Who We Are
Get a more authentic look at Indiana University Bloomington and the college town students actually call home. Tour College Towns offers private, student-led tours that go beyond campus to show you housing, Greek life, restaurants, student hotspots, and everyday life in Bloomington.
What Tour College Towns Is All About
Tour College Towns is a student-led tour company designed to give prospective students, families, and visitors a more authentic look at what life is really like at college.
When you're visiting a university, it's easy to focus on the obvious things — the classrooms, academic buildings, student center, and everything that makes up the official campus experience. Those things are important, but they're only part of the story.
We believe you should also see the places where students actually spend their time.
At Indiana University Bloomington, that means showing you not only campus, but also Bloomington — the neighborhoods where students live, the restaurants and coffee shops they go to, Greek life, places to hang out, and the parts of town that become a big part of the college experience.
Our tours are led by current IU students who are actually living it. They go to class here, spend their weekends here, know the area, and have their own experiences to share. That means you aren't just hearing a list of facts about Indiana University. You're getting the perspective of someone who can tell you what it's actually like to be a student here.
Why We Started
Tour College Towns started with a simple idea: we wish someone had shown us more.
Our co-founder, Ben Chwalek, graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in the spring of 2026. While he was at CU, he and co-founder Liam Zirkle started Tour The Hill Boulder, a student-led tour company focused on showing prospective students and families the parts of Boulder that traditional campus tours didn't always cover.
The idea came from our own college experiences.
When we were looking at schools, we had plenty of opportunities to learn about academics and walk around campus. But some of the questions that ended up mattering most came from older students we met along the way.
Where do students actually live?
Where do people go on a Friday night?
What restaurants do students love?
What is Greek life really like?
Where do you spend most of your time when you're not in class?
Those conversations helped us picture what our lives could actually look like at college.
We wanted to create that same experience for other families.
What started in Boulder is now becoming Tour College Towns, with the goal of bringing this type of student-led, authentic experience to college towns across the country.
What We Do at Indiana University
At IU Bloomington, our tours can include both Indiana University and the surrounding Bloomington community.
Depending on what you're interested in, your tour can focus on things like:
- Student housing and where students live
- Greek life
- Restaurants and coffee shops
- Student hotspots
- Downtown Bloomington
- Campus life
- Academics and the student experience
- Weekend life and social activities
- The overall feel of Bloomington
The important part is that the tour is built around you.
If you're a parent who wants to understand where your student might live after freshman year, we'll focus on that.
If you're interested in Greek life, we'll talk about that.
If you're trying to figure out what students actually do outside of class, that's something we can spend time on.
And if you're simply trying to get a feel for whether Bloomington feels like somewhere you could see yourself living for four years, that's what we're here to help with.
More Than a Campus Tour
We don't think there's anything wrong with a traditional university tour. In fact, we think they're important.
But we also think there's a big difference between seeing a university and experiencing a college town.
A student doesn't spend four years only walking between classrooms.
They live somewhere. They go out to eat. They meet friends. They study at coffee shops. They join organizations. They go to games and events. They explore the town. They build routines and relationships outside of class.
Those experiences become a huge part of what college actually feels like.
That's why we want to show you both sides.
The university you're considering — and the town you'll actually live in.
Private, Personal, and Customizable
One of the biggest things that makes Tour College Towns different is that our tours are private and customizable.
You're not walking around in a group of dozens of people following a set script. You're with your own guide, which means you can ask the questions that actually matter to you.
And because every family is different, every tour can be a little different, too.
Maybe you're an out-of-state family who has never been to Bloomington before.
Maybe you're an admitted student trying to decide between a few schools.
Maybe your student already knows they want to join Greek life.
Maybe you're transferring to IU and want to understand where you'll actually spend your time.
Whatever brings you to Bloomington, we'll shape the experience around you.
Who Our Guides Are
Our tours are led by current Indiana University students who are actually living the IU experience right now.
They go to class here, spend their weekends here, know Bloomington, and have their own experiences to share. They come from different majors, organizations, social groups, and backgrounds, giving each family a slightly different perspective.
We started Tour College Towns because we know how valuable it is to have an older student to talk to when you're trying to figure out where you want to go to college. Our guides are there to be that person for you.
They can tell you what they love about IU, what surprised them, where they spend their time, and what they wish they knew when they were applying.
Ben and Liam started Tour College Towns after building Tour The Hill Boulder while at CU Boulder, but they don't lead the tours themselves. Our goal is to have current students at each school give families the most up-to-date and authentic perspective possible.
Who Our Tours Are For
Our tours are primarily designed for prospective and admitted students and their families, but they're not limited to that.
We work with:
- Families visiting Indiana University
- Prospective high school students
- Admitted students deciding where to attend
- Transfer students
- Out-of-state families
- Alumni and alumni groups
- Student and university organizations
- Greek organizations
- Departments and programs
- Larger groups visiting Bloomington
For groups, we can also build a customized experience around the goals and interests of the organization.
Our Goal
At the end of the day, we're not trying to convince you that Indiana University is the right school for you.
We're trying to help you figure that out for yourself.
Choosing a college is a huge decision, and we think having an honest look at the school and the town around it can make that decision a lot easier.
You should be able to ask questions, explore the places that matter to you, and hear from someone who is actually living the experience.
That's what Tour College Towns is here to provide.
We started this company because we know how valuable that perspective can be. We experienced it ourselves at CU Boulder, and now we're excited to bring it to Bloomington and eventually to college towns across the country.
Whether you're visiting Indiana University for the first time, deciding where to spend the next four years, or simply want to get to know Bloomington a little better, we'd love to show you around.
See the campus.
Explore the town.
See college life through the eyes of a student.
Sincerely,
Ben Chwalek & Liam Zirkle Founders, Tour College Towns