Straight to your inbox
Last updated:
Many people consider Melbourne to be Australia’s foodie capital and for good reason. Melbourne seems to have a place for coffee, desserts, wine or international cuisine around every corner. A wide choice of walking food tours will help you discover the markets, restaurants, cafés and food trucks around Melbourne and give you the chance to sample their delicious offerings. If you’re more interested in filling your glass, there are bar crawls and brewery tours to make you feel like a local.
With so many hidden gems scattered around Melbourne CBD and surrounds, you don’t want to waste any time and tours are a great way to see the best bits with a local expert. Warning: Tight jeans are not recommended.
Image: Viator
Café culture is a way of life in Melbourne and these tours show you how it’s done. You’ll find cute laneway cafés where you will learn about the roasting process while tasting various brews. Sometimes a snack or lunch is included.
Take a tour to discover the big name breweries and their micro counterparts around Melbourne. You’ll get to learn about and taste all types of beer as well as have a few snacks along the way.
After taking a bar tour in Melbourne, everyone will want to hang out with you because you’ll know where all the coolest drinking holes are. Normally, you’ll visit five or so establishments where you can enjoy drinks and snacks. These tours vary from discovering civilised rooftop bars to all-out party pub crawls.
If you’ve got a preferred tipple, you can go on a tour and visit five or so drinking establishments that specialise in your favourite drink. Popular day tours to local wine regions like the Yarra Valley are also available.
Take your pick of international cuisine and there’ll be a tour to suit your budget and taste. Also known as food safaris, these experiences let you sample food at quirky restaurants, street food stalls and other hotspots in the CBD and suburbs as well as along the famous laneways. Popular tours take place along Brunswick Street in Fitzroy as well as along Lygon Street for fresh Italian and European cuisine, in Richmond for Vietnamese food and in the Queen Victoria Market for fresh, local produce. These tours are also fantastic for discovering history, architecture and street art.
Got a bit of a sweet tooth? Make sure you’ve room for dessert and taste your way around some of the best chocolates, cakes and gelati in Australia. Usually held in the morning, your guide will show you the best of the laneways or a specific suburb.
This is not a tour per se, but if you’re more of a doer than a taster, make sure to join one of Melbourne’s excellent cookery classes. Many start off with a visit to a local market to pick your produce. After getting the ingredients together, you’ll be guided through preparing a full meal, which you get to consume at the end with the rest of the class. These are available in a variety of cuisines and you’ll also get recipes to recreate your food creations at home.
These are a great way to see the sights along the Yarra River while enjoying a meal served on board or a buffet with wine and drinks. Some cruises are themed for special events such as New Year’s Eve or to tribute acts like Abba.
Visitors to Melbourne can escape to the surrounding countryside and indulge in tours of a day or more, taking in spectacular scenery and vineyards. The most popular are Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road. Designated drivers don’t need to worry as you’ll be picked up and dropped off at your hotel or a central Melbourne location. The focus is on vineyard and cellar door visits as well as tastings, although some tours will focus on beer and cider producers. Tours include a combination of gourmet lunch and artisanal product tastings, such as cheese and chocolate. You’ll also get the chance to meet the creators and chefs as well as experience what it’s like behind the scenes. Day tours typically visit three or four wineries with one or two stops for lunch and food tastings.
Tours for a specific type of food, drink or area typically take 2.5-4 hours while cookery classes and brewery tours might take up to 8 hours. Day tours to local tours generally pick up from Melbourne around 8am and return in the early evening.
Sites like Viator let you buy a gift certificate, up to a certain dollar value, which can be redeemed against hundreds of tours. Others, like Groupon, let you purchase the experience as a gift voucher which the recipient can then use when booking a specific date.
Walking food tours of Melbourne are ideal for discovering architecture and street art while learning about history along the way. Other examples are combining a balloon ride over Mornington Peninsula with winery visits, riding a historical tramcar dining restaurant around Melbourne CBD or a Puffing Billy steam train ride to the Yarra Valley.
Almost all tours include food and drink tastings in the price and longer tours often include or give the option to purchase lunch. You’ll have opportunities to buy extra food and drinks, although it’s not obligatory.
Wine tasting tours include tastings of a few wines (not full glasses!) at each vineyard while bar tours will normally include one drink per venue. Activities like day trips and dinner cruises normally have an all-inclusive drinks package included or at additional cost.
Most tours are for small groups and are limited to 10 people or fewer. This is so you can have a personal experience and the chance to ask plenty of questions. You can also book a private tour if you have a group of your own.
Adrenaline
Extra 10% off site-wide with code
Available site-wide for activities like driving experiences, whale watching, sailing, jet skiing, scuba diving, hot air balloon rides, flying experiences, kayaking and more. Minimum spend of $100. Destinations include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and all major cities across Australia. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Coupon code ends
Klook
Up to 60% off activities, experiences and things to do
Valid on select dates including holidays like Christmas season, New Year's and more depending on the destination. Destinations are Hong Kong, Singapore, Osaka, Taipei, Dubai, Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris, New York and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Adrenaline
Up to 30% off flying experiences
Valid on select dates and experiences like hot air ballooning, helicopter scenic flight, skydiving, flying lessons and more. Destinations include Sydney, Melbourne, Hunter Valley, Great Ocean Road and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Adrenaline
Up to 54% off helicopter ride experience
Valid on select dates. Destinations include Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and more.
Last verified
Ticketmaster
Day session: Australian Open 2020 tickets from $385
Available from 20 January - 2 February 2020. Sample ticket is for a single session in Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal ends
Ticketmaster
Australian Open 2020 tickets from $54
Available from 20 January - 2 February 2020. Sample ticket is for a Ground Pass in Melbourne Park. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal ends
Skydive Australia
$30 off St. Kilda with code
Available on dates from 18 January - 2 February 2020 at Skydive Melbourne only. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Coupon code ends
365 Tickets
15% off Melbourne Star Tickets
Available on select dates until 31 March 2020. Ticket includes single flight in Melbourne star.
Last verified
Deal ends
Ovolo Hotels
Babymoon package: Get massage therapist or sleep consultant
Valid for use on select dates at Ovolo Hotels in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Spring Hill. Includes 60-minute pregnancy massage and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Adrenaline
Extra $10 off with code
Available sitewide for activities like whale watching, sailing, jet ski, scuba diving, flying experiences, kayaking and more. Minimum spend of $99. Destinations include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and all major cities across Australia. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Coupon code ends
RedBalloon
Puffing Billy steam train from $144
Valid for travel on select dates. Destinations include Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria departing from Melbourne and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Experience Oz
Puffing Billy tours from $109
Valid for travel on select dates. Destinations include Victoria departing from Melbourne. Includes hotel pick-up, 30-minute Steam Train ride and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Gift It Now
Up to 20% off experiences
Valid on select experiences and activities like skydiving, scenic helicopter flight, kayaking, whale watching and more. Destinations include Sydney, Byron, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Darwin and Perth. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Experience Oz
Up to $90 off Skydiving across Australia
Valid for use on select dates. Destinations include Sydney, Melbourne and surrounds, Byron Bay, the Gold Coast and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
| Last checked | Code description | Code |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan 2020 | Extra 10% off site-wide with code | FIN**** |
| 15 Jan 2020 | US$5 off on tours and activities with code | NEW**** |
| 15 Jan 2020 | US$10 off on tours and activities with code | NEW**** |
| 13 Jan 2020 | US$30 off on tours and activities with code | NEW**** |
| 10 Jan 2020 | Up to 35% off New York passes with code | CNY**** |
