Chicago Tour South Side

Very educational. We seen the highlights of the Southside which included; Barack and Michelle's house Kanye West Jennifer Hudson the Obama Presidential Library where President Obama and Michelle had their first date we took pictures at that table.

I am confused as to what to say about this tour. The tour itself is informative and shares history of Chicago that was new for me. However, with that being said, the tour guide was just a hot mess. First, he was an hour late picking me up. When I called him he blamed it on another client being late but that client told me that he was also late picking her up -- she had to call him. His driving was so erratic that some of the people in the van got car sick. People were constantly beeping at us. He argued with the other client on the tour and when, at one stop when he told us we had 20 minutes at the stop, he got angry that we went to buy Garrett's Popcorn. He told us that this was not "a part of the heritage tour." In this case, he berated us. It was clear that the customer was not always right.

If you visit Chicago you MUST do a tour with Mr Steve Johnson! I visited Chicago for the first time four years ago and booked this tour. I enjoyed it so much so this year in right my family back and we booked a North Side South Side tour. Learned SO much about the history, housing, and culture of Chicago past and present. Mr Steve is a great host too-very informative while entertaining.

We booked a tour through South Side, thinking we would just drive around. Our tour guide Steve J. drove us around the South Side and gave so much detail information about the sites, the people and the entire South Side. He was fantastic in making sure that we could stop at all of the sites for pictures; taking pictures for us at the numerous sites. We did not expect such a great guide and all of the information he shared with us. We are looking forward to returning for another tour of other areas in Chicago. We would definitely recommend this tour to small or large groups.

A unique tour experience! The host and van driver, Steve, has been doing these tours for years and knows the South Side like the back of his hand. He knows it because he has lived on the South Side most of his life. His stories are full of information...and are entertaining. My wife and I visit Chicago often, but haven't spent much time on the South Side, therefore it was an outstanding learning experience. Our perception and understanding of the South Side has idone a 180-degrees turn since taking this tour. We highly recommend it!

The tour was everything we had hoped for and more. Learned so much about the rich history of south Chicago. Our tour guide was excellent!

As a solo traveler, I had such a great time on this tour! Steve was knowledgeable, engaging, and I loved seeing the homes and landmarks of so many influential figures while learning stories I had never heard before. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Chicago, it’s an experience you won’t forget!

I took the Heritage South Side Tour, and Steve was my tour guide. I'll be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to make of Steve during the first five minutes. 😂 He was polite, but he's definitely an anomaly. He's quirky, funny, welcoming, and eager to show you around... it just takes a minute to digest his personality. Then came minute six. That's when I realized Steve genuinely loves the South Side, loves Chicago, and is passionate about preserving its history and legacy. His message is clear: he's here to tell the story of how the South Side became the South Side, who shaped it, and to challenge what you think you know by sharing the history that often gets overlooked by the media or passed over in everyday conversation. Would I recommend this tour? 100% yes. Would I recommend anyone other than Steve? Absolutely not. So if you take the tour and Steve seems a little... different at first, just hang in there. By minute six, you'll get him. And once you do, you'll appreciate him. South Side! (...in my best Steve voice.) 😂🏙️

Steve is quite knowledgeable and made the tour both informative and entertaining. I learned a lot about Chicago and much more than expected. Well worth it, I would highly recommend!

If you’re visiting Chicago, the Heritage Tour is a must! Steve was our tour guide, and he made this the best tour I have ever been on. He was knowledgeable, engaging, and brought so much history to life. We learned about the rich heritage and culture of Chicago while visiting important landmarks and neighborhoods. Steve’s passion and storytelling made the experience both educational and enjoyable. I highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to experience a side of Chicago that goes beyond the typical tourist attractions. An unforgettable experience!

Outstanding experience! Tour guide was assume, very knowledgeable and personable. I've been on plenty tour in my life but this one was special and the best.

