Carmel-by-the-Sea's Fairytale Houses: A Self-Guided Walking Tour in Monterey & Carmel booking from $7.99

Carmel-by-the-Sea's Fairytale Houses: A Self-Guided Walking Tour

Overview

Are you looking for a way to see Carmel’s famous Comstock Cottages without joining a tour group? Explore at your own pace with this affordable audio tour.

• See 11 fairytale cottages, and find out about architect Hugh Comstock, who married a dollmaker here in the 1920s
• Hear from producer Lynn Momboisse who co-authored a book about Carmel's historic homes
• Do it all in 40 minutes or linger at stops along the way with complete control over when you start and finish
• Get unlimited use before your booking date and after it
• Use the virtual tour option at home

Once you’ve booked, you’ll receive a ticket with instructions and a unique code listed under “Before You Go”. Then simply install the VoiceMap app and enter your code.

The app displays directions to the starting point, and when you’re in the right place, just pop in your headphones and tap start. VoiceMap has automatic GPS playback, with turn-by-turn directions. It also works offline.

Please note that this is a hilly walk.

City: Monterey & Carmel

Sat 21 Sep

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $7.99

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Sat 21 Sep

Starting at $7.99

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Lifetime access to Fairy Tale Houses of Carmel-by-the-Sea tour

VoiceMap Application

Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
All of VoiceMap's audio tours are self-guided and users must bring their own smartphone and headphones to take the tour. We urge all our users to wear facemasks and carry hand sanitizer with them to ensure they're own protection and the protection of others.

What To Expect

Fairy Tale Cottages of Hugh Comstock

The tour explores Hugh Comstock's Fairy-Tale Cottages.

Ocean Avenue

The tour goes past a section of Carmel's Ocean Avenue

Carmel Plaza

Nestled in the heart of downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel Plaza is home to one-of-a-kind fashion finds and specialty national brands, distinctive restaurants, gourmet shops, wine tasting rooms, salons and more in a relaxed yet sophisticated setting.

Devendorf Park

The tour ends near Devendorf Park.

Show 1 more stops

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (48)

Chadia_S

Jul 2021

Sorry to say that I was looking forward to this experience but it wasn’t as we didn’t know where to go, and directions were not clear at all. I wish it was more clear directed as all other tours we have experienced at Monterey and Carmel where they guide you to a starting point and lead you after.

Response from Host

Aug 2021

Hi Chadia, We're sorry the directions weren't clear. Did you download the tour before reaching the starting point? The screen you see after you do that has: 1. Detailed directions to the starting point 2. The option to get directions to the starting point in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze 3. A photo of the starting point, and the option to open this up in Google Street View The detailed directions are as follows: "The starting point is The Getaway hotel sign at the northeast corner of Junipero and Ocean Avenue. If you arrived by bus at the Carmel Plaza you will be near the southwest corner of Junipero and Ocean Avenue directly across from Devendorf Park. Carefully cross Ocean Avenue to Devendorf Park and then turn right and cross Junipero Street. You will be in front of the blue and white 'The Getaway' hotel sign where you will start your tour." Once you've started the tour, there is turn-by-turn navigation telling you where to go next, but you need to give the app access to your location. If you disable this, the directions don't work. We make this as clear as possible when you install the app. There are also text directions as a back up included with every location. Plus there's the on-screen map. We'd really love the opportunity to understand why this didn't make sense to you, and we'll gladly give you a free tour in exchange for your feedback. Could you please send me an email at [email protected]?

Gonzalo_V

Jul 2021

This informative walk had two major flaws / one is not warning that most of the streets had no sidewalks which made it very unnerving with three young children as cars drove by.. there was a section where we had to cross a busy street with no cross walk. So we opted to skip that section because it was too dangerous. Unfortunately that caused a second flaw on that there was no control to skip and get back on track. I got off track and could never get back to the correct house. I also found it took a little work to have to download the app and signup to Viator after buying the ticket and it not working the first time. Patience is the key . This is not something that quick and easy to set-up when kids are waiting for you to get going!

Carol_S

Jul 2021

Your instructions need work, the interface is klugy, the experience was comical. Kept hearing about houses we were not near. Never again

Response from Host

Jul 2021

Hi Carol, We're sorry you had a disappointing experience! It looks like you started the tour in the wrong place. We've tried to make this as clear as possible, with a dedicated screen that has clear directions to the starting point – at The Getaway hotel sign at the northeast corner of Junipero and Ocean Avenue – along with a photo of the location, and options to get directions to it in Google Maps and view it in Google Streetview. It even tells you how far you are from the starting point. Can you let us know why you didn't know to start the tour there please, and how we could make this more clear? It also looks like after starting at location 15 you turned and went the wrong way, towards the beginning of the tour. This would definitely make it seem like things were playing in the wrong place, because when the app says "look over to your right" and you are going in the opposite direction, it's now on the other side of you, over to your left. But there's a map on the screen and text directions to help you go from one location to the next, as well as an audio alert to let you know you're off track. Can you tell us more about how this went so wrong for you? You can reach email me at [email protected]. We'd appreciate the feedback. Our tours have an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 from almost 10,000 ratings because we take feedback like yours seriously. Thanks, Iain

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Carmel-by-the-Sea's Fairytale Houses: A Self-Guided Walking Tour

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