The 12 Shopping Tours Around the World That Earn the Detour

1.Active Volcano, Rice Field, Hot Spring, Fruit market, Tea Plantation with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 513 reviews · from $110Our pick

Travel from Jakarta into West Java with an English-speaking guide such as Bryan, Rizky, Vincent, or Mitchell. Visit Tangkuban Perahu Volcano, taste four local fruits, see rice fields and tea farms, eat Sundanese food, and soak at Ciater Hot Spring. The capped group has no more than 10 people, with transport, admissions, lunch, and water included.

“Overall great even though there were hiccup and delays due to cockroaches in the car. A suggestion - Many of Viator visit plans are for minimum 2 people. If you are on business trip and want to go for a trip during a break day, that does not work. Suggest to support Solo travellers too. Shared bus for travel is fine in South east asia too.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Kyoto: Nishiki Market Tea Ceremony with Koto Performance

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 294 reviews · 1 hour · from $56

At KOTOLILY KYOTO beside Nishiki Market, Yurika guides you through making matcha, tea etiquette, and traditional sweets. Live koto music fills the one-hour session before and after the ceremony. You can add a kimono photo session or short koto lesson on-site for an extra fee. Groups are limited to eight.

“Yurika was a wonderful host, very kind and funny and put us at ease The tea ceremony experience was great and the music was beautiful. Highly recommend this experience for anybody in Kyoto”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Delicious Doughnuts & Tea: Small-Group Borough Market Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 169 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $96

Start at St. John Bakery and walk through Borough Market with a guide such as Bhavani, Oscar, Charlie, or Dan. Sample doughnuts at several London bakeries, enjoy tea and bottled water, and finish near Tower Bridge. The group is capped at 10, but opening hours can affect the route.

“What a fun tour! Our kids loved getting to sample some of London’s fabulous donuts, and we appreciated learning some info about London and the area around Borough Market. Our tour guide Charlie was an absolute delight. He knew lots of interesting history and shared some great local tips. He made the whole experience feel relaxed and fun. Definitely a fun and different tour to experience in London :)”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Paris VIP Shopping Experience-Lounge Access, Tea time & Transfer

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 52 reviews · 1 day (approx.) · from $119

Spend the day shopping at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann with access to a private fifth-floor concierge lounge. You get tea or another drink, a Ladurée treat, WiFi, private restrooms, tax refund help, a limited-edition bag, delivery of purchases, and a one-way private transfer anywhere in Paris. Bring your passport for the 12% VAT refund.

“If you want to be treated like royalty, this is the experience. You go to the lounge, have a drink-champagne, coffee, soda, etc. Relax for a minute and go out to the magnificent Galeries Lafayette and shop to you drop. We explored the store, then went across the street to the Home Store. Just beautiful to walk around. Back to GL and to Angelinas for a delicious lunch. Little more shopping and back to the lounge. You get your tax refund info (bring passport) , so when you get to airport it’s easy. Then they bring a car and off to your hotel with all your goodies. Loved it.”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Tea Time & Doughnuts at Borough Market: A Proper London Treat

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 41 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (approx.) · from $44

Follow a private guide from St. John Bakery through Borough Market and Southwark for two doughnut stops, a Bird & Blend tea tasting, and a Tower Bridge view. Guides such as Alex, Luke, Andy, Oscar, and Bhavani add local stories and history. Plan on walking about two miles and spending roughly 90 minutes to two hours.

“Alex was a tremendous guide. Thoughtful and exceptionally knowledgeable. The tea and donuts were pretty good too!”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Taipei: Taiwan Traditional Breakfast & Market & Tea Tasting

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 2 hours · from $44

Meet your English-speaking guide at Lanzhou Market for a two-hour morning walk through Taipei’s breakfast culture. You’ll taste more than 10 Taiwanese foods, visit Dihua Street, and finish with oolong and cold brew red tea at a Dadaocheng tea house. Guide Leo is one named guide associated with the experience.

