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 2,000 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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Facebook 5.0
- Tingting16/12/2024Superb tour guide, with lots of thoughtful and unique insights as we walked downtown Sydney. I loved the commentary about the art installations and historical significance of certain locations and learned a lot about the city. Michael was very considerate and led us into areas of shade throughout the walk. If you’re doing the tour in the summer months, bring an umbrella and lots of water!read moreread lessSusheela16/12/2024Michael kept us enraptured with unique and interesting stories about Sydney. We went through alleys and heard unusual stories I don’t expect most tour guides would know or share. I also really appreciated him putting us in the shade as much as possible. He also had a gentle way of shepherding us; so, we didn’t block everyone else going about their day. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people block the sidewalks, walking four abreast at a slow pace, etc. So, I noticed and appreciated Michael’s awareness of this.read moreread less
- Suksiri L14/12/2024Food, photography and socialising great experiences It was a great experience for me to join the tour which collaborated with Fujfilm X- M5
All the restaurants we went to were outstanding, the tastes were fantastic, the tour guide; Justin was very friendly and very knowledgeable about food and history of Newtown. I definitely recommend all the food lovers, photography lovers and great socialising ! 100% must try for your memorable experience!read moreread less - Patricia Madrid13/12/2024This is a beautiful and insightful service. We did the Newtown tour and take me to places than I did not know even though I am a local. The history of all the street art that is in Newtown puts the neighborhood in level of the best neighborhood in the wordread moreread lessPatricia C12/12/2024Look no further ….this is a great tour!!! We had a wonderful walking tour of Sydney. If you want to hear about the history of Sydney and Australia, See the major sites Of Sydney and be entertained with wonderful anecdotes And stories ….this is the tour for you. We toured for three hours and we enjoyed every second. The tour guide gave lots of great suggestions answered all our questions and created a break for coffee and pastry to give a short rest. We have been fortunate to travel extensively and have had many guides . This is one of the best tours we’ve taken.read moreread lessAmanda Easton12/12/2024I bought the Newtown Chewtown tour for my husband for his birthday. We only live a suburb away, but Newtown is such an interesting place – we knew we would learn something new. Our guide Daniel was great, very friendly and knowledgeable. It was a great mix of quirky places to eat and beautiful street art and just a nice vibe altogether, highly recommend.read moreread less
- Diana B12/12/2024Best tour ever This has to be the best tour I’ve ever been on. Daniel is the most amazing guide, his knowledge is extraordinary and he shares it with passion and fun. Thoroughly recommend this – we learnt more about Sydney in these three hours than the whole week and really enjoyed the experience. Thank you Dan, you are great!read moreread less
- Paul R08/12/2024Great trip well worth doing This was a brilliant trip, due to Daniel and his knowledge. Anything he didn’t know which wasn’t much, he found out by contacting his office.
We walked round roads we normally wouldn’t have and learnt about all the history.
A great journey which took 40 minutes longer than expected as Daniel explained everything and answered lots of questions.read moreread lessJourney5664344216808/12/2024Best Local Bar Crawl Experience! Our bar crawl was an unforgettable journey through Sydney’s finest bars, and Daniel, our host, made it truly exceptional. With his background as an ex-bartender and a local history tour guide, he added a rich layer of storytelling, sharing fascinating historical insights about Sydney’s streets.
Daniel’s recommendations for local drinks and food were spot on, making the experience both authentic and flavorful. Beyond the bars, the camaraderie among the group was incredible—we made amazing connections with fellow participants, which added to the overall enjoyment.
