Lower Manhattan: How the Money Started
95 min · 3 km · easy
The best self-guided tour apps in 2026 are Roamer (free to start, city walking tours, pay per tour or a low-cost pass), VoiceMap (creator-published city walks), izi.TRAVEL (free, strong on museums), Shaka Guide (scenic driving tours), GPSmyCity (offline maps plus articles), and Rick Steves Audio Europe (free, Europe only). A self-guided tour app plays narration on your phone as you move, so you explore on your own schedule with no group and no fixed start time. The right one depends on whether you are walking, driving, or in a museum, and how much you want to pay.
Short answer: for walking a city on your own, Roamer is the easiest place to start because every tour is free to begin. You hear roughly the first 30% before deciding, then pay $4.99 for one tour or take a pass that covers them all, on iPhone or Android. Start free at roamer.travel/explore.
What is the best self-guided tour app?
For walking a city, start with Roamer, VoiceMap, or izi.TRAVEL. Roamer is built specifically for walking at your own pace, with GPS-triggered narration and a free preview of every tour before you buy. VoiceMap has the widest catalog of creator-made city routes. izi.TRAVEL is free and covers thousands of cities and museums, though quality varies because anyone can publish. If you are driving a scenic route or touring a national park, Shaka Guide is the better fit. If you are only in Europe and want free, Rick Steves Audio Europe is excellent.
Comparison table
Hear a stop from this walk
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| App | Format | Price | Offline | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roamer | Walking, GPS audio | Free to start; $4.99 per tour, or a 7-day pass at $12.99 / 30-day at $19.99 | Yes | Walkable city cores, at your own pace |
| VoiceMap | Walking, GPS audio | About $5.99 to $29.99 per route | Yes | Breadth of creator-made city routes |
| izi.TRAVEL | Walking and museums | Free | Yes | Free coverage and museum guides |
| Shaka Guide | Mostly driving | $4.99 to $22.99 per tour; bundles up to $199.99 | Yes | Scenic drives and national parks |
| GPSmyCity | Walking, map-led | Free app; most tours a few dollars to unlock | Yes | Offline maps plus route articles |
| Rick Steves Audio Europe | Walking | Free | Yes | European cities only |
Prices and tour counts change often. Check each app before you buy.
How to choose by trip type
- Walking a city or historic center? Start with Roamer, VoiceMap, or izi.TRAVEL. See the best self-guided walking tour apps for a walking-only breakdown.
- Want audio narration specifically? See the best audio tour apps.
- On a budget? See the best free walking tour apps.
- Want GPS to trigger stops automatically as you walk? See GPS audio tour apps.
- On a road trip or in a national park? Choose Shaka Guide.
- Only in Europe and want free? Rick Steves Audio Europe is hard to beat.
What is Roamer best for?
Roamer is a self-guided audio tour app focused on walkable neighborhoods and historic centers. Every tour is free to start, so you can hear roughly the first 30% before deciding to buy. A single tour is $4.99 for lifetime access, or you can take a 7-day pass for $12.99 or a 30-day pass for $19.99 that covers every tour. Narration is in English and Spanish, and the catalog spans more than 340 tours across 100-plus cities in 35 countries. Roamer runs on iOS and in any mobile browser, so it works on Android phones too, and downloaded tours play offline with no signal. The design goal is autonomy: your pace, your schedule, no group, no fixed start time, and no tip. Try one for free.
Self-guided or guided?
A self-guided tour app is not trying to replace a great human guide. It solves a different problem: the format. Group tours run on a schedule, move at the group's pace, and often come with a tip. A self-guided tour lets you start when you want, linger where you want, and skip what you don't. If you want the trade-offs in full, see self-guided versus guided walking tours and how much walking tours cost.
The bottom line
If you want to walk a city on your own with narration in your ear, a dedicated self-guided tour app beats a marketplace like Viator or GetYourGuide, which mostly sell live guided experiences and tickets rather than self-guided audio. Roamer is the pick if you want to try before you pay and value walking at your own pace. VoiceMap wins on sheer catalog size, izi.TRAVEL on free coverage, Shaka Guide on driving, and Rick Steves on free Europe. Browse Roamer's free-to-start tours to see how a self-guided walk feels before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best self-guided tour app?
- For city walking, Roamer, VoiceMap, and izi.TRAVEL are the strongest. Roamer is free to start on every tour and built for walking at your own pace. For scenic drives and national parks, Shaka Guide is the better pick. In Europe on a budget, Rick Steves Audio Europe is free and hard to beat.
- Is there a free self-guided tour app?
- Yes. izi.TRAVEL and Rick Steves Audio Europe are fully free, and Roamer is free to start on every tour, unlocking roughly the first 30% before an optional one-time or pass purchase.
- Do self-guided tour apps work on Android and iPhone?
- Most do. Roamer runs on iOS and in any mobile browser, so it works on Android phones too, and it plays downloaded tours offline. VoiceMap, izi.TRAVEL, Shaka Guide, and Rick Steves Audio Europe all have iPhone and Android apps.
- Are self-guided tours better than guided tours?
- They are different. Self-guided tours give you your own pace, your own schedule, no group, and no tip, usually for free to about $30. A live guide gives you a person to ask questions, at roughly $20 to $60 or more. See our full comparison of self-guided versus guided walking tours.
Ready to experience it?
Lower Manhattan: How the Money Started
95 min · 3 km · easy