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Carmel Small Group Walking Food & Cultural Tour

Carmel-by-the-Sea, United States

From $139.00

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Non-refundable
You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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  • 3 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore the culinary delights of Carmel, just down the coast from Monterey, on this food and wine walking tour. With a knowledgeable foodie guide, you’ll learn about the history and gourmet culture of Carmel, an upscale enclave known for its charming architecture and cozy, small-town vibe, as you visit local eateries to sample locavore and ethnic dishes, chocolate, and wine. Limited to 16 people, this tour provides a small-group experience with personalized attention.
  • Walking tour of Carmel with gourmet food and wine tastings
  • Sample delicious chocolates, pasta, olive oils, wines, and farm-to-table preparations at popular local restaurants and boutique shops
  • Learn about Carmel’s history, culinary scene, culture and architecture from your enthusiastic insider guide
  • All food and wine tastings included
  • Small-group tour limited to 16 people provides a more intimate experience

What's Included

  • 3-hour food and wine tasting tour
  • All food samplings (enough for lunch)
  • All beverages
  • Professional foodie guide
  • Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • San Carlos / 9th
    Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921, USA

    The tour meets in the courtyard in front of the main entrance to Carmel's Sunset Cultural Center. The Sunset Center is located on San Carlos Street, and the entrance is at the intersection of 9th Avenue, across from the Carmel Woman's Club. The courtyard is located at the bottom of the stairs.

Start time

11:00 AM

End point

  • Carmel Plaza
    Mission St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921, USA

    We end 2-3 blocks from the starting point, depending on the day's itinerary. Our guides are happy to give you specific return instructions, or walk you back if you're not comfortable with navigation.

What To Expect

Your walking tour starts at Camel’s Sunset Cultural Center, where you’ll meet your guide, a food lover with a wealth of knowledge to share about this coastal town and its history and culture as an artists’ colony and culinary destination. While you walk down hidden lanes and come across small plazas, admire the local architecture and listen to information from your guide.

You’ll make stops at restaurants, stylish watering holes and food shops to meet business owners and sample different food items. You may visit places like Casanova Restaurant, Trio Carmel, Anton & Michael, Terry’s Lounge at the Historic Cypress Inn, Lula’s Chocolates and Affina Food & Wine. Learn about the ‘locavore’ concept as you sample goodies such as gnocchi, olive oil, seasonal risotto, wine or cocktails, and locally made truffles and caramels. In general, the tastings add up to an average lunch. 

Finish up in the early afternoon, which leaves you plenty of time to continue exploring Carmel on your own. Total walking distance is just more than 1 mile and includes several tasting breaks; it’s suitable for adults of all fitness levels.

Sunset Cultural Center

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Carmel Food Tours

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Comfortable shoes recommended
  • Please advise of any specific dietary requirements at time of booking; we are unable to provide substitutions without advance notice
  • Minimum age is 21 years for alcohol consumption.
  • Adult pricing applies to all travelers age 3 and up; tour is geared towards adults but well behaved children are welcome
  • Children under the age of 3 should be discussed with tour operator as to the appropriateness of attending.
  • ** We can accommodate vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten- and lactose-free diets with advance notice ONLY. Please inform us of any food allergies at time of booking. We are unable to provide substitutions without advance notice, so please note any special restrictions on your reservation.
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Most travelers can participate
  • Not recommended for travelers who are unable to walk without difficulty or pain
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

    Traveler Photos

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    Featured review
    Patricia_L
    Fantastic tour! We live less than an hour from Carmel, so we go there several times each year (whenever we need a relaxing, fabulous 1-day get-away). Of course, we've tried many restaurants, but we had never been to any of these.....without exception, they were absolutely wonderful. We will definitely return to all! Our tour guide, Brian, was great fun and very knowledgeable - he kept the group moving and found time at each stop to give a lot of background information about the restaurant or business - very helpful! We have already recommended this tour to several friends and will continue to do so - it is a fantastic, delicious introduction to the unique world of Carmel!!

