As a Scottsdale resident, I thought I knew a little bit about Old Town... but we were looking for…read moresomething a little bit different for my mom's 89th birthday, and by far our favorite activity was Sam's walking tour. Sam's knowledge of local history along with all the current goings on is unsurpassed. She is delightful, well liked by everyone in town (look for lots of shout outs during your tour) and can advise you on everything to do during your stay in Scottsdale, whether you are local or a visitor! Highly recommend!

What a privilege and delight to take this walking tour led by a former mayor of Scottsdale! Sam…read morewas so knowledgeable-- little wonder -- she's been the mayor. Lots of personal insights. Go and enjoy!!

I got my exercise, fun solo night out, facts about the town and learned how to use some ghost…read morehunting instruments for fun! Valentina hosted and we walked around a couple of blocks and learned about some very important buildings and its history from old to restored and renovated. We also did some readings on her instruments and confirmed some spooky activities! Although you have to be careful not to use your phone next to the devices. One cool thing I've discovered is a speakeasy that was behind a large hotel in a corner alley and how people from different Midwest states like Illinois for one example would come in and buy buildings and a lot of land. Some buildings were owned by women who were successful and now haunted....!

My family and I had a tour with Jimbo of Get Ghosted Phoenix. Jimbo is a great tour guide, good…read moremix of information and humor. Put on some comfy shoes, this is a walking tour and you will be on your feet for two hours. With moving to Phoenix in the mid-80's, Jimbo is very knowledgeable of Phoenix and filled in some holes of history I was not aware of. The legitimate paranormal experience I had on the tour was at the entry of the Security Building. Jimbo was giving us the history of the building and how the construction stalled and completed. As he is talking I get a cold feeling in the recessed entry off Central Ave. Then I see a very old heavy hanging light fixture sway as Jimbo is talking. As soon as we walk away, the swaying stops. There was no wind blowing that would have made that light fixture sway the way it did. Didn't have any other sightings, but the tour is well worth the price of admission! If you're a believer or not, you may or may not get a paranormal experience. The historical information alone of the buildings involved was a great thing for me. As you're walking and you're wondering about a building that is not covered, Jimbo was Johnny on the spot with giving us information about the building. The cool feature of the tour is you will have two opportunities to play with EMF meters, dowsing rods and spirit boxes.

The tour was worth the five year wait/lottery! We had a wonderful docent and received a fantastic…read moretour of Tovrea Castle which was superb in every way possible. I have lived in Arizona, specifically the Phoenix area, for most of my life and have driven by Tovrea Castle thousands of times. It was so cool to be able to walk the grounds and get a peek inside. I would highly suggest entering the lottery, it's free and some people have better luck than I did and can get in sooner than 5 years. This was an insightful tour mixed with great storytelling and history. The basement with all the artifacts of the family and learning more about the area makes me proud to be a part of Arizona! Worth the visit!

If you live in the Valley it's highly likely that you have driven by this place. From the 202 fwy…read moreyou can easily see it. I often wondered what is that building? Finally after passing it so many times I was curious enough to look it up. I googled "cake shaped building PHX" and it was the first result. "Tovrea (said tov-ree) Castle aka A jewel in the Sonoran desert" Since 2010 the City of Phoenix purchased, renovated, and opened it for tours. The very abbreviated story with this place is that some homesteaders from the early 1900s owned the land, sold 277 acres to a wealthy Italian man. Alessio Carraro had built a fortune in the sheet metal business in the 1920s from San Fran. He planned to build a hotel resort surrounded by a housing subdivision on 277 acres, Carraro Heights. The castle was built near the timing of when the Great Depression set in. Carraro wanted out, he sold the castle and some amount of acreage (for a fraction of his investment) to Della Tovrea, wife of cattle baron E.A. Tovrea. She lived there until her tragic death in 1969. Nearby is the Stockyard Restaurant, built by E.A.'s son so cattlemen had somewhere to eat near the stockyards. That restaurant still exists today. I plan to check it out. If you want more details and full story, go take the tour :) however tickets are not easy to come by. Tours sell out many months in advance and they started using a lottery system. I bought my tickets months ago. However worth a try to go. I wouldn't say its the most amazing thing I've ever seen and the use of the word "castle" is a stretch. I've been inside some real castles in US and Europe, however it's interesting and a fun thing to do and it satisfied my curiosity! :) Per their website- The Ticket Lottery for Fall 2022 Tickets has ended and all tickets have been distributed - look for last minute cancellation tickets. Ticket Lottery for Spring 2023 Regular Tours closed on October 15, 2022 and Winners will be notified via email starting November 1, 2022. https://tovreacastletours.com

It was an excellent tour with great information. Lots of information about the history of the town…read moreand the ghosts included.

