About Us

The Local Sauce Tours Story
My name is Justin, I’m the guy with the “tour guide hands” in the photo. I started Local Sauce Tours back in 2018 after escaping a corporate law career. I realised that I was working around a lot of unhappy people and I thought, “I want to work in a more enjoyable industry – let’s try tourism!”
From starting with one walking tour on a Saturday morning offered on Airbnb Experiences, we’ve grown to offer a wide range of unique tours and experiences, led by a team of amazing hosts.
In 2022 and 2023, we were awarded Gold in the NSW Tourism Awards for Cultural Tourism. We’re also ranked #1 for all Tours & Activities in Sydney on TripAdvisor, so you’re making a great decision to explore Sydney with us.
What our tours are like
Our tours focus on showing guests around Sydney with an expert local, weaving in entertaining stories about the area while visiting excellent, independently-owned bars, restaurants and cafes.
We limit our group sizes on all of our tours to 12 people, as we’ve found this is the magic number for guests to meet each other, bond and have a fun time. If you’re visiting Sydney or travelling solo, you’ll probably meet people on the tour to hang out with while you’re here!
You’ll quickly discover that a tour with us is a little bit different to a regular one, as we focus on making it feel like you’re just in a group of new friends hanging out and enjoying themselves, with your host keeping everything flowing and telling you stories.


Our promise
We love having each and every guest along on our tours. Whether you’re visiting Sydney or a local looking for something new to do, we know that you can choose from a million other activities – but you chose to join one of our tours and hang out with us!
We take that commitment from you seriously and will do everything we can to give you an amazing experience and the best possible introduction to Sydney. We guarantee you’re going to love the Sydney that we show you so much, you’ll be asking “when’s the next tour?” and booking again with us!
Since we started, we’ve received thousands of 5-star reviews on Airbnb, Google, TripAdvisor and Facebook. Check some recent ones out below.
We’ve received over 2,500 five-star reviews
All Reviews 5.0
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Google 4.9
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TripAdvisor 5.0
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Airbnb 5.0
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GetYourGuide 5.0
- Christina Yeon21/10/2025My husband and I were visiting from the US. We took the Ultimate Sydney Walking Tour and Michael was our guide. The group was small, just us plus another couple. We learned so much from Michael about the city and its rich history. And Michael even gave us tips on places to eat during our stay. Thank you for a wonderful tour! Very personable guide!read moreread lessChris Gregoire17/10/2025Jake did a nice job giving us a historical background of Australian & some eatery recommendations.
We had a good time.
A bit disappointed we didn’t see the Opera house, but I believe the huge ship was blocking the view. It was NOT our tour guide’s fault!
Recommend!read moreread less - Kristen17/10/2025Jake is very knowledgeable. He planned a great walking route that covered all the primary sights for first time visitors. We wen through the historic district, then amthe shopping district that included stopping at the QVB and the Strand. Then we ended by walking through The Rocks and have 150 Lashes beer. Perfect ending to a perfect tour.read moreread less
- E Chung07/10/2025First time touring with Local Sauce Tours for their Negroni Month special bar tour featuring YCL Laneways. We had an intimate group of 6, and Justin heading the tour. Very fun, lovely selection of bars and negronis (which was why the guests were there really) informative and interactive throughout, good walking pace, and really us insider tips of the bars in YCK Laneways.read moreread less
- Mir&Jay07/10/2025Come for the food, stay for the history We absolutely loved Justin’s tour. As Sydney locals we thought we’d just eat amazing food, but it was so much more. We learnt a lot about Chinese history in Australia that we didn’t know yet and visited some very special sites.Justin was both a very knowledgeable and engaging guide, and we’d recommend this tour to anyone. NB It is both carnivore and vegetarian friendly.read moreread less
- Susan B06/10/2025Lovely way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon in Sydney. As a Sydnesider it was great to see the backstreets and greenspace of Newtown. Street art stories and artist history was provided for a few of the pieces and artists, but there is so much more and other interesting buildings. . Food not a highlight for me, half a pie of choice, vegan taco,turkish ice cream and falafel, enough of it, just not my taste. Guide Andrew was friendly.read moreread less
- Kaisha03/10/2025The tour was great. I learned a lot about the culture. It was pleasant to walk with the tour guide Steve, who described everything we were looking at and the fascinating history behind it. It was incredibly informative and not boring at all. Directions and instructions on where to meet was very clear.read moreread less
- Christina Yeon21/10/2025My husband and I were visiting from the US. We took the Ultimate Sydney Walking Tour and Michael was our guide. The group was small, just us plus another couple. We learned so much from Michael about the city and its rich history. And Michael even gave us tips on places to eat during our stay. Thank you for a wonderful tour! Very personable guide!read moreread lessChris Gregoire17/10/2025Jake did a nice job giving us a historical background of Australian & some eatery recommendations.