    Reviews

    5.0
    276 reviews
    Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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    Reviews by Viator travelers.
    Showing 1-10 of 276 reviews
    Great food and experience
    John_Z, Jun 2023
    Great food and excellent way to learn about Carmels history. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area since she grew up there
    A Treat of a Tour
    Cat_F, May 2023
    Bonnie clearly loves Carmel and is absolutely pleased that she gets to share all her favorite places with you. She knows all the local news and has great stories to tell while you walk and enjoy various bites of food. It’s a great experience that gives you a delicious taste of Carmel!
    Carmel never disappoints
    Shaleen_H, Apr 2023
    Met interesting new people in a fun atmosphere. This tour was informative, the food and drinks were delicious. It was fun to meet the establishment owners and our local guide, Bonnie was awesome. Definitely worth the cost. Would absolutely do this again.
    Response from Host, Apr 2023
    Shaleen, thank you for sharing your great experience with others. So glad you could join us!
    Wonderful Experience.
    Ivanna_V, Apr 2023
    Carmel by the Sea is a magical town. Its streets are full of colour, each corner is a landscape. Combining this with a delicious gastronomy makes this tour something unique. I recommend it 100%. Our tour guide, Bonnie, was amazing. She knows the history of the town, its people. She is cheerful, full of joy, she made us feel at home.
    Response from Host, Apr 2023
    Ivanna, thank you very much for the kind words and recommendation. It makes my day when we can make someone's day!
    Extremely glad we went on the tour.
    Dyane_A, Oct 2022
    Enjoyed the food everywhere but loved the local history and stories. Suggest you cut down on the too generous sausage, perhaps 1/4 pieces with tooth picks.
    Fun
    Anonymous, Oct 2022
    Thank you for a wonderful day we enjoyed every stop. The honey tasting and his knowledge of honey was so great
    Wonderful tour worth every penny !
    Christine_M, Sep 2022
    Bonnie the guide was very knowledgeable and fun. The food was delicious and huge portions. Don’t eat breakfast before you go. The tour went above our expectations !
    Food & Fun
    Elisabeth_F, Sep 2022
    The food , company and history of Carmel . Would have loved to slow our walk down a little and to see the Thomas Kincaid gallery that was on our schedule but one male in our group wanted to take a detour to look at a bar that happened to be closed so we ran out of time or our guide forgot to take us there?
    Amazing!
    Marie_C, Aug 2022
    Bonnie was so amazing, the tour was very informative!!! Will definitely do this again next time I’m in Carmel.
    Worth it
    Dennis_A, Jul 2022
    Nice tour with good variety of interesting and tasty foods, including some yummy desserts. Amber was fun.
    Response from Host, Jul 2022
    Dennis thanks for your kind words! We hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay on the Monterey Peninsula.
    Fun food tour
    Beverly_W, Jun 2022
    Fun history facts, a good group of people, a great tour guide and a fantastic day!! Was expecting tastings and had a few meals along the way!! Would recommend it to friends and also go again!!
    It was great
    Michael_G, May 2022
    The fresh doughnuts and meeting new friends. The food was good and the history lesson. The guide was awesome.
    somewhat memorable
    Nancy_L, May 2022
    the most memorable was Anton & Michele's. I could have done without the deli and the donut shop. The group leader was good, and the walk sufficient.
    Response from Host, May 2022
    Nancy we’re very sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations. We like to show a wide variety of the offerings in Carmel so that there is a highlight for everyone on the tour, so I’m glad to know you enjoyed Anton and Michel.
    Beautiful little community and Bonnie was a wonderful tour host.
    Tony_S, Apr 2022
    Bonnie did a great job sharing the history of Carmel. Tour was good. Only 2 wine parings out of seven stops. Would have thought at least 3-4 stops would share wine.
    Not just wine and food...
    Martha_O, Mar 2022
    Not just wine and food but honey and chocolate. Nice variety. Appreciated SMALL food and wine portions. Guide was LOCAL and knowledgeable. Opportunity to hear from chef or business owner would have been even better.
    Bryan was great and had a...
    Lorena_B, Jan 2022
    Bryan was great and had a lot of knowledge of the city. I had a lot of fun exploring the city. Great food and wine. The group was fun!
    This Tour is Well Worth It!
    Karen_W, Jan 2022