Mr. Steve and this Tour were wonderful! He was informative, passionate and entertaining. The tour is told from a unique point of view that all of us (Black, White and all Other backgrounds) should appreciate. As a person who has done a fair number of tours in different cities (domestically and internationally), let me say .... I'm familiar with the sleek buses and slick bullet point itineraries. If you pack a little patience and understanding, you will gain so much from your time invested. And as a bonus, Mr. Steve drove me and my wife on a Sunday to the airport. It was essentially an extension of the tour the day before..... and so greatly appreciated. Alfred and Wendy (New Orleans, LA)

This was amazing tour I learned so much about black history and the great migration from Mr Steve plus he is extremely funny when he does not event realize it. It’s was informative, insightful and heart warming

I travelled to Chicago for the Christmas time. Unfortunately no one showed up for the tour. You don‘t treat people in this way. It appeared already dodgy to me that the trip just has 7 ratings. Luckily I got back my money. Definetly a poor experience for my last day in Chicago.

Great experience. Mr. Johnson provided an individualized tour which hit the highlights of the Southside of Chicago. I grew up outside of Chicago so I was familiar, but I wanted my partner who has never been to Chicago, to have a view of the Southside and Mr. Johnson delivered.

Great tour!!! They personalized everything for us. We saw former family homes, got great history!!! Well worth it. We all learned some fantastic facts and felt a connection

This was one of the best tours I have ever experienced. Steve was very knowledgeable and engaging. I learned so much on this tour. I highly recommend you make this tour part of your trip.

The only good thing about the tour was that you get to see many neighborhoods in Chicago that you wouldn't normally see if you're staying downtown. Tour guide is EXTREMELY annoying. He would be narrating and shout out certain words abruptly. He was not accommodating...he wouldn't allow me to switch seats with my friend (there was no reason why it would affect him in ANY way). He calls you a tough crowd of you don't laugh at his nonsensical jokes. He had us googling house prices at least 8 times...my friend suspected he worked with local realtors. He left the windows open with the AC on so we were still hot. I was expecting to see more interesting/historic southside landmarks than what we were shown. Worst of all he was racist, if you weren't a person of color he didn't want to hear from you. It was most definitely not worth the $125 price.

Steven Johnson is a captivating storyteller with an impressive grasp of history. He made the tour exceptionally enjoyable, balancing information with engagement without ever feeling rushed. His genuine passion for the subject truly shone through, which enhanced the overall experience. This was one of the best tours I have ever had the pleasure of attending.

There are a lot of stops. If like me have bad knees you will not like this tour. The driver didn't park in every safe place he could and he ran two lights.

My recent experience with the Chicago Personal Neighborhood Tour's South Side offering on April 25, 2025, led by Mr. Steve Johnson, was profoundly unsatisfactory and fell far short of expectations. We paid $375.00 for what was explicitly sold as a private tour for our group of three, yet the reality was considerably different. The first indication that this would not be the personalized experience promised came with the unexpected presence of two additional individuals upon pickup at 11:30 am. While these fellow participants were amiable, their inclusion directly contradicted the agreement for a private tour. This was compounded by Mr. Johnson's insistence on switching to a less comfortable van, lacking the amenities of the original, despite our expressed preference to remain in the first vehicle. The tour, advertised as a four-and-a-half-hour personalized exploration, was hampered by Mr. Johnson's apparent difficulty hearing. This created a constant communication barrier, requiring repeated questions and resulting in numerous unanswered inquiries. The notion of a "personalized" tour proved to be inaccurate. Our preferences regarding specific locations were consistently ignored, leading to unnecessary and lengthy stops at places we had no interest in seeing, such as an extended visit to Union Station during the rain. On multiple occasions, Mr. Johnson stopped at locations we explicitly stated we did not want to visit, creating awkward standoffs. Furthermore, despite initially agreeing to show us the childhood homes of prominent figures like Jennifer Hudson, Michelle Obama, and Kanye West, Mr. Johnson later reneged on this promise, citing a lack of time. This was particularly frustrating as time was allocated to a visit to the location of the Obamas' first kiss, a site we had indicated held no interest for us. In fact, the rude and dismissive behavior exhibited by Mr. Johnson became so intolerable that two members of the tour group ultimately chose to abandon the tour altogether, opting to take an Uber back to their hotels rather than endure further unprofessionalism. Mr. Johnson's demeanor was often dismissive and, at times, outright rude. Our requests for a lunch break after several hours were met with resistance, and a simple plea to stop for a snack due to hunger was denied with an inflexible adherence to his schedule, directly contradicting the idea of a flexible, personalized tour. Most concerning was Mr. Johnson's unsolicited and inappropriate commentary involving negative stereotypes of African Americans. As African American women who booked this tour to celebrate the rich heritage and achievements within the South Side community, his disparaging remarks were deeply offensive and entirely counter to the tour's intended purpose. In conclusion, the South Side Tour with Mr. Steve Johnson was a significant disappointment. The experience was characterized by a failure to deliver a private or personalized tour, communication barriers, unprofessional conduct so egregious that it caused other paying customers to leave, and the dissemination of harmful stereotypes. I would strongly advise others against booking this tour with Mr. Johnson.

