Withlocals Reviews 1,763

Francesca gave us a standout tour of the Forum and Palatine Hill. We were a group of two adults and our eight year old son, and our priority was to spark his interest in Roman history. Mission accomplished. She kept him fully engaged, answered every question with patience and depth, and even brought a thoughtful gift that he absolutely loved. We are now having daily conversations about Constantine, the division of the Empire, Roman engineering, sewers, and more. Francesca is knowledgeable, warm, and clearly passionate about the ruins. She shares her enthusiasm in a way that brings the past to life. A superb guide. Highly recommended.

Our Istanbul Food tour was absolutely amazing. The food was great but the tour was made even better with our Guide Emre. Emre showed us places we would have never found on our own. We had fantastic cheeses at our first stop, Then we had Pide and Sütlaç which is Turkish Pizza (Pide) and Rice Pudding (Sütlaç). This stuff was so good that the name of the restaurant is Nizam Pide Sütlaç. It is actually named after the 2 dishes that it is famous for The name translates to Nizam Pizza Rice Pudding. Try it and you'll see why. I could have sat there the entire tour just trying all of their Pide's and Sütlaç's, they were spectacular. We then went to Turkey's oldest Turkish Delight store, Hacı Bekir who, in 1777, invented Turkish Delight (Known as Lokum) and who still has stores to this day, In Istanbul, not only serving every imaginable flavor of their own invention, Turkish Delight, but also a variety of the most amazing other Turkish deserts. Next stop was for Çiğ Köfte (pronounced "chee koof-tay") these are a delicious meatball that is a very popular street food. They used to be made with raw meat but now are meatless and made with bulgur wheat and several spices. They were another very tasty item from our tour. Next we tried another popular and tasty street food called Midye Dolma which is stuffed mussels with aromatic rice, herbs, and spices and Hamsi Tava which is one of the most popular fish recipes in Turkish cuisine. It is anchovies fried with a cornmeal coating until crispy. These fish were also suprpisingly delicious. In between all of our food tastings Emre was showing us many beautiful buildings and giving us some fascinating history about Istanbul and Turkiye. He showed us Aga Hamami which is the oldest Hamam (Massage / Bath House) that was built in 1454 by the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and is still in use today. In fact we had an outstanding massage there the day after our food tour. It was truly like stepping back in time and was a wonderful experience that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. Continuing on our food tour Emre took us through 2 famous passages: Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passage) on İstiklal Avenue, known for its historic cafes and restaurants, and Aleppo Passage (Halep Pasajı), also on İstiklal Avenue, which is famous for its antique furniture and art shops. These passages are popular architectural sites that offer a glimpse into the city's past while serving as vibrant hubs for modern activites today. Next stop was The Turkish restaurant made famous by Anthony Bourdain called Dürümzade, a spot known for its dürüm (wraps) and kebabs. The flavor of the food here was off the charts good. I have never tasted anything quite like it. Another place I could have just stayed at and ate everything on the menu. Lastly, we stopped at a wondeful little desert shop / bakery and tried Almond Paste (called Badem Ezmesi in Turkish) and Halva which is a tasty desert made from crushed sesami seeds and sugar. The oven in this shop was bigger than the shop itself and was so unique and awesome to see. The shop has been there for over 100 years. After our food tour we had a Traditional Coffee on Sand Workshop scheduled that Emre was so kind to walk us to so we didn't get lost in the maze of steets and alleyways that is Istanbul. The location had actually moved around the corner from its original location and Emre was so helpful at finding it for us, and then speaking with the people there who didn't seem to have our reservation. He smoothed everything out for us and was so professional and helpful. He even made sure we knew just how to get back to the cruise port from the location of our coffeee workshop. Emre was more like a long lost friend than a tour guide. He was as good as you could ever hope for in a tour guide. He made every aspect of our food tour better with his vast knowledge, humor and history. We loved every minute of this tour. The food was great and our tour guide Emre was even better!!!

Ines was excellent. We were a group of 6 and toured for 4 hours. We could not have had a better guide to see the city and get a better understanding of the history and current lifestyle in Buenos Aires. We all agreed that touring with Ines was the highlight of our time in Buenos Aires. Great communicator and a wonderful attitude made the 4 hours fly by. Felt like we saw quite a lot of the city and learned a ton without feeling like we were in class ;-). Would HIGHLY recommend Ines for anyone looking for an incredibly informative and fun tour of this beautiful city.

We loved exploring street art with Igor. He was extremely knowledgeable about the art and pointed out so many details we never would have noticed. He shared extra information giving us Instagram connections to other artists plus his ebook. He was an enthusiastic and brilliant tour guide and we loved seeing hidden art that we wouldn't have found on our own. It was fun to see some street artists in action painting a wall and they were folks that Igor knew! We highly recommend Igor as a street art guide.

We had a great tour hosted by Mila! Good pace, interesting facts and fun facts that we would never have known about Seville! Thanks, Mila.