“Really enjoyed this breakfast food tour. Our guide, Leo, was very informative and made this a perfect combination of food and culture and history.”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Taipei Fresh Market Tour and Colorful Bubble Tea Making

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · from $65

Start at Taipei’s Dongmen Market with local chef Wayne, who introduces unusual fruit, vegetables, herbal tea, and fish balls. Then climb to a fourth-floor cooking studio to make colorful boba from scratch using seasonal fruit juice. The two-hour, small-group class costs $65 and ends at the starting point.

“Wayne was really welcoming and showed us some new fruits that we haven't tried before. Was able to find me a vegan snack at the market since I couldn't have the fish balls. The boba making was fun and everything tasted great! He gave us a few personal recommendations for food in the area as well. 10/10 would recommend!”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Tea plantation walk with Visit of Historical ,village & Market

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · from $8Best value

Start at Rijo Villa near Munnar’s KSRTC bus stand at 4:00 PM for a three-hour guided walk through a local village and tea plantations. Visit the century-old CSI Christ Church, then finish at Munnar Market. The group is limited to 10, and the route requires moderate fitness.

“Très agréable et intéressante petite balade pour un premier jour en Inde. Avec un guide tre sympathique.”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.[NEW]JPN CULTURE – Buy@Toyosu Market SUSHI Making +TEA +Maid Cafe

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · from $78

Meet your guide at Shijo-mae Station and shop for sushi ingredients at Toyosu Market, then prepare temari, maki, chirashi, and oshi sushi for lunch. Make sweets for a formal matcha ceremony led by a tea master. The optional Maid Café visit adds an Akihabara finale.

“The Sushi was from the Tsukiji market bought the same day. We learnt how to make three different types of sushi, thick roll sushi, chirashi sushi and tamari sushi which I think I can make at home. We didn’t know that the tea ceremony was alRead more”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Three-Hour Private Chengdu Tea Wholesale Market Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · from $46

Meet an English-speaking guide at Wenshu Yuan Monastery, or arrange listed hotel pickup, then spend about two hours in Chengdu’s vast tea wholesale market. Learn how green, black, white, oolong, and Pu-er tea are processed, graded, and packaged. With Jerry, you can taste tea before buying leaves, teaware, and accessories. This private tour costs $46.16 per person.

“Jerry was a fantastic guide! We had an amazing time and learned so much on this tour through the wholesale tea market. WE highly recommend!!!”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Christmas Delights: Festive Tea & Doughnuts at Borough Market

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (approx.) · from $96

Walk from Borough High Street through Borough Market to Tower Bridge, stopping for doughnuts at St. John Bakery, Rodeo, Bread Ahead, and Crosstown. Your guide, including Luke or Oscar depending on the date, adds local history and food tips. Tea or coffee is included, and the small group is capped at 20 people.

“As fun as it sounds. Our man, Oscar, was all too happy too lead us around the Borough Market area - pointing out building of historical significance as well as pubs, restaurants and other come-back-and-see-them spots. Of course there were doughnuts. Thankfully, Oscar brought each of us a bag to collect our half-eaten stash so we wouldn’t have a sugar-seizure mid-tour. The doughnuts themselves were a varied lot. From the traditional to the wild. And all were worth sampling, but of course we had our favorites. Our tea stop was a breath of perfumed air. All in all, an excellent entree to the food and drink scene around Borough Market.…”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Colombo shopping Tour (Tea, Gems, cinnamon, souvenirs, cotton )

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $16

Ride through Colombo with a private tuk-tuk guide and shop for Ceylon tea, cinnamon, gemstones, cotton goods, and Sri Lankan crafts. Stops include Lakarcade, a traditional gem mine, a tea supermarket, Gangaramaya Temple, Pettah Market, and local food spots. Mr. Nasrin is named in customer feedback, though guide assignment may vary.

“This is an amazing shopping tour.. We were in Sri Lanka for 7 days. We enjoyed traveling all over Sri Lanka. We booked this shopping tour in Colombo on the last day.This tour was truly excellent and reliable.”

Check availability →Read our full review