If you’re visiting Sydney, this bar crawl is an absolute must-try. It’s the perfect way to explore the city’s vibrant nightlife and immerse yourself in its history and culture.read moreread lessRamakrishnan Nagarajan07/12/2024Best Local Bar Crawl Experience! Our bar crawl was an unforgettable journey through Sydney’s finest bars, and Daniel, our host, made it truly exceptional. With his background as an ex-bartender and a local history tour guide, he added a rich layer of storytelling, sharing fascinating historical insights about Sydney’s streets. Daniel’s recommendations for local drinks and food were spot on, making the experience both authentic and flavorful. Beyond the bars, the camaraderie among the group was incredible—we made amazing connections with fellow participants, which added to the overall enjoyment. If you’re visiting Sydney, this bar crawl is an absolute must-try. It’s the perfect way to explore the city’s vibrant nightlife and immerse yourself in its history and culture.read moreread less - Explore0313985924807/12/2024Awesome tour and guide! Outstanding tour of the city! A great way to learn about the history of Sydney and get a better understanding of the overall layout of the area. would recommend doing this on your first day. Steve was our guide and did an excellent job. He knew so much about the history and had great general knowledge of Sydney as he is a local. We had a stop at a bakery midway which was nice and at the end finished at the Squire on the harbor for a beer. Nice touch. Steve gave us a good reco for dinner as we ended our tour at 6:30. Perfect way to end the day.read moreread lessMelissa Kotter06/12/2024My husband a I recently participated in Local Sauce Tours – 3.5 hour walking tour of Sydney. Daniel was our tour guide and we were impressed by his knowledge, passion and overall interest in Sydneys colonial and indigenous history. Daniel was engaging and an experienced tour guide who created a fun and riveting experience for all. Having previously lived in Sydney for 26 years, I learned more about my city’s history and our early culture on this tour, compared to the information or disinformation I was taught on this topic throughout my schooling years. A must for local Sydneysiders, Australians in general, and for any visitors with a quest for knowledge on Australia’s history. A 10/10 experience for us. Thank you Daniel.read moreread less
- Queenie T06/12/2024Cultural team bonding with a side of yum! For our team Christmas party, we took the Chinatown Tour – Street Food & Stories. Justin took us on an informative, emotional and tasty journey. It’s often said that when living in a city, you don’t get the opportunities to appreciate the history and culture. Thanks to Local Sauce Tours providing a enjoyable reminder of just how amazing our own backyards are.read moreread less
- Queenie Tran05/12/2024For our team Christmas party, we took the Chinatown Tour – Street Food & Stories. Justin took us on an informative, emotional and tasty journey. It’s often said that when living in a city, you don’t get the opportunities to appreciate the history and culture. Thanks to Local Sauce Tours providing a enjoyable reminder of just how amazing our own backyards are.read moreread lessGetYourGuide traveler05/12/2024My husband and I recently participated in the 3.5 hour walking tour of Sydney. Having lived in Sydney for 26 years, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about my city’s history. Daniel. Our tour guide, was knowledgeable and an excellent communicator. Our tour was engaging and riveting. There was a great mixture of variety and a good balance of information. We learned to appreciate our culture, history and our forefathers, like never before. We highly recommend this activity for anyone looking to learn about the ‘real’ stories that shaped Australia’s history.read moreread less
- irene wang02/12/2024This is the first time we are visiting Sydney. We signed up for Ultimate Walking Tour. Our tour guide Michael is very knowledgeable and accommodating. He made sure everyone in the group was taken care of. We had a good time and learned quite bit of history during this three and half hour tour from Michael.read moreread less
- Patricia Madrid13/12/2024This is a beautiful and insightful service. We did the Newtown tour and take me to places than I did not know even though I am a local. The history of all the street art that is in Newtown puts the neighborhood in level of the best neighborhood in the wordread moreread lessPatricia C12/12/2024Look no further ….this is a great tour!!! We had a wonderful walking tour of Sydney. If you want to hear about the history of Sydney and Australia, See the major sites Of Sydney and be entertained with wonderful anecdotes And stories ….this is the tour for you. We toured for three hours and we enjoyed every second. The tour guide gave lots of great suggestions answered all our questions and created a break for coffee and pastry to give a short rest. We have been fortunate to travel extensively and have had many guides . This is one of the best tours we’ve taken.read moreread less
