Day and I have traveled quite a bit, more than some, not as much as others, and not nearly as much as we would like. We have learned a few things though. The first and most important thing we have learned is; regardless of whether you are a seasoned traveler or a newbie, guided tours are a great way to spend a few hours. There are tours on every subject and for every traveler, but food tours are our favorite. So the “meat and potatoes” of this post will be limited to them (now that’s freakin funny, I don’t care what anyone says).
There’s a tour for every traveler.
There really is a tour for everyone out there. A city tour is typically a general knowledge tour of the city, great if you’re new to the city and know nothing. There are ghost tours, wine and vineyard tours, beer and pub tours. Day and I went on a great WWII tour in Prague. There are literary tours if you are a lover of famous books and authors. If you are a photography buff, take a photo tour, and have a local photographer take you to all the great photo opps in the city. And of course, food tours, which we will get to lickety-split. If you’re thinking you are a seasoned traveler, and a guided tour is beneath you, and just for newbies, I say “phooey.” You spend a few hours walking around the city with a local guide, you orient yourself to your new surroundings, you can pepper your guide with questions like; what to do, what not to do, where and what to eat, etc, and you learn something. They’re great, and we do them, all the time!
There are other considerations besides a tour’s subject matter you might want to think about when choosing a tour.
Free tours or Umbrella tours
Free, really? Kinda. The only payment required is a tip at the end of the tour, if you liked it, usually about $20. So if you’re a jerk, you can sneak off without tipping, and the tour is free, but you’re a jerk. Show up at at a specified location and time, and look for the appropriate colored umbrella for your tour. Different colored umbrellas, for different tours. The great thing about these tours are, no planning! If you find yourself bored one day, just show up, and go on the tour. I guess the downside, if there is one, sometimes the tours are pretty crowded, but ya get to meet people.
Pre booked group tours
These tours are probably the most common, you can find them everywhere on the internet. TripAdvisor is a decent place to start, but Day and I started using ToursByLOCALS, which we’ve had great luck with. One we haven’t tried yet, but I am eager to, is Withlocals . If you try that one, let me know what you think. Tour topics are endless, prices vary greatly, depending on the tour. The size of the tour is limited to a certain number of people, usually mentioned in the tour description. These are probably the best bang for your buck, but you have to pre book them. Days in advance, sometimes weeks or months in advance (a guided tour of the Vatican, months in advance), so start looking early.
Private tours
Obviously the most expensive, but they certainly do have their place. Private tours are great if you’re already traveling with a group. Day and I often travel with friends, and when you split the cost of the tours between 6 or 8 people, the price isn’t that bad. These tours are really good when the subject matter is important to you. If you are a real WWII or photography buff, you may want the one on one attention you get from a private tour.
Three types of tours, and Day and I have done each one, and loved them all. One is not better than another, they all serve a purpose. However, as I said, our favorite tours, are the food tours!
Food Tours
A tour usually last around 3 hrs, you walk around a neighborhood, stopping in 4 or 5 restaurants, and you sample the local cuisine. The tour is about eating, genius!
It’s not just about food though, it’s a chance to orient yourself and get your bearings to your new surroundings. A good guide will be knowledgeable about many topics. They will talk about the history of the area and the people, and how all that is all related to food. For instance, bread in the Tuscany region of Italy isn’t what Day thought it would be. Come to find out, there’s no salt in it. Salt was expensive hundreds of years ago, therefore they saved all their salt to cure meats. They have wicked good salty cured meats, bread, not so much.
Tours are usually about a $100.00, which is pretty reasonable when you consider you are getting a tour, food and drinks, it’s all included. You do need to pre book, and tour sizes are usually limited to about 6-10 people, so book early. Early in our tavels, Day and I avoided guided tours, thinking they were for tourists, and that was somehow beneath us, boy were we wrong. It doesn’t matter how much you travel, if you’re new to a city, you’re a tourist. There is no better way to experience a new city than taking a guided tour. Day and I smartened up, and we’ve been on quite a few since.
Just a few of the many great food tours Day and I have been on.
Budapest, Hungary
Hungarian Goulash baby, now that’s some good stuff! Budapest is a great city, and the food tour was fantastic. The worst thing I can say about this tour is; it was too much food, I was stuffed. The best thing about this tour was the Great Market Hall or Central Market Hall.
Day and I love food tours that include these markets. They’re a great place to shop, eat and people watch, and the Great Market Hall was not a disappointment. It’s huge, with hundreds and hundreds of vendors selling all kinds of food, clothing, jewelry, just tons of stuff, it’s a “must do” when you’re in Budapest, whether it’s with Food Tour Budapest or on your own.