    Brian was our tour guide. He was lots of fun and even remembered everyone's name (there were 14 of us). We tasted a variety of delicious food, desserts and wine. We learned a bit about the history of Carmel, location of lots of shops located down alley ways and were introduced to many of the shop owners we visited. Brian tells some funny jokes to keep us all smiling. Highly recommended and a great way to learn about Carmel.
    Tour de Brian
    Mario_S, Dec 2021
    The food, drinks, the ambience, Brian’s knowledge and history of where we went. His outgoing personality and charisma made the whole tour. Excellent and memorable tour.
    Awesome experience
    Leslie_C, Nov 2021
    Brian was a great guide for our tour. He is funny and knowledgeable. Fun to have locals we passed on the street call out to him. I would highly recommend.
    Great and fun tour
    Owen_S, Oct 2021
    Besides the great food and wine in downtown Carmel, what made our experience so great was our guide, Brian. From the very start, Brian was friendly, fun, and knowledgeable about Carmel and its history, telling numerous stories about the town, its early founders, wonderful architecture, and even showed us "secret" passageways through beautiful courtyards. We were a group of about 17 people, all very personable and fun as well, but it was Brian that kept us all centered on having a fun trek. We would recommend this tour to other Carmel visitors, and plan on taking another such tour next year when we visit again.
    Whole experience was...
    Elaine_R, Oct 2021
    Whole experience was great fun. Beautiful scenery and thrilling turns and dips! Five senior citizens having a ball. And we all felt safe the whole time. Driver was informative and very nice.
    Our tour guide, Bonnie,...
    Mark_K, Sep 2021
    Our tour guide, Bonnie, was outstanding. We had a great time. Lots of fun stops. We'll worth the price. Easy walking tour, too.
    A fantastic afternoon touring the best of Carmel
    Anna_K, Sep 2021
    The food tour was a wonderful family afternoon through the streets of Carmel with Brian our host. We loved the assortment of restaurants and stops on the way. The history, the bites and the stories - I didn't know most of the stuff the Brian the store owners told. It was timed beautifully and for vegetarians like us.. it was more than enough! I would book it again with guests in town - we live in the area and wanted to do something fun as a family and it didn't disappoint! Brian was a great storyteller and kept it running like a smooth operator! My only want was seeing the menu at each place but we just didn't have time..
    "Less talking, more walking"
    JRozelle_W, Sep 2021
    We had a wonderful tour guide "Brian R." he was funny, accommodating and moved us right along with a "less talking, more walking" motivation. We especially liked his humor and his putting up with all of our quirkiness. It was a wonderfully warm day as well, which I think added to the fun. Would be happy to return and bring my family for some more Carmel fun.
    Awesome!
    Barbara_A, Aug 2021
    Brian was so fun and informative. All the food was great! Learned really interesting facts about town.
    Yes! It’s worth it!
    Eden_S, Jul 2021
    Our tour guide Brian was amazing! Funny, knowledgeable, and friendly! The food was delicious - my favorite by far was Pescadero we went back and had dinner there! Nice to walk the city and hear about its history! Would definitely recommend!
    A Totally Enjoyable, Delicious Tour
    Patricia_L, Jul 2021
    Fantastic tour! We live less than an hour from Carmel, so we go there several times each year (whenever we need a relaxing, fabulous 1-day get-away). Of course, we've tried many restaurants, but we had never been to any of these.....without exception, they were absolutely wonderful. We will definitely return to all! Our tour guide, Brian, was great fun and very knowledgeable - he kept the group moving and found time at each stop to give a lot of background information about the restaurant or business - very helpful! We have already recommended this tour to several friends and will continue to do so - it is a fantastic, delicious introduction to the unique world of Carmel!!
    Good food and wine.
    Robert_A, Jun 2021
    Learning about the history of Carmel and some of the restaurants how they got there name. We had great weather.
    Great food choices
    Jennifer_L, May 2021
    Great experience. Love the idea that the food were prepared by local chefs/ entrepreneurs of the area. It’ll definitely help their businesses. The food were also really delicious but hoping to add coffee in the menu (I’m sure a lot of us would love a sip of coffee). Our guide was also great. Would definitely do it again.
    Worth it
    Pat_R, May 2021
    Tour guides were so knowledgeable and friendly . Wished we had red wine to taste. All in all. A great food experience!
    ...

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