We had a good time.
A bit disappointed we didn’t see the Opera house, but I believe the huge ship was blocking the view. It was NOT our tour guide’s fault!
Recommend!read moreread less - E Chung07/10/2025First time touring with Local Sauce Tours for their Negroni Month special bar tour featuring YCL Laneways. We had an intimate group of 6, and Justin heading the tour. Very fun, lovely selection of bars and negronis (which was why the guests were there really) informative and interactive throughout, good walking pace, and really us insider tips of the bars in YCK Laneways.read moreread less
- Mir&Jay07/10/2025We absolutely loved Justin’s tour. As Sydney locals we thought we’d just eat amazing food, but it was so much more. We learnt a lot about Chinese history in Australia that we didn’t know yet and visited some very special sites.Justin was both a very knowledgeable and engaging guide, and we’d recommend this tour to anyone. NB It is both carnivore and vegetarian friendly.read moreread lessSusan B06/10/2025As a Sydnesider it was great to see the backstreets and greenspace of Newtown. Street art stories and artist history was provided for a few of the pieces and artists, but there is so much more and other interesting buildings. . Food not a highlight for me, half a pie of choice, vegan taco,turkish ice cream and falafel, enough of it, just not my taste. Guide Andrew was friendly.read moreread less
- Kimmo6827/09/2025Steve was a fantastic guide. His stories were witty, entertaining, and informative. We really enjoyed spending a few hours walking around the city with him. It was a perfect way to start our stay in Sydney, as he gave us a lot of information of other things that we could do in the city. We would absolutely recommend this tour!read moreread lessErik L24/09/2025Unfortunately, I only did the tour on my last day, but it would have been perfect for the first one. Our tour guide was fun, friendly and clearly interested and knowledgeable about Australian history and Sydney. There were quite a few spots in town where there was a story I would never have known otherwise and he had detailed answers to all my questions. There was a lot he showed on the tour where you can go back later, so ideal as a first tour to know what else you can look at in the city.read moreread less
- Lori A.22/09/2025We really enjoyed this walking tour of Sydney! Steve provided great info about the history, architecture, culture and key sites in the Central Business District. He also shared restaurant and bar recommendations. Despite the rainy weather, we saw the majority of the CBD, weaving under awnings or inside buildings when the rain got heavy. Highly recommended!!read moreread less
- dumpling_1816/09/2025My friends and I had a fantastic day exploring Newtown with our guide Andrew.Newtown is so vibrant and even though I visit Newtown frequently, I discovered so many new places, things to see and do and eat.The street art is fabulous, but made interesting by the information and commentary given by Andrew. The food tastings were yummy. The tour is value for money and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.read moreread less
- Jessica Lee27/09/2025Claudia was super friendly and welcoming from the very beginning. She guided us through some hidden local bars that I would never have found on my own. Each spot had a totally different vibes. What I really loved was how the group felt like instant friends even though we all came from different countries. The host encouraged everyone to chat share stories and try local drinks together. It felt less like a tour and more like hanging out with friends in a new city. Overall it was an unforgettable night. If you’re visiting and want to enjoy nightlife in a safe social and authentic way I highly recommend booking this local bar tour through Airbnb. It’s definitely one of those experiences that make traveling more memorable.read moreread lessJennifer24/09/2025Our tour around Sydney and our guide Steve was fantastic! He was incredibly knowledgeable and brought the city’s history to life with engaging stories and insights. Every stop was informative and fun, we enjoyed the uniqueness of the stops since they weren’t only tourist focused. Steve made the experience both educational and enjoyable. Highly recommended!read moreread less
