Tuk Tuk Tours

It's September 2024 and I’ve been working at probably my favourite job so far, for a full year.

I think I found one of my callings as a tour guide because it gives me so much joy and I’ve been told by many a customer that I am very good! What I didn’t expect was that I would combine tour guiding with something else I love to do and that’s driving!

Put it altogether and I now work as a Tuk tuk driver giving tours around Valencia. The creation of a tuk tuk has many claims but we generally associate them with south east Asia and they have made their way across the globe, become electric and have brought a new style to tourism.

Our tuk tuk tour consists of visiting 3 highlights of Valencia, the old city walls, the port and beach and finally the City of Arts and Sciences. It’s a perfectly constructed route showing you the diversity in different zones of the city and just how much Valencia has to offer. I may be biased but I think it is the best way to see a new city. Two hours of cruising around the city streets, freedom to explore some of the hot spots and find out the stories behind the scenes of the buildings and behaviours of its residents. We even offer private tours that can pick up and drop you off where you please so they are good for events too, never mind being super unique.

Now for the work aspect!

Schedule:

From my observation I seem to have found one of the best work schedules out there for the average person in Valencia. 9:30-18:30 straight through with a 2 hour lunch break. It’s pretty sweet compared to some of the other options where you have to work really unsociable hours. A popular schedule is a split shift, honouring the siesta culture of course, where you can go home between 2pm and 5pm which, in my opinion, can make the day feel so much longer because then you don’t finish until 8pm or 9pm.

Skill:

Talking while driving came pretty naturally to me but I have always been a confident driver. However, driving in Valencia is definitely something to get used to. It is shockingly bad. I think every Valencian would agree with me. It’s as if every driver has their own rules and they are all completely different. So, being in an open, 3 wheeled vehicle going max 50kmph can be terrifying to say the least. Not to mention the taxi drivers drive a little too close and cut you off on purpose! If you are looking at a driving job here in Valencia make sure you become one of them before you start the job. What I mean by that is, you have to think like them and be able to predict bad driving and adapt quickly to their rules to avoid any accidents!

Thinking on your feet is a skill I think we all need universally, but when working face to face with the customer, while keeping an eye on the road and trying to provide a smooth and cohesive service, you can really be put to the test. The difference between the walking tours and tuk tuk tours is that I can connect a lot more on the tuk tuks because there are only 4 seats behind me! So in one day I can also have conversations with people from 4 or 5 different countries, which is part of the beauty of the job. Very quickly, you can personalise each tour with the kind of vibe each nationality brings, making work more interesting and being able to connect faster with people from all over the world.

We’ll see where the tuk tuk road takes me!