FAQ – frequently asked questions

The answers to these questions can be found on the various pages of this website. Often though it is handy to find them compiled in one place. Here we go…

Very easy! Use the request form on our website. It's a good idea to first read up on how to arrange the meeting with a greeter.

At the bottom of that page there's a button that takes you directly to the request form.

We throw a party!

Well, that's a bit exaggerated 🙂 But we are happy indeed that you want to meet with one of us.

First you receive an automatic e-mail to the address you entered in the request form. If you do not receive such an e-mail within a few minutes please check your spam folder and make sure the e-mail address you entered does not have any typos. Eventually submit your request a second time.

Next thing is we are distributing your request among all Innsbruck greeters. Within a week you should get a personal mail from one of us to initiate the direct communication with you. If your requested date is earlier than a week ahead you will get the first reply earlier.

Then the greeter will work out with you the exact date and time to meet. She or he might also ask you where you are staying so the place where to meet can be arranged accordingly. The meeting place will be agreed upon by you and the greeter in the next step.

You and the greeter may want to exchange phone numbers and pictures of each other in order to facilitate the actual meeting on the spot.

Yes, greets are absolutely free of charge. No fee and no tipping either.
The individual greeters are volunteers. They have their independent income.

The organization as such is running on a small scale. The costs are small because the volunteers contribute their time for free.

If you would like to contribute to the running of the International Greeters Association you are welcome to to do so, of course: International Greeters' donation site

Very simple! Just like you would show or tell a friend that you like what s/he is doing for you. Say thank you.

Greeters do not accept money or anything of value for their services. If during your greet you happen to take a break in a bar or a cafe, it is of course okay to pay for your greeter's coffee.

Meeting with people, talking, spending time together, being friendly ... all this makes the world a better place. We simply like to spend time with guests without money being in the way.
Most greets take between one and three hours. There is neither a fixed schedule nor a predetermined route. Depending on our guests' interests and possibilities the greet might be shorter or longer.

Communicate with your greeter beforehand if you have only limited time available.

Unfortunately, no. A greet is not a guided city tour. A greet is a personal encounter with a local, i.e. a person living in the city you are visiting. That person will show you the place from his or her very personal perspective. She will tell you stories of past and present and some facts about the city, too.

Here we compiled a short list of websites which lead you to classic tours:
Austria Guides - all pros at once
Tourism-Board Innsbruck, Guided City Tours
Tourism-Board Innsbruck, Themed Tours

If a greet is not a guided tour, will you like it?

You'll have to try to find out. Check out the reviews to read about other people's experience: Innsbruck Greeters reviews

Many greet requests ask for a tour through the old town. However, neither are Innsbruck greeters professional tourist guides nor are the greets a free replacement for the classic guided tours. A greet’s purpose is to provide the opportunity for personal encounters and to get to know the place you’re visiting in a rather intimate way. We don’t talk about historic dates.

Depending on which route we’re walking, in many cases we’ll have the opportunity to visit the old town or other sights and we’ll of course show you where to take that one picture every tourist ought to take before s/he leaves town.

If you are interested in a classic tour through the old town and to the main sights of Innsbruck we recommend you check out the various professional offers.
Austria Guides - all pros at once
Tourism-Board Innsbruck, Guided City Tours
Tourism-Board Innsbruck, Themed Tours

In many tourist destinations you will find so called "free walking tours". These tours are great and we like them. They are professionally organized tours with knowledgeable guides. At the end of the tour participants are invited to give some money to the guide.

Greeter tours, or just "greets" as we call them, are personal encounters with a local who shows you his/her city. You will hear relatively few historic facts and figures but rather stories and anecdotes.

Imagine you travel abroad and a cousin of yours happens to have a friend at your destination. She gets you in touch with that friend and you have the opportunity to meet and spend a few hours together.

No. Every greet is an individual meeting between a greeter and you as an individual or as a small group.
If you are communicating with us via e-mail already, simply write us an e-mail. Otherwise send us a new request via the form on the website, as you did before.

In any case let us know about your changes as soon as possible. We'll do our best to accommodate your changes, but we can't make any promises.

Yes, of course. At least one person in the group, however, must be 18 years or older.
Oh yes, just bring your umbrella or wear your raincoat. We'll be there at the arranged time.
We require 7 days advance notice for greets. This is because we are not a professional organization with an office where a manager is organizing and where professional tour guides are qaiting for customers. We are locals, volunteers, who love to meet people and show them their city.

So, if your request comes in it might (!) take a couple of days until our administrator sees that and distributes that among the volunteers. It will take some more time until it is clear who's got free time to meet with you. And then the greeter communicates with you to work out the exact time and place when and where to meet.

Without that technical 7 days limit we had really many short term requests and it always hurt when we had to turn down such requests.

We are a volunteers' organization, not a commercial business. We need some time to find the right person to meet with you. This is not possible within a couple of days.

Therefore the request form prevents you from entering dates that are earlier than one week in advance.

If you still want to try your luck, well... enter any date and add a note that you want to have your greet earlier than that. We will still do our best but please don't be disappointed if we can't fulfill your request.

Two weeks at least. Ideally two years so you can experience Innsbruck through all the seasons.

It is like at any place in the world: there is so much to see and to experience that you won't get to know everything during a short visit.

Most Innsbruck visitors stay for one day which definitely is way too short. To visit just the most important sights — still not all of them — you will need three days. If you plan your greet right at the beginning of your stay you get the benefit of many recommendations and insights tailored to your interests so you can make most of your visit.