- Amanda Easton12/12/2024I bought the Newtown Chewtown tour for my husband for his birthday. We only live a suburb away, but Newtown is such an interesting place – we knew we would learn something new. Our guide Daniel was great, very friendly and knowledgeable. It was a great mix of quirky places to eat and beautiful street art and just a nice vibe altogether, highly recommend.read moreread lessRamakrishnan Nagarajan07/12/2024Best Local Bar Crawl Experience! Our bar crawl was an unforgettable journey through Sydney’s finest bars, and Daniel, our host, made it truly exceptional. With his background as an ex-bartender and a local history tour guide, he added a rich layer of storytelling, sharing fascinating historical insights about Sydney’s streets. Daniel’s recommendations for local drinks and food were spot on, making the experience both authentic and flavorful. Beyond the bars, the camaraderie among the group was incredible—we made amazing connections with fellow participants, which added to the overall enjoyment. If you’re visiting Sydney, this bar crawl is an absolute must-try. It’s the perfect way to explore the city’s vibrant nightlife and immerse yourself in its history and culture.read moreread less
- Melissa Kotter06/12/2024My husband a I recently participated in Local Sauce Tours – 3.5 hour walking tour of Sydney. Daniel was our tour guide and we were impressed by his knowledge, passion and overall interest in Sydneys colonial and indigenous history. Daniel was engaging and an experienced tour guide who created a fun and riveting experience for all. Having previously lived in Sydney for 26 years, I learned more about my city’s history and our early culture on this tour, compared to the information or disinformation I was taught on this topic throughout my schooling years. A must for local Sydneysiders, Australians in general, and for any visitors with a quest for knowledge on Australia’s history. A 10/10 experience for us. Thank you Daniel.read moreread less
- Queenie Tran05/12/2024For our team Christmas party, we took the Chinatown Tour – Street Food & Stories. Justin took us on an informative, emotional and tasty journey. It’s often said that when living in a city, you don’t get the opportunities to appreciate the history and culture. Thanks to Local Sauce Tours providing a enjoyable reminder of just how amazing our own backyards are.read moreread lessirene wang02/12/2024This is the first time we are visiting Sydney. We signed up for Ultimate Walking Tour. Our tour guide Michael is very knowledgeable and accommodating. He made sure everyone in the group was taken care of. We had a good time and learned quite bit of history during this three and half hour tour from Michael.read moreread less
- Isaac Samuel28/11/2024Last week I went to the Fujifilm Foodtography tour with host Justin. It was an amazing experience, touring and tasting from 5 restaurants in Newtown, Justin also gave us information on mural art that’s heavily featured all around the suburb, along with the restaurants and their history. Would definitely recommendread moreread lessNic *28/11/2024Refugee Chef Dinner Banquet – what a wonderful initiative! We (6 people) ate like queens and enjoyed the community seating, to speak with others we usually wouldn’t have. Absolutely recommend it! Thank you to Nisha & co (can’t remember specific names, sorry, but you were excellent hosts!). My only suggestion is to bring a little more education into the evening, about the particular refugees, their culture, language, situation etc. Perhaps we could all learn to say ‘thank you’ in their language for when they come out? Anyway, loved it, so thank you!read moreread less
- Suksiri L14/12/2024It was a great experience for me to join the tour which collaborated with Fujfilm X- M5
All the restaurants we went to were outstanding, the tastes were fantastic, the tour guide; Justin was very friendly and very knowledgeable about food and history of Newtown. I definitely recommend all the food lovers, photography lovers and great socialising ! 100% must try for your memorable experience!read moreread lessDiana B12/12/2024This has to be the best tour I’ve ever been on. Daniel is the most amazing guide, his knowledge is extraordinary and he shares it with passion and fun. Thoroughly recommend this – we learnt more about Sydney in these three hours than the whole week and really enjoyed the experience. Thank you Dan, you are great!read moreread less - Paul R08/12/2024This was a brilliant trip, due to Daniel and his knowledge. Anything he didn’t know which wasn’t much, he found out by contacting his office.