Steve was a wonderful and engaging tour guide - bringing to life an underappreciated part of Chicago rich with history, culture, and influence.

Steve Johnson was a wonderful tour guide. We saw so many special areas of the South side, including my old elementary school. We had a great time and would take this tour again or another with him.

Steve is a character! You gotta be ready for his energy! Great experience. So much better than a standard big bus tour. He is very knowledgeable of Chicago and makes the tour interactive and funny. Highly recommend!!

The tour was informative and broad. Only complaint was no organized bathroom or food break after 5.5 hours. I would highly recommend taking if new to Chicago.

Absolutely amazing tour customised to our preference, Steve was amazing, very knowledgable and fun. Ensured my hard to please teenager was very happy with the places he took us. Highly recommend

Steve Johnson provided me with a North South Chicago tour tailored for me as a visitor to the USA rather than the Southside tour. This was a 5 hour drive through neighbourhoods on both sides of the city covering African American, Irish, Italian, polish, Ukrainian, Hispanic districts. Steve’s expertise and knowledge made for a fascinating day giving me a unique perspective on the city and its citizens. Excellent guide, excellent tour, thanks again Steve

The Tour was amazing!!! It hit all the important spots!!! Our tour guide Steve made it fun exciting and interactive. He was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. He was also an amazing photographer helping us make the most of the photo opportunities. I would highly recommend this tour to others.

It was an excellent tour. The tour guide person was very knowledgeable, friendly, professional, helpful, outgoing, and resourfully. He did his job well.

One of the best tours I've ever been on!!! Personalized to my preferences and Steve was such a gem. Very knowledgeable about the history, took pictures for me, and even took me to Juice Wlrds memorial site. Steve was very funny and gave me good advice as well. Amazing tour!

I texted 15 minutes before the tour, no response, I called 5 minutes before the tour was to start and Steve was unaware he had a tour today. Where was I right now and why didn't i call for a hotel pick-up, I said that was not offered on the Viator site. Would've loved that option. He is a very loud and fast talker, I will never forget how he kept yelling "Lincoln Park Baby". Each neighborhood we would have to answer the question of what type of housing we were looking at. I think it was condo, home and affordable housing. I don't care, I was looking at the beauty of the buildings. We would also have to Google each neighborhood house to find out what it sold for. I don't care, I'm not moving to Chicago. He also did not stop talking long enough for either one of us to ask a question. His driving is very fast and jerky. We don't have to go from 0-60 on each block with speed bumps. He would just stop wherever to point something out. The horn blowing was non stop. I was really scared when he slowed down on the interstate to show us something, we were well below 45 miles an hour. He pulled in front of an ambulance with lights/sirens and slowed down while turning to tell us something. My husband did say something this time. He kept wanting to make up for the morning mix up and give us another hour of touring at no cost, I couldn't take it. I was nauseated and had a horrible headache, I just wanted this to end. we only stopped to take pictures where he wanted. would've loved to stop and get out at Wrigley Field. Don't remember seeing the University of Chicago or hearing about the Atomic Bomb, I would have like that.

Steve has a great knowledge of Chicago. He personalized the tour by taking us to places we asked about.

STEVE! What a Chicago treasure. He is full of knowledge and shared his city with us. The time went quickly and worth every penny. We saw so many corners of Chicago and had a great story teller to keep us wanting more.

I went to the pick up place 10 minutes prior , the tour operator never showed even though I had received an email saying: Confirmed. I tried to reach him, no answer . I had to hire an uber . Somebody called me an hour later to offer me another tour , not the original I paid for . I rejected . I’m still waiting for my refund !!

I took a couple of tours of the north side and the south side of Chicago with Steve Johnson and they were both terrific! Steve is a fabulous tour guide who provides lots of facts and interesting information. I highly recommend this tour for anyone who wants to go beyond the typical tourist attractions and see and learn about all aspects of Chicago. I loved the city, loved Steve as our guide and loved the tour!

