The 10 Tastings of Kandy With Locals: Private Street Food Tour
Badge of Excellence
Kandy, Sri Lanka
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Kandy’s rich offering of cuisines can make it difficult to know where to start exploring the local food scene. This private and personalized Kandy food tour removes the guesswork by taking you straight to the places that locals love to go: try new markets, fresh ingredients, and natural juices that are sure to please. In between, you'll tick off Kandy highlights such as Bogambara Prison, the Bogambara Cultural Center, and more. 10 tastings are included, so be sure to come hungry.
- Take a Kandy food tour with private local host for just your group
- Cut through the chaos of a local market by going with a guide
- Try uncommon fruits, take part in tea time, and sample street food
- Skip the group tours and explore at your own pace on a more personal tour
What's Included
- Private Tour
- Local Guide
- 10 Food & Drinks Tastings - Kindly note that alcohol is not served in Kandy on full-moon days
- Vegetarian alternatives
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 36 Sri Dalada Veediya, Kandy 20000, Sri Lanka
In front of the Bake House café in Kandy City Center.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Municipal Central Market - Kandy
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Bogambara Prison
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Kandy