We walked round roads we normally wouldn’t have and learnt about all the history.
A great journey which took 40 minutes longer than expected as Daniel explained everything and answered lots of questions.read moreread lessJourney5664344216808/12/2024Our bar crawl was an unforgettable journey through Sydney’s finest bars, and Daniel, our host, made it truly exceptional. With his background as an ex-bartender and a local history tour guide, he added a rich layer of storytelling, sharing fascinating historical insights about Sydney’s streets.
Daniel’s recommendations for local drinks and food were spot on, making the experience both authentic and flavorful. Beyond the bars, the camaraderie among the group was incredible—we made amazing connections with fellow participants, which added to the overall enjoyment.
If you’re visiting Sydney, this bar crawl is an absolute must-try. It’s the perfect way to explore the city’s vibrant nightlife and immerse yourself in its history and culture.read moreread less - Explore0313985924807/12/2024Outstanding tour of the city! A great way to learn about the history of Sydney and get a better understanding of the overall layout of the area. would recommend doing this on your first day. Steve was our guide and did an excellent job. He knew so much about the history and had great general knowledge of Sydney as he is a local. We had a stop at a bakery midway which was nice and at the end finished at the Squire on the harbor for a beer. Nice touch. Steve gave us a good reco for dinner as we ended our tour at 6:30. Perfect way to end the day.read moreread lessQueenie T06/12/2024For our team Christmas party, we took the Chinatown Tour – Street Food & Stories. Justin took us on an informative, emotional and tasty journey. It’s often said that when living in a city, you don’t get the opportunities to appreciate the history and culture. Thanks to Local Sauce Tours providing a enjoyable reminder of just how amazing our own backyards are.read moreread lessCompass73789030/11/2024We did this walking tour to help orientate ourselves in Sydney CBD. The tour was fun and interesting. Steve, our tour guide was full of lots of fun facts. We used a lot of his recommendations during our remaining time in Sydney. A great way to learn about the Sydney CBD.read moreread less
- jacqualinm201726/11/2024The small group walking tour was fantastic. It was the best way learn about the city especially during the first few days of our visit. We enjoyed the history, architecture, public art and quirky little laneways that we would have never found on our own. I particularly liked learning about the indigenous history of the area. Our guide Michael was very knowledgeable and even gave us some suggestions for places to visit and eat.
Finishing the tour with a beverage at a venue with a view was great.read moreread less - U7237MEdawnp23/11/2024This walking tour was so much fun! Our tour guide, Steven, was a native Australian and definitely knew his history. We went a decent distance all around the city, so wear your comfy shoes! Steven was awesome to chat with along the way, and there are a couple of refreshment/restroom stops along the way. If you’re looking for a comprehensive walkabout Sydney, this should definitely be the walking tour you take!read moreread lessW1391ETmelb18/11/2024We had a small group. The tour guide ensured we all introduced ourselves. He was an extremely knowledgeable man and the tour was very interesting. We got to see the highlights of historic Sydney and see/ find out things we wouldn’t have been able to without the guide. I thoroughly recommend joining a group.read moreread less
- Helen L14/11/2024We are Sydney locals but what a unique way to spend a Sunday afternoon, discovering Newtown’s street art (old and new) and sampling a heap of new eateries/restaurants. Justin our guide was awesome, with lots of great conversation and back stories. Would highly recommend to locals and visitors, great value for money and something a bit different!read moreread lessTheresa H12/11/2024We had a very knowledgeable guide. Walking was not too much ( but some). We returned to some of the places we passed by. We really enjoyed the free museum that was in the building that housed convicts that was designed by a convict. They gave you headphones that explained the history and artifacts in the museum.read moreread less
