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The Real Portland Tour
The Real Portland Tour
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    • Tour Overview
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    • Photo Gallery
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  • Home
  • Tour Overview
  • Tour Pricing
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  • Real Portland Tour Guide
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Explore Portland with a REAL local!

Explore Portland with a REAL local!Explore Portland with a REAL local!Explore Portland with a REAL local!
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Portland, Maine's #1 City & Lighthouses Historical Tour!

Welcome to The Real Portland Tour!

Hop aboard for a fun and authentic Historical Sightseeing Tour of Portland, Maine and 3 lighthouses with a guide who is a REAL local, born and raised right here in Portland! Let me take you for an insider’s look at the rich history and current happenings of this charming and highly acclaimed city. We’ll go where other tours go, and then I'll take you places other tours don't - you'll see hidden gems and learn little known facts about Portland and the great state of Maine that only a REAL local knows! 


The Real Portland Tour is only tour of Portland that includes a full city historical tour and a trip to 3 lighthouses. I've been a tour guide since 2001, and I'm also a college librarian. I've spent years researching the hidden history of Portland, and I take pride in being the most informative, entertaining, and experienced guide in town! 


The Real Portland Tour has been featured in American Libraries magazine, named the #1 Thing to Do in Portland, Maine by The Abundant Traveler, and is the top rated City & Lighthouses Tour of Portland on TripAdvisor and Viator!

"Been to Portland 100 times...never knew most of the info shared. This guy needs his own tv show."

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The Real Portland Tour named the #1 Thing to Do in Portland, ME by The Abundant Traveler!

Check out the video!

The Real Portland Tour is featured in American Libraries magazine!

Read "The Man with a Van" here!

The Real Portland Tour Portland, Maine Spoken Word Poem/Rap recently published!

I'm honored to say my Real Portland Tour spoken word poem/rap about Portland, Maine history was published in the Longfellow Days Anthology titled "Read To Me Some Poem" 

Thousands of 5-Star Reviews on TripAdvisor and Viator!

The Real Deal.

I've been giving tours of my hometown of Portland, Maine for over 20 years, and in the offseason I'm a librarian at Southern Maine Community College. I have a Master's degree in Library Science, and I'm always digging into Portland’s history to find something new and interesting, while at the same time keeping on top of current happenings and making sure to visit as many local establishments (especially our world class restaurants and bars) that I can. I take pride in representing this city, and providing an authentic tour delivered with a true Mainer's sense of humor! 


In addition to being a tour guide, I am a featured poet for the annual Longfellow Days festival where I perform my Portland history spoken word poem/rap (you'll hear some of my rap on the tour)!


I've given more than 10,000 tours over the years to hundreds of thousands of people from across the country and the world. It has been an absolute honor to tell so many people the unique history of my hometown! I'm thankful every day to be able to do what I love to do. I hope to see you soon!


 *Tour length is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Most tours sell out in advance, so make sure to book ahead of time directly on my website.

"Derek was a wealth of knowledge! So much personality! A driving/talking teaching/rapping librarian"

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Important Booking Notice

  *I strongly recommend booking directly on my website. Booking directly on my website brings you to FareHarbor, which is my preferred booking processor. Bookings processed via FareHarbor have full refunds for cancellations made up to 24 hours before your tour time.

If you decide to book on a different 3rd party site such as TripAdvisor, Viator, Groupon, etc, you are subject to their terms, conditions, and refund policies which may differ from FareHarbor.

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