Gettysburg Battlefield Tour with Rob Wingert

Gettysburg.....  I don't even know where to start on Gettysburg.

We were so excited about getting to spend several days in Gettysburg.  There is so much to see and do here.  We did some research before hitting the road, and we worried that a few days would not be enough time.

This was technically our second trip to Gettysburg.  We passed through a few years before.  We thought half a day would be enough time back then.  On that day, we knew pretty quickly that we were wrong.

So, on this trip, budgeting our time was a priority.  We wanted to cover the battlefield, see the Eisenhower Farm, dine at historic restaurants, visit museums and shop for relics.

I can say that we left town feeling like we had done a lot, but still feeling a need to get back to Gettysburg soon.

I will mention some of our specific favorites separately, but there are a few things we did that we really loved that I will mention here.

Probably the best thing we did was hire Rob Wingert from the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides to show us around.  I called the Association a couple of weeks before our trip and told them about the dates we would be there, when we hoped to do our tour, etc.  I mentioned that I would really like to focus on the 52nd New York Volunteer Infantry as I found a family member that served with that group.  Rob called back shortly after that, and we scheduled a tour!

Rob VERY conveniently agreed to meet in the lobby of our hotel!  He promised to be about 15 minutes early for our scheduled 9am tour (and he was!) AND, with our consent, he kept us out almost an extra half hour!  We paid for a 3 hour tour, and got well over 3 and a half hours!

Oh, and Rob actually drove our car for us, allowing us to focus on the tour.  He was exceptionally safe and careful the entire time, and I never worried about someone else doing the driving (and I am a VERY paranoid rider)!

As requested, Rob noted the involvement of the 52nd New York, even taking us to their monument!  Oh, and just to be a nice guy, Rob brought some print outs that he found relating to the 52nd!!!

Rob was very friendly and our tour was comfortable, but he was a total pro the whole time- he kept our time together focused on the battle.  It was amazing having an expert point out the structures and landscape that we had read about.

I cannot say enough about how informative and helpful it was to tour the battlefield with Rob.  YOU KNOW Rob gets our highest possible recommendation!

AND, hiring a Licensed Battlefield Tour Guide is a great value.  I would strongly encourage anyone going to Gettysburg to do this.  For two people to do a two hour tour, it is actually cheaper to do this than to ride on the tour bus for a couple of hours with LOTS of other people!  Go ahead and pop for a third hour though.  This is Gettysburg, and you want to take it all in!  It is worth it!