom Trail, Part Two
- shakaguide.com: Haunted Salem walking tour
- shakaguide.com: Historic Salem walking tour
- shakaguide.com: Haunted Savannah walking tour
- shakaguide.com: National Mall walking tour
- shakaguide.com: Gettysburg battlefield driving tour
- shakaguide.com: bundles and collections
- Shaka Guide on the App Store
- App Store: the Maui app, by the same company
- guidealong.com: home page (destinations, prices)
- guidealong.com: tour list (Freedom Trail, Gettysburg prices)
- guidealong.com: Colonial Williamsburg walking tour
- guidealong.com: FAQ (free tours, phones, CarPlay and Android Auto)
- GuideAlong on the App Store
- actiontourguide.com: home page
- actiontourguide.com: Boston Freedom Trail audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Salem Witch Trials audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Savannah audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Charleston audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: New Orleans (French Quarter) audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Central Park audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Brooklyn Bridge audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Colonial Williamsburg audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Gettysburg battlefield audio tour
- actiontourguide.com: Action+ annual pass
- actiontourguide.com: FAQ (free demo, CarPlay)
- Action Tour Guide on the App Store
- voicemap.me: home page (tours and countries)
- voicemap.me: walking tour app (who makes the tours, what they cost)
- VoiceMap support: no subscriptions, tours owned permanently
- voicemap.me: Freedom Trail audio tour
- voicemap.me: tours in the United States (Boston, Savannah, New Orleans prices)
- VoiceMap on the App Store
- autio.com: home page
- autio.com: FAQ (coverage, story length)
- Autio on the App Store (free stories, plans)
- National Park Service app on the App Store
- The official Freedom Trail app on the App Store
- Stories on the App Store
- Stories: every tour
- Stories: support (phones per purchase, refunds)
Checked November 10, 2026. Prices, catalogs and ratings change: check each app before you buy. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us at support@winding.ai and we'll fix it.