This tour started out being absolutely amazing! the Tour guide Steve picked us up at our location, which was great! 4 other family members and I were here from Texas for a few days to visit. He was so knowledgeable about everything that he introduced us to. every point of interest was like opening Christmas gifts, we were just in awe and overjoyed at the special places that he took us to, we never imagined that we would take in so much history on that tour. I have pictures on top of pics that I brought home so show to family and friends. The disappointment came when we stopped at a museum and my sister heard the Guide (Steve) ask my husband if he had "Dementia" or something related to old age!! because he had trouble closing the screen on the car window and opening and closing doors. My husband does in fact have early onset dementia and he's struggling with it as well as all of his family who love him dearly. That hurt us all!!! No apology can fix this one, Steve need in depth training on what IS and IS not appropriate to say to people. This otherwise would have been a 10+ review for that Southside tour but this one made it a ZERO.

Seeing both the south and north sides of Chicago and learning the history about both. Definitely worth my 4 hours!!

Have lived in the city a long time but have never really explored the south side. This was a great way to pack a lot of neighborhoods into a short time period.

Steve, the tour guide, was very knowledgeable, courteous, and kind. The tour of Southside and other neighborhoods is very important for making cultural connections.

The tour was excellent, and thorough! We really got to experience Chicago! The tour guide was very knowledgeable, and had a great personality.

Outstanding overview of the neighborhoods. Lots of historic context and frequent direction of our attention to specific examples of the points being made. Steve Johnson was concise, articulate, and easily understood. A day we'll remember and tell stories to friends for a long time to come.

Fantastic tour and wonderful, nice tour guide! I highly recommend. When I travel I often take a tour of the area that I am visiting. I have taken many tours across the country, including several of Chicago. I had never visited Chicago’s South Side so, when I came across this tour, I booked it. I am so glad I did! I learned and saw so much that I was totally blown away. But what made it such a great tour was the gentleman who drove me around, Mr. Steve Johnson. He was so friendly and accommodating that I felt that I had made a friend. I would recommend this tour to anyone and everyone who wants to see more of Chicago than just the Magnificent Mile and the beautiful downtown architecture. There is so much more to Chicago than that! Thank you again, Mr. Johnson!

We had a wonderful time on the tour. We learned so much about Chicago! Steve was very knowledgeable and fun!! He made sure to ansewer our questions and even took us by a location that wasn't a planned destination per tour request. We definitely recommend this tour. - Happy customers

What an exciting tour of not only the South Side, but other parts of Chicago. My tour guide and driver, Steve, was very knowledgeable on the Chicagoan facts. He made my tour personable and enjoyable. I will highly recommend this tour to my friends.

This was one of the best tours I have ever been on. The South Side is so much more than I ever imagined. Steve is so knowledgeable about all areas of the South Side. The South Side is a checkerboard of very different neighborhoods. Wait until you see the size of Chinatown! The 4 hours is filled with history including the industrial history of the South Side. You will also see University of Chicago area, the Obamas' house and where some other famous Chicagoans lived. You haven't seen all of Chicago until you've seen the South Side. Go! And Steve has a very comfortable vehicle for the ride.

This was the best tour, exploring and visiting the south side! The driver, who was the tour host, was from the south side, so he was very knowledgeable about the area. We got to visit so much, plus it was only the two of us, in the van, which made it, very special!

This was a great tour of the southern suburbs of Chicago. Steve picked me up in a beautiful car and with only one other person, we had his undivided attention. He gave us the ins and outs of every suburb and the industrial areas including the ford factory. We stopped at the Planetarium for a great view of the city skyline, the Obama's House and a rest break. Most impressed by the University of Chicago. We were dropped off at our accommodation. All in all, smart, reliable, and insightful.

Interesting tour, off the beaten “tourist” path, see the diverse & unique neighborhoods of Chicago you would not otherwise see. If interested in tourist-y sites this is probably not for you, and probably not interesting to children. The tour guide was great!!!!

My childhood friend and I had a spirited tour of Chicago’s Southside. Our tour guide has been a long time resident of the Chicago area and was very knowledgeable on the history of South Chicago as well as other areas. He was very accommodating and sincerely had our tour enjoyment as a top priority. If you’d like to know more history about Chicago, other than the typical tourist areas, then this tour is for you!