- Tingting16/12/2024Superb tour guide, with lots of thoughtful and unique insights as we walked downtown Sydney. I loved the commentary about the art installations and historical significance of certain locations and learned a lot about the city. Michael was very considerate and led us into areas of shade throughout the walk. If you’re doing the tour in the summer months, bring an umbrella and lots of water!read moreread lessSusheela16/12/2024Michael kept us enraptured with unique and interesting stories about Sydney. We went through alleys and heard unusual stories I don’t expect most tour guides would know or share. I also really appreciated him putting us in the shade as much as possible. He also had a gentle way of shepherding us; so, we didn’t block everyone else going about their day. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people block the sidewalks, walking four abreast at a slow pace, etc. So, I noticed and appreciated Michael’s awareness of this.read moreread less
- Roy28/11/2024Jan-Andrew was our tour guide for the experience. He’s a made the tour fun and a great experience. I highly recommend the tour if your looking to learn Australian history. I suggest doing the tour the first or second day when getting to Brisbane. It will help you learn about the city and neighborhoods, and how to get & move around the city.read moreread less
- Allison26/11/2024This was the second tour we’ve done with Justin, and it did not disappoint. It was a fantastic way to meet some cool people, learn a little about Sydney, and explore hidden gems of bars that there’s no way I would have been able to find on my own. Would highly recommend!read moreread lessUnai26/11/2024I would have never discover this kind for bars on my own. So classy, so calm, and an amazing environment. I could recommend it for everyone visiting the city. For couples or big groups, or for people go want to have a great time and meet some please.
I was afraid it was going to be to much party and clubing. But just the opposite. I had a great time and meet some need people.
If i am back in Sydney, I will repeat the experienceread moreread less
- Ben Scott05/02/2023Awesome experience doing the Chinatown food tour today! Both my parents couldn’t stop raving about this experience and the food they would never of eaten plus the local art work we would have just walked past/ history of the area.
This was a great experience and could recommend this tour highly enough. As a Sydney sider I was gob smacked with how good the tour was! Definetly will be back for more tours! Thanks for the awesome hospitality Justin!read moreread less - Melis Akiz14/01/2020Aussie You’s Secret Bar Crawl covering the Darlinghurst and Surry Hills neighborhoods was easily the highlight of my time in Sydney! Justin took us to some really unique places and made sure that everyone in the group connected well that most of us chose to continue our night after the tour was completed. You should definitely try this tour and I promise you will not just have a blast but also enjoy a unique experience with a knowledgeable and caring guide that you will not forget.read moreread less
- Kate Chen14/12/2019Justin的bar crawl非常值得來參加!整個晚上就像是有個當地朋友帶你去只有當地人才知道的酒吧去玩,他選了風格不同且都很獨特的酒吧,是我們不會知道要去的地方。
Justin人非常友善及幽默風趣,讓你覺得很自在放鬆且有趣!
另外他中文説得也很不錯,所以不用擔心英文不夠好。很推薦參加Justin的bar crawl tour 完美體驗當地夜生活 :)
Justin’s bar crawl is so much fun! It’s like a local friend showing you around the coolest bars while you visit his city! He picked the bars that you would not go by yourselves and he is very friendly and fun to hang out with! Perfect for solo travelers to meet new friends and enjoy local night vibe! Highly recommended!read moreread lessBen Ridding11/12/20195 out of 5 stars. Joined the hidden bar tour after finding a flyer for AussieYou Tours in the hostel I was staying. Tour was great, got to see a completely different bar scene that you would just not find from google searches or normal research methods. Pretty sure that most Sydney residents would not be aware of some of the bars we went to. Justin was a fantastic host, as well as taking the group around cool bars he kept the group entertained with interesting history on Sydney and teaching us Aussie Slang. Would recommend this tour for anybody visiting Sydney and for Sydney residents who want to see a side to the city they might not have been before.read moreread less - Sarah Ann12/04/2019I went on Justin’s secret city bar crawl tour in Sydney with a friend. We had such an amazing time that we had to book the secret Surry Hills bar crawl as well! Both nights were exceptional and Justin is a really good host! The bars we went to were really cool and I definitely would not of stumbled across them!! I really do recommend going on these tours if you are in Sydney, you won’t be disappointed!read moreread less