My friends and I have always wanted to do a "Haunting Tour" and we finally got to experience this…read morewith the amazing Darlene! We reserved our time with her in advance and she was very nice and easy to work with. I called her a few times because I had to adjust our party size and she was very accommodating. Our tour started at the Vendome Hotel where we received brief history, several stories about encounters and watched a few videos where possible encounters were captured. That ended up being the rhythm of the tour, walk + history + story + picture/video and some exploring. We walked though two different hotels, around the whiskey row square, a dark alley and ended the night at the saloon. The tour is a great mixture of history and ghost stories, your also encouraged to take photos to try and capture an encounter. I started the tour skeptical of actually seeing anything but at the end of the night my friend and I definitely saw something shoot past my camera phone in the saloon! Overall we had the best time with Darlene and I would definitely recommend doing this!

courtney is absolutely amazing! gave an amazing history to jerome and was so respectful to…read morecustomers but most importantly the spirits! 10/10 i would recommend this to anyone!

What a joke! $45 walk a short distance over a long period of time, with only a few stories and…read morelittle to see. But, we did get to carry a phony electronic ghost buster device. I least expected a decent tour of town and some history. Standing around listening to walkie talkie static pretending to be a ghost?????

Fun short stair hike about 20 flights of stairs up ! It wraps around to a picnic area with lookouts…read moresuch a great place to have lunch, or a fun snack. We brought hot tea during the winter and it was absolutely absolutely wonderful.

This is a wonderful place to visit! Not a lot of parking but few visitors (should be many more)…read more The hill site is surrounded by a gated community but is publicly accessible - the locals love it when people come to visit and are very welcoming! Park in one of the recessed spaces (there are 4) next to the community management/sales office outside the gate. The pathway is to the left of the gate, going into the trees to the left of the clearing (it was a clearing when I went but could be under development). The path was marked on the map on the running/hiking app I use. Follow the path up until you reach the grand staircase up to the top of the hill. The site is relatively small compared to others in the area like Goat Camp and Shoofly, but is really unique in it's positioning at the top of a very high hill and the structures appear to be from the era of pit-house architecture. I hear there are plans to turn the site into a self-guided tour-able location with informational signs about history &c., and it will be amazing. I will definitely have to come back!

Mike got me through it!!! This is not for the faint of heart when it's this hot out but it's SO…read moreworth it!! I don't have the pics he took yet so here's just a few of the ones I took. Breathtaking views!! Mike is an outstanding guide!

Had a great hike with our guide John who has lived in town for over 10 years. He knows his way up…read moreCamelback Mountain since he climbs it regularly. My sister and I took the Cholla route with him, which was only difficult at the last 30%. What I liked about walking with John was that he is knowledgeable and friendly, it was like hiking with a friend. He was encouraging and had us stop many times to get hydrated and have a snack. At the summit, he even had a banner for us to hold to get our pics! A great hike with spectacular views.

Karen was such a good your guide! Very informative while still being fun! All the food stops were…read moreincredible and were very accommodating toward my gluten allergy! Would highly recommend!

Lovely day walking through the Fourth Street and University restaurant, mural and shop scene…read more Chris is a great guide - lots of history, U of AZ tidbits and food info included in our 4 hour tour. Highly recommend this tour for some mom/pop restaurants that serve dishes I never see on the east coast.

Mark L was an excellent tour guide and showed us an incredible day. perfect schedule, plenty of…read moresnacks and stops to use the facilities! and more beautiful sights than we could imagine in one day. highly recommend!!!!

Why not give a five star rating as an employee for a company that has been great working for!?…read moreThese guys have really helped me establish a decent life here in Southern Arizona and as a guide, they do their best to keep me busy. These guys have been one of the best tour companies that I have had the pleasure working with during my 23 year career as an Interpreter and Southwestern Cultural Enthusiast. Thank you, Detours!