Kirk Wilson leading a walking tour in Kiel harbour

"I was glad I stayed in Kiel. Ended up being one of our favourite days of the entire cruise."

TripAdvisor · Cruise passenger

Discover Kiel
through stories,
not sightseeing.

Most visitors see Kiel as a gateway to somewhere else. Before you spend half your day on a bus, discover what's already here. The landmarks are easy to find. The stories are what most visitors miss.

GPS audio tour · $11.99 one-time · Works offline

Get the tour — $11.99 Free tour — check dates →
4.9★
TripAdvisor
109+
VoiceMap reviews
No buses
Starts at Ostseekai
Offline
No data costs
90 mins
Easy pace
#1
Tour in Kiel
2016
Guiding since

The best tour experience in Kiel

Not just sightseeing.
Stories you'll still be telling at dinner.

Kiel town hall and city centre
Meet Kirk →
★★★★★

"One of the most enjoyable walking tours in Europe. Kirk's powerful voice, humorous anecdotes and historical facts. Skip Lubeck and enjoy the enchantments of Kiel."

TripAdvisor · Baltic cruise passenger
★★★★★

"Ended up being one of our favourite days of the entire cruise. He's a born teacher."

TripAdvisor · Cruise passenger
★★★★★

"Informative and very funny. Much cheaper and just as good as a pricey shore excursion. Must be that Kiwi charm."

VoiceMap · Faye
Read all reviews on TripAdvisor  ·  109 five-star reviews on VoiceMap

Your day in Kiel, sorted.

Also popular with day-trippers, students and independent travellers.

Most popular · Flexible · Works any time

Explore at your own pace

Kirk Wilson narrates the stories Kiel doesn't put on signs - emperors, mutinies, a canal that changed Europe, a statue hidden from the Nazis. Download before you arrive — or right now. Works offline. Start whenever you're ready.

Written, narrated and guided by Kirk Wilson

Works offline · No data costs · 109 VoiceMap reviews · Starts outside Ostseekai terminal
Get the tour — $11.99 How it works →
VoiceMap
Used by 2 million+ travellers worldwide
Using the VoiceMap audio tour in Kiel
$11.99
one-time · never expires
Automatic GPS playback
The story plays when you arrive. No tapping, no screen-watching.
Works offline
Download on wifi. No data or roaming needed once you're ashore.
Go at your own pace
Stop for coffee or seals. The tour waits and nudges you back on track.
Listen as often as you like
Never expires. Replay it at home, or share it with someone who missed the trip.

Full explainer — how VoiceMap works →

Limited dates · Schedule dependent

Free Walking Tour

Kirk live, from Ostseekai, when ships are in port. The same stories. No charge. Places are limited.

Check available dates →
Groups · Corporate · Families

Private Tour

Your group, your pace, your route. Works for families, conference delegates and corporate away-days. Food and drink options available. From €149.

Find out more →
WWII submarine at Laboe
Also near Kiel
Laboe Naval Memorial & WWII Submarine
Walk inside a real WWII submarine · Audio tour · $9.99
Find out more

Hamburg and Lübeck are great cities.
They're also not here.

Everything on this tour starts outside your terminal door. Kiel is a walkable and surprising city, built for exactly the kind of slow, curious wandering cruise days are supposed to offer.

Get the Audio Tour - $11.99 Free tour — check dates →
Kiel vs Hamburg vs Lübeck → Independent shore excursion guide →

What you'll see

Kiel isn't a postcard city.
It's better than that.

3km · 90 minutes · mostly flat · starts and ends near Ostseekai

Starts right outside Ostseekai cruise terminal
Works offline — no data or roaming costs
90 minutes at an easy pace · pause whenever you like
START
Walk off the ship and start immediately. No transfers.
1
Harbour seals & the waterfront
Wild seals at the GEOMAR research institute, ten minutes from the ship.
2
Kiel Castle & castle gardens
Where the Kaiser held court. The gardens hide more than they show.
3
Sailors' Mutiny Memorial
The men who refused to sail ended WWI. This is where it started.
4
Town Hall
The city that rebuilt from rubble and made different choices from everyone else.
5
St. Nikolai church & the Spirit Fighter
Hidden in an old lady's garden to save it from the Nazis. It stands here now.
END
Old Market Square
Tour ends here. One of Germany's oldest monastery breweries is right next door.

"My recommendation: skip Lübeck and enjoy the enchantments of Kiel instead. Much more relaxed than a ship excursion."

TripAdvisor · Baltic cruise passenger

Getting back to Ostseekai terminal takes about 15 minutes on foot, heading north.

See the full route → Planning ahead? Check your ship date →
Kiel Canal aerial view
The city that cut Germany in half.
More traffic than Suez and Panama combined. Dug by hand.
Spirit Fighter statue Kiel
The statue the Nazis tried to destroy.
Hidden in an old lady's garden. Still standing.
Harbour seals at GEOMAR Kiel
Wild seals. Ten minutes from the ship.
At the GEOMAR research institute on the waterfront.
Kiel harbour with Stena Line ferry
Starts right outside your terminal.
No transfers, no buses. Walk off the ship and go.

Most people leave Kiel
without understanding
where they were.

Put your headphones in. Press play. Walk.

Sample from the tour - Kirk's introduction
Get the tour - $11.99
Or book the free walking tour · plan a private tour

Before you arrive

Kiel for cruise visitors

Kiel cruise port guide
Cruise Guide
Kiel Cruise Port Guide
Where you arrive, what's nearby, how to spend the day without a bus.
Read →
One day in Kiel
Itinerary
One Day in Kiel
A simple, honest itinerary. No bus. No rushing. Ends at a brewery.
Read →
Kiel shore excursions
Shore Excursions
Best Shore Excursions in Kiel
What's actually worth your time, and what isn't.
Read →
Get the tour - $11.99 Free tour