The Real Story Of Belfast Walking Tour With A Local Guide

Martin was an excellent tour guide, full of very detailed, focused and interesting talks. It was all very easy to follow, and my dad and I learnt a lot. Martin is a great speaker and kept us really engaged throughout. We felt comfortable asking questions and overall had a great morning! It was a great birthday gift for my dad ☺️ thank you Martin.

Superb history of Belfast, relative to many wonderful buildings and sites in the center of town. Martin is a wealth of information! Thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Martin was a great guide.Showed us lots in Belfast and weaved stories and history into it all.A really enjoyable and informative morning.Would really recommend his walking tour

Had a great 3 hour tour with Martin around the centre of Belfast. His in depth knowledge of historical Belfast coupled with his personal experiences of living in the area give this trip a special edge. Good use of historical drawings and pictures allows you to really get a feel of the place changing over the centuries. Great personal touches and excellent value for money. Highly recommended.

Martin, out guide, was very knowledgeable and held our small groups interest and attention. Knowledgeable on all aspects of Ireland/Belfast history and gave great overview of how and why it is the country it is today. Very engaging and think we all learned a lot, in the three hours wonder around city centre. Highly recommend this walk.

Martin was like being with a walking encyclopaedia only a lot more fun! An incredibly detailed knowledge of Belfast delivered in a very balanced and relatable way, what a legend!

Martin was an awesome tour guide! He gave a vast overview of Belfast and Ireland’s history and the associated complexities to provide a well rounded overview. We weren’t sure about a three hour tour but we found it very interesting and the time flew by! Would highly recommend, thanks for having us Martin 🙂

What a wonderful tour with Martin! He’s very knowledgeable about the city and he presents the facts in an entertaining and relevant manner. He even gave us a summary of what we saw and learned as well as suggestions on pubs and restaurants. We took his recommendation on visiting Madden’s later that evening and it did not disappoint! Cannot recommend Martin more!

As a tour guide myself, I wanted to learn about the real history of Belfast and Nothern Ireland, and this tour with Martin exceeded my expectations. Martin is a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable, born and bread in Belfast. He took us to Belfast iconic sites as well as hidden gems and shared fascinating stories and facts. We learned so much and could stay for more. Time went really fast. We fell in love with Belfast. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to discover Belfast in an interesting and engaging way. You would want to return for Martin’s other tours.

It was a rainy day but it did not take away from our experience. Martin Campbell was an experienced story teller. He would ask us to stand at a specific place and then relive history that happened on the very spot we were standing on. He also had photographs which he would hold against a landmark so we would see what it looked like before and after. My imagination was on steroids as I listened to him narrate the stories that happened in specific areas: the most bombed hotel; the first Catholic Church that was built from donations from the Protestant churches. We went back to the Crown Saloon, once regarded as the mightiest Victorian gin palaces in the British Isles, on our last night in Belfast. We had the best pub experience ever. I’m grateful for all the gems we found during the tour that we would not have found on our own.

Great tour - very interesting and so informative about the history of Belfast… nice pace, very open to questions.. perfect introduction to the City..

My husband and I go on a lot of walking tours and Martin's was one of the best ones we've had. Every block had a story and Martin walked us through centuries of Belfast history in a very thoughtful and engaging way. My family and I talked about the the tour for days afterwards, and I still think about it a week after coming back to my own country. If given the opportunity, I'd take another tour with Martin. Don't miss out this.

A nice small group of six with a local guide who covered the whole history of Ireland and Belfast not just the latter troubles period but it is covered in his tour. Martin was very knowledgeable and had a great way in covering all the history. Thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Martin was excellent very knowledgable with the benefit of a lifetime of local experience and analysis of local history and events. There was a lot of ground to cover and a complex story yo tell. We walked to key carefully selected vantage points where Martin shared information in a user friendly manner. The time flew by. I can't think of any way Martin could improve the experience.

Martin is a national treasure with his passion for history and culture. An exceptional tour guide and excellent explanations of many nuances of Belfast history. Look no further for a tour that truly explains the story of Belfast!

Martin was wonderful. Knew Belfast like the back of his hand. Explained the history from all points of view.

