Red Cloak Tours is offering a new product that will allow small groups or families in Boothbay Harbor, Wiscasset, and other Maine locations to enjoy a personalized, guided outdoor adventure while learning about history and/or mystery, all while staying within COVID-19 distance and safety guidelines.

The new 30-40 minute TeleTours will be walking tours done by telephone on speaker as a Red Cloak guide narrates the folklore, history and sometimes ghostly tales of each area. The TeleTours will be available seven days a week beginning May 15.

A portion of the tour price will go to benefit the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which assists local food programs in the Maine communities that Red Cloak Tours operates in.

The tours will be reserved by date and time, with the guests arriving at an appointed location for the tour start. When the tour start time comes, a Red Cloak guide will contact the group by cell phone and lead them on the tour. The group, presently limited to 10 by state requirement, can follow the tour via speaker on up to three cell phones simultaneously.

“The advantage of having your guide just on the other end of the phone makes this a very personal experience as you can ask questions and interact with them, all while keeping required social distance,” said Red Cloak Tours owner Sally Lobkowicz, of Waldoboro.

“We are taking COVID-19 quite seriously, not only in the way we fashioned these TeleTours, but also in how we conduct them,” Lobkowicz said. “When TeleTours are scheduled, the guest making the reservation will be advised by the Red Cloak Tours representative of any applicable State requirements, as well as our own suggestions, on social distancing, use of facial covers, and any other helpful information.”

In order to offer the new product, Red Cloak Tours successfully completed the Maine state COVID-19 Prevention Checklist for Outdoor Guided Tours as part of Stage 1 in governor's business reopening plan.

TeleTours guests will have new options that the regular walking tours don't have. Because the TeleTours are shorter in duration than the regular tours, there will be a wider range of tour choices available in each town. Tour subjects available in Wiscasset are Secrets of Wiscasset, Ancient Burial Ground Exploration, and Historic Wiscasset. Tour subjects available in Boothbay Harbor are Maritime History & Mystery, Haunted History, and Historic Boothbay Harbor.

TeleTours will also have an advantage in that they can be scheduled at any reasonable time or day of the guest's choosing, rather than a daily or weekly scheduled time. (Tours taking place at cemeteries will only be available during daylight hours.)

Reasonable pricing is also expected to make TeleTours popular, according to Lobkowicz.

Red Cloak TeleTours are also available in Freeport, Bath, Damariscotta, Hallowell, Rockland, Camden and Bar Harbor.

For reservations and more information on Red Cloak Tours, telephone 207-380-9912, email redcloaktours@gmail.com, or visit RedCloakTours.com