Sarah was a delightful and passionate host for our walk through Venice! We loved the insights and local stories and tips on where we could go that was off the beaten path. Thank you Sarah! Highly recommended!

Chris was incredible to work with. The minute I booked the tour he reached out to get information on our group and what we would be interested in. He even went so far as to reach out to our tour guide from the previous day to make sure he covered different topics. He was knowledgeable and entertaining and our group absolutely loved the tour. Could not recommend Chris as a tour guide enough. Thank you, Chris!

We booked Ryuki for a full day tour for 4 people I. Kyoto. Ryuki provided clear and easy instructions to meet and was well on-time at the meeting place. He is personable, very easy to talk too, has a good sense of humour and took a real interest in our group, as did we with him, Over the Ryuki took us to multiple sites. While Kyoto is popular, even cramped, every time he had a way of focusing us on the history, scenery and associated stories that brought the sites to life, helping forget all the people. After the first several temples and shrines, he took us to a marvellous place for lunch in the Gion. Then we were off by train to the Thousand Arches. Again Ryushi directed us well to minimize the large crowds. On of our favourites for the day was the hike in the bamboo forest nearby the Shin-Osaka arches. The light was glorious. It also brought peace, calm and the sounds on nature. After the hike, he too us back to Keyoto Station so that he knew that we safely home. We would book Ryuki again.

Wonderful visite of authentic & modern Dubai full of treasures with Melwyn. He explained the historical background in a fascinating way with a lot of enthousiasme and a huge Knowledge. Perfect Visite.

We had a wonderful day with Francesca during our day tour of Milan. She took us to areas we never would have known to visit on our own and showed us that the city is so much more than fancy stores. Her passion for Milan was evident. I highly recommend seeing Milan with Francesca!

Betty is a high-energy guide who knows soooo many things about Berlin. She took us to places we indeed could not have found on our own, including a wonderful art cooperative

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We decided to organise this tour for our first evening in order to get to know the city and what it has to offer to make our stay more productive and enjoyable. Raquel was excellent, friendly and engaging. We learnt so much in our 3 hours and tasted some excellent local specialities including a Mescal tasting . Walking around the town Raquel was able to answer many of our questions and give us some great trips. The bonus was as we were doing our own trip in the surroundings with a hire car she was anle to recommend a great place for lunch en route and a wonderful homemade ice cream spot by the El Tule the widest tree in the world and possible the oldest ! Can’t thank Raquel enough.

We were very fortunate to have chosen Rosario to guide us around the beautiful city of Funchal. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the history and features of Funchal. Further, her English is excellent. We had a wonderful, in depth tour over three hours (just right) in Funchal. We highly recommend Rosario to visitors to Funchal!

We’ve been to Lisbon several times, but returned with first-time visiting friends and were looking forward something different from the usual check-the-box sights tours. Alphe’s tour was perfect - a downhill walk from Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara to Praca de Commercio with stops into churches, chapels, historic buildings and shops accompanied by an explanation of their history. We have used Withlocals on a couple of occasions and have found interesting tours.

We spent a delightful 3 hours in Saigon sampling varied dishes selected by our knowledgeable guide Elise. Such a variety of flavours and styles of cooking. We cannot recommend this tour highly enough! Elise asked us for our favourite dish … we still cannot decide. But maybe for me the rice flour cake. Thanks for sharing your culture and food with us.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour of Amsterdam with Jan. Jan is very knowledgeable, the history he presented of the city, canals, and buildings was very interesting, he kept the tour upbeat with anecdotes and humor, and was always concerned about our well being. We highly recommend Jan!

We really enjoyed and appreciated Selda's time with us seeing and learning about Kanazawa. Excellent English skills and deep knowledge of the area and history, customs and current trends. Very personable and open to sharing experiences. Great job customizing the tour for our interests. Also provided great tips for the time on our own the next few days. High recommend

Because of our schedule, my wife & I chose to do the tour on a Sunday evening which meant many of the restaurants opened a little later than normal. However, Blanca took this in her stride and gave us a tour of Cadiz, taking us to a number of excellent restaurants. She was extremely good company and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening with her.

One of the best experiences of our trip to Rome was truffle hunting with Federico and his dogs! Several things made this a real stand-out experience: 1)Federico is so engaging and so very fun. He provided fun and education! 2) After days of fabulous sightseeing in the city, it was refreshing to have a day in the countryside. 3) His dogs were so precious and fun - great for kids and adults! 4) the meal was great and 5) it was fabulous to engage over lunch with Federico and his father. His father is kind and smart and just overall delightful! DONT MISS THIS if you are looking for a unique, fun experience!

We had a fantastic sightseeing tour with Thien, 4 hours private tour on foot through Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. We saw many historical places and hidden gems, we would not ever had found ourselves. Thien gave us a great introduction to Vietnamese traditions and culture but especially deep insights about the history of the country. Thien is a great story teller. We highly recommend "Highlights & Hidden Gems of Ho Chi Minh City" with Thien ❤️😀. Best, Tine & Carsten