Our guide Martin was very knowledgeable and I felt after the tour that we had learnt a lot about Belfast and its history. His passion for the subjects is evident

Martin was great - entertaining while giving us lots of facts and explaining the twists and turns of the fortunes of Belfast and its people very well, mainly through talking about the different buildings. He also had lots of photographs to show how these places looked at different times. Highly recommend Martin.

My wife and I had a wonderful tour with Martin who explained how Belfast had evolved over the centuries. He was very knowledgeable and provided a great introduction to the city. Would highly recommend him to others.

Martin, our tour guide, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the history of Belfast. Martin was very patient and didn’t rush through the tour and wanted to ensure that you had a good understand of what has transpired throughout the history of Belfast. We were very fortunate to have Martin as our tour guide.

Martin was an amazing guide. As well as pointing out historical places of interest he spoke about their history. Martin carefully wove the history of Ireland and Belfast together and explained the impact the history had on the "troubles". Very knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

Martin is an excellent tour guide and an amazing narrator. He kept the audience engrossed telling the history of Belfast along with illustrations/ photographs, interspersed with personal anecdotes. I was really impressed with how he remembered all those dates without referring to a script! At the end of the tour Martin handed out some information sheets. One with recommendations of places to visit, bars, restaurants etc. The other covering the things he’d talked about along with book references and links to more information. He really puts a lot of work into his tours which is much appreciated.

Great enjoyable, extremely informative and very interesting tour with Martin at the weekend. He was very helpful and more than happy to answer any questions. I would highly recommend.

Martin was excellent, very knowledgable about the ancient and modern history of Belfast. We were out for about 3 hours, but felt like 30 mins. Terrific. He also gave us a couple of sheets at the end summarising the tour, other things to go see, good pubs, restaurants etc - really helpful. Thanks Martin 👍

We went on the 3 hour Belfast tour with Martin and had a fantastic experience. We could tell Martin loved the history of Ireland and was very knowledgeable. He showed photos centuries old at stops around town and gave detailed stories. Could not have been better!!!

The walking tour was great! Our guide was very knowledgeable about past and current events. Easy walk with a lot of history. See things you wouldn’t see on your own, or even knew they are there without a local to guide.

We got lucky and ended up having a private tour with Martin. He takes a different approach from the other tours you’ll see around Belfast. We greatly appreciated this and as a result learned so much! Thank you for your engaging tour and your recommendations, Martin.

I really enjoyed the tour with Martin this morning. He was really friendly and had such a wide wealth of knowledge about Belfast and its history. Highly recommend.

Loved our tour with Martin and couldn’t have gotten a more knowledgeable and friendly guide! Very informative and full of fascinating information about the history of Belfast and Northern Ireland. 10/10 would recommend!

Fantastic tour - Martin gave an excellent, well crafted overview of Belfast’s history. It wasn’t just a recital of the timeline though - Martin neatly connected different events, in an engaging way, that easily held our interest over the 3 hours of the tour. At the end of the tour, Martin also shared some information sheets covering what he’d talked about (so we could read up further if we wanted to) and possible options for other places to visit, and bars and restaurants. A nice touch. We would have no hesitation in recommending Odyssey Tours/Martin.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Martin. He has such a wide-ranging knowledge that he is happy to share, and really brought to life the history of Belfast and Ireland. Plus he built in loo breaks which is always appreciated!🙂

This was a birthday present for my sister. We are both born and bred in Northern Ireland and we have never ever been on anything like this before. Martin was an excellent tour guide. His wealth of knowledge is amazing. Every thing about this tour was perfect. We absolutely loved it and Martin is so interesting. He spoke so eloquently and clear and knew just how much detail to include inorder to keep us intrigued and wanting more. The small group tour is definitely the way to go. We highly recommend Martins tours.

Martin is extremely knowledgeable about the history of Belfast as well as personable in his presentation. His perspective was balanced and he really lent understanding to the long and complicated story of this city.

We had a walking tour today to end our trip to Belfast. We wish we would have done it sooner! Martin is absolutely phenomenal. My group consisted of people of all different appreciations for history yet we all thought Martin’s tour was hands down the best tour we have done in Ireland. The amount of knowledge he has is impressive, and we left having such an appreciation for Belfast and the Irish people. Highly recommend!

