Secret Tours

What It Is and Where It Operates

Secret Tours runs food tours, history tours and ghost tours in cities across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, under brands including Secret Food Tours, and it also sells live virtual tours. The about page says: "from Las Vegas to Paris and over 70 cities across the world, our Tours will enable you to experience the cultural roots that make up your favourite locations." The virtual tours page repeats the same line with "over 50 cities," so the exact count depends on which page you read. The destination menu lists, in Europe, cities such as London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Athens, Budapest, Krakow, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Porto, Istanbul, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, San Sebastián, Valencia and Italian cities from Bologna to Palermo and Sorrento. In North America it lists Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, US cities from Atlanta, Austin and Boston to Key West, Nashville, Seattle and Washington D.C., and Mexico City and Oaxaca. Its city list also names Bangkok, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Osaka, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Melbourne. The footer states that Secret Tours is a trading name and registered trademark of Essor Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales.

The company runs both in-person city tours and live interactive virtual tours. On the virtual tours page, the site states: "Our amazing guides, talented chefs, and passionate storytellers will take you from the comfort of your home to anywhere around the world. These events are live and interactive and perfect for all the family." The page says the virtual program exists because "Our fans have been asking us to create live online tours."

Food Tours and City Experiences

The site describes its Secret Food Tours as exploring cuisine intertwined with the cultures of each location, stating: "On these tours you'll get to try some of the best food across the city." The homepage, about page and virtual tours page do not list in-person food tours by name or price; those sit on each city's page in the destination menu.

Virtual offerings include a Virtual Tour of London focused on Westminster, described as "steeped in history and intriguing events" and priced at 10 dollars per tour, running on Thursdays at 1 pm EDT for 1 hour. A Virtual Tour of Paris offers "tales of a city" with a native guide discussing medieval times to present, running Monday, Thursday, and Sunday at various times (Monday 3 pm EDT, Thursday 2 pm EDT, Sunday 2 pm EDT), also 1 hour and 10 dollars. The Glorious Gin Tour and Cocktail Making is priced at 10 dollars, runs 1 hour, Wednesdays and Fridays at 3 pm EDT, and is described as combining gin education with cocktail making instruction.

The site offers corporate virtual tours for bespoke experiences, stating: "We love to create bespoke virtual tours for our corporate or private clients, making them fun, engaging and interactive." Other virtual tours, most listed at $15, cover the Louvre, the Uffizi, the Colosseum, the Tower of London, St. Mark's Basilica, an Italian wine class and pasta and pizza classes with the Italian chefs Denyse and Roberto. The site also mentions Virtual Cocktail Making and a Virtual Tea Tour offering "The Secret History of Afternoon Tea" with 1 hour duration, teaching proper tea drinking customs. A Private Virtual Cocktail Making tour and Private Virtual Tea Tour are listed as available by email request for private tour times.

Guides, Languages, and Event Structure

The site emphasizes its guides as essential to the experience, noting they are passionate about their cities. The testimonials and descriptions reference "guides, talented chefs, and passionate storytellers," though individual guide names are not listed on the site. Each virtual tour listing states its language, and all of those shown are in English; the Paris tour is led by what the page calls a "native guide." Languages for the in-person tours are not given on these pages.

Virtual tours are conducted live and interactive, with 1-hour durations for most offerings. The site notes that for every online virtual tour participated in, attendees receive a 10-dollar Secret Food Tour voucher valid for use over the next 2 years, which can be applied toward future bookings.

Booking, Payment, and Group Options

These pages do not give prices for in-person tours in individual cities. Virtual tours are listed at $10 or $15 each. A cancellation policy is not stated on these pages. The site mentions both public tours and private/bespoke options. Bespoke virtual tours are available for corporate or private clients, and visitors are directed to contact the company for private, corporate, or bespoke tour arrangements.

For in-person tours, the site directs visitors to browse by destination and select tours for their city of choice, but specific booking procedures, payment methods, and group-size information are not detailed. The site offers group and private tour options and mentions corporate and large-group experiences as part of its structure, though terms are not published.

Coverage and What the Site Does Not Settle

The homepage claims "Over 52,000 5 Star Reviews," without saying which platforms or tours they come from.

The site does not state whether in-person food tours run year-round or seasonally in each city, whether tours operate on fixed schedules or by demand, minimum or maximum group sizes for in-person tours, specific meeting points or pickup arrangements, dietary accommodations, physical difficulty levels, age restrictions or recommendations for children, or what is included in tour pricing beyond the tasting stops implied by "food tours." The site does not specify which cities have active in-person tours versus virtual-only offerings.

The site does not detail how it vets or trains guides in each destination, the duration of in-person food tours by city, what languages in-person tours are conducted in, or refund policies for virtual or in-person tours. Pricing for in-person tours in individual cities is not shown on the site, making comparison difficult.

The company appeals to travelers seeking broad geographic coverage; the virtual tours option makes it accessible to those unable to travel, and the emphasis on discovering authentic local culture positions it for cultural explorers. The same brand across dozens of cities also helps travelers who like to book one kind of tour in each city they visit. The site does not say whether every city's tours are run by Secret Tours staff or by local partners under the brand.