- Wendy21/09/2025The team at Local Sauce were amazing to deal with and the whole experience was impeccable. Unique locations, great street food, perfect itinerary and great communication – all conducive of an experience that was outright outstanding. Bunny, our tour guide, was a treasure chest of information, including the history of the area and its locals. She took us to hidden nooks in Chinatown that we would never have come across otherwise. The food was first rate and delicious and we would do the tour all over again. The pace was perfect. Definitely a great find and would recommend thoroughly to all.read moreread lessCarli15/09/2025We were so incredibly happy to start our trip off with a tour led by Steve. He started off with jokes and fact that kept us entertained and engaged for hours. He was incredibly kind and courteous, making sure to take stops in the shade or by a bench if you wanted to rest. The information and history that he’s retained was incredible – we learned SO much more than we ever could have tried to do a self led tour. We loved our time so much we’re hoping to do the bar hopping tour tomorrow!!read moreread less
- Susan03/09/2025I have to say that I rarely give anything less than a 5 but I was disappointed with this tour. We basically walked up and down a long block to 3 different bars and looked at street art (which was really cool). The reason I was disappointed is because other than whien we were walking, our host didn’t have much to say. I expected to learn something about Sydney but other than the street art, that didn’t happen. That being said, he was a nice person, just didn’t seem like he was into the experience. Also, while it did include a happy hour beer or glass of generic red or white wine, given we just walked around Newtown without learning much it would have been a little better to at least get a choice of drink. Also, 2 of the 3 bars seemed randomly chosen and they didn’t have places set aside for our group of 8. Perhaps that’s just how it works but overall I was somewhat disappointed.read moreread less
- Kristen17/10/2025Jake is very knowledgeable. He planned a great walking route that covered all the primary sights for first time visitors. We wen through the historic district, then amthe shopping district that included stopping at the QVB and the Strand. Then we ended by walking through The Rocks and have 150 Lashes beer. Perfect ending to a perfect tour.read moreread less
- Kaisha03/10/2025The tour was great. I learned a lot about the culture. It was pleasant to walk with the tour guide Steve, who described everything we were looking at and the fascinating history behind it. It was incredibly informative and not boring at all. Directions and instructions on where to meet was very clear.read moreread lessGavin John01/10/2025Justin was an excellent tour guide. Full of interesting and inciteful knowledge about Chinatown and its colourful past. The walking tour of the area was very enjoyable. We were excited and really looking forward to experiencing the very best of Chinese street food. However, the choice of food that we were offered did not fulfil our expectations.read moreread less
- Z09/09/2025My family and I enjoyed the tour very much. Our guide Daniel was very friendly, upbeat, super knowledgeable on Sydney and Australian history, and his passion for it was tangeable. Daniel answered every question and offered excellent sightseeing suggestions. Daniel showed us interesting places that we would have missed on our own. Thank you, Daniel!read moreread lessHanna Sofie24/08/2025a great walk around Brisbane with Tom, seeing all the hidden street art and local bars. Many of these places i wouldn’t have found on my own, and it was so nice to see the nightlife in Brisbane City! definitely recommend to anyone travelling solo, with a group , family or couples- international or locals! And good drinks too!read moreread less
- GetYourGuide traveler07/08/2025Saskia was an absolutely outstanding guide! She expertly led our small group through Brisbane’s fascinating historic sites while also having a keen eye for the city’s impressive artwork. Her knowledge was comprehensive and her enthusiasm infectious. What really set her apart was going the extra mile at the end of our tour – she provided us with excellent additional recommendations for places to visit during our stay. This tour exceeded all my expectations and covered everything I could have imagined wanting to see in Brisbane. Saskia’s expertise and genuine passion for the city made this an unforgettable experience. Highly recommended!read moreread less