As a resident of greater belfast, I have always been eager to learn more about the industrial heritage of the city and the beautiful buildings within it. Martin was very polite, charming and witty with his informed presentation throughout the walking tour. I would, and will be highly recommending Martins walking tour to anyone who wants to know more about our complex, rich and vast history in the beautiful city of Belfast. Thanks Martin.

Martin is a hugely knowledgeable, experienced and passionate guide . The three hour tour passed very quickly and he told the Story of Belfast in a user friendly and genial manner.

Our guide was lovely and knowledgeable. He was very understanding and accomodating that we had two small children with us who weren’t always interested as we were. I would highly recommend.

As luck would have it, it was just myself and my wife on the tour so we were able to ask away and Martin was very informative and friendly. I’ve lived in Belfast for 18 years and I came away knowing so much about it. Absolutely fascinating and amazing value for money! We would highly recommend Martin.

We are so glad we booked this walking tour with Martin, his intellect, knowledge, and humour was bang on perfect and we had such a unique and insightful experience. Martin was very patient with us being an hour late and still helped fill us in on what we’d missed. His knowledge goes far beyond that of the recent Troubles (Conflict) and general tours of Belfast, using his own comprehensive research from over 1500 books and many years of experience, he even corrects a few historical errors made by some of the commercial tours and the visitor information desk. Martin provides further reading, websites, and genuinely brilliant local pubs to go to at the end of the trip. We feel privileged to have learnt so much first hand from Martin such a deep heartfelt and insightful perspective of his own experience and those of many others who have lived in Belfast over the course of hundreds of years. We’d like to say a very big THANKS MATE and we wish you the very best.

With my trip to visit Belfast from Dublin being booked very last minute (decided on the night before), I had minimal expectations for how and where I can learn about the city and it’s history. I cannot overstate my immense satisfaction and general surprise at how knowledgeable, thorough and just fun the walking tour led by Martin. In a super busy and bustling city, Martin was able to paint vivid pictures of how Belfast was and came to be over many, many centuries. My friends and I were constantly engaged by Martin’s narrative, and delighted when he even introduced us to key figures in the Belfast community along the way. I cannot recommend Martin’s tour enough and hope to return to Belfast again one day to learn even more.

We had a fantastic time with Martin learning about the history of a city we have lived in but clearly knew little about. Martin’s knowledge and enthusiasm is second to none. If you are in Belfast don’t miss the opportunity to learn about the history of the city, Ulster and it’s people.

This is a very educational tour on the history of Belfast which doesn't focus on the troubles. Martin the tour guide was wonderful, very knowledgeable, welcoming and explained everything in an easy to understand way.

Martin is an amazing narrator. His knowledge is so extensive my party felt privileged to be taken along with his colourful journey of Belfast’s history. I was keen to avoid a tour that leant heavily on ‘the troubles’ and Martin exceeded every expectation. Bringing together the medieval, cultural political past he offered a well-rounded picture of why Belfast is where it is today. A cliche - a glint in his eye - but Martin’s skill of entertaining whilst informing made the three hours whizz by. I have taken walking tours through numerous cities of the world and this was head-and-shoulders above them all. Thank you, Martin - it was great!

Great tour extremely informative. With only a small group it meant that we were able to hear and participate in the discussions. The tour looked at the history of Belfast with a guide who was extremely informative with a great love of his subject matter. . History made interesting with some great insights into a City that has truly so much to give.

We both enjoyed our tour with Martin who we both found very friendly and engaging with his interesting stories of Belfast's and its history.

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour with Martin yesterday morning. He is a very knowledgeable guide with plenty of memorable factoids - 75% of our group was local & we still learnt lots about our City - I’d highly recommend this tour.

The trip was fascinating. Martin had done loads of research and his photographs of old Belfast brought the history to life. We loved his insight into Belfast's political, social and economic history. Top recommendation even on a cold morning.

We have had a fantastic experience with Martin and both kids and adults enjoyed the tour. The tour is very well balanced in terms of duration and information shared with the audience so you won’t feel overwhelmed with details at the end , but it still leaves you with a high level picture of how the city developed over time. I also like the fact that the group was quite small , there were less than 10 people in contrast with similar tours walking around the city with a large crowd of 25+ people. With this tour you are getting an exclusive, almost individual experience

Martin himself was the most memorable part of this experience. He is passionate and knowledgeable about Belfast and its history. He helped us to make sense of the city and its history on a beautiful October morning!