Venice, Italy
I think Venice was our first experience with food tours, it was quite awhile ago, and I can’t remember the tour company. I just tried finding it online, it might be this one, but I’m not sure. I do remember it was a cicchetti and wine tour because Day and our friend K were getting a little tipsy.
So plenty of good food, a glass of wine at every stop, and I do remember really liking our guide, Roberto. And, this tour included, the local fish market, and we do like the local markets. It’s Italy, it’s Venice, there are going to be plenty of great food tour options, so start searching, start eating, and get a little shitty.
Charleston, South Carolina
I guess the lesson here is; you can take a tour in your own backyard and still love it. I’m from the States, why do I need to take a food tour here, because I would have never found all those great restaurants. If someone said to me, you gotta try the mac and cheese, I would’ve turned my nose up at it. The mac and cheese was awsome! Corn bread and butter, I don’t want any stupid corn bread and butter. Really, they smoke their bacon over tubs of butter, and let the bacon fat drip in the butter! Yes please, I’ll have more corn bread and bacon fat butter! So again, I can’t remember the tour company, sorry. I did a quick look, and there’s a lot in Charleston, fancy food ones, farm to market foods, and barbecue style, so tons of options. I was inspired by my owns words, while writing this, I checked out food tours in Boston, Massachusetts, 45 minutes from me. There’s a couple, Bites of Boston and boston Foodie Tours that look great. I’m gonna give them a try. Food tours aren’t just for travelers, try one near you with your friends some weekend.
Prague, Czech Republic and Rome, Italy
Ok, this one is going to be short and sweet. We have done tours in Prague and Rome, with the same tour company, Eating Europe. The best food tours ever. Eating Europe has a great website and blog, their guides are fantastic and the food was out of this world.
We’ve done three tours in Prague, one in Rome, have brought our friends, have recommended Eating Europe to anyone who wants to listen, and everyone has loved them. Eating Europe, is the best! So check them out, they are in quite a few cities.
Tokyo, Japan
Ok, so I don’t speak Japanese and I certainly can’t read it, but I wanna try the food, food tour! We stopped at a few restaurants, a sushi place where we were shown the proper way to eat sushi, and had some of the best sushi ever! The tuna was like butter, it was amazing.
We walked through a local farmers market and tried a bunch of stuff, some I loved, some, not so much. But a food tour is an opportunity to try stuff, stuff you might not normally try. So what I did learn, I don’t think I like oysters as much as I thought I did. Sure, when they’re small and covered in cocktail sauce, and you can swallow them, they’re great. When they are big enough that you need to take 4 or 5 bites, not so much!
After the oyster disaster, a tour of the largest fish market in the world, this place was crazy. I’m happy we got to see it. If it wasn’t for the food tour, I’m sure we would have missed it. This tour was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone.
Crap, I have ramble on for awhile, but I’m not quite done yet, just a couple of tips, and I’ll wrap it up.
When planning trips, Day does all the airfare and accommodations, and I book all the tours.
My tip when booking food tours; don’t book through TripAdvisor, Viator or any other third party. TripAdvisor is a decent way to search, but nowadays, if you’re a food tour company, I am expecting you to have a website. I am expecting a website with a description of your different tours, and a way to book and pay. And a really good one, will have a blog. There are so many out there, really look around for the good ones.
I know I said I like ToursByLocals, which technically is third party booking agent, but I haven’t used them for food tours yet, mostly just city walks. What I do like about them, is you get to pick your tour, and your tour guide. You can read the guides bio and check out their reviews. Also, you can message your guide directly with any questions you may have. Be sure to ask about other things to do, let them know where you are staying, and ask about good restaurants in that area. I have had guides offer to make reservations for me, so the night we get in, we don’t need to worry about where we are eating. Guides love their cities, and they want you to love your stay, they wanna help, so ask for help.
Last tip; find your guide or tour company on all the social media apps, “follow” them, “like” their stuff and “comment” on their posts. Start a relationship early with your guide, so they know you once you get their, and your tour will be a way better experience.
So there you go, my post about food tours. Whether you are traveling or sitting home with nothing to do, try a food tour, they’re everywhere, and they’re great. And please, if you do try one, let me know what you think. Travel a lot, immerse yourself in a new place, a new culture, and start, with the food!
Great blog! We all love eating and now we know how to get the best when we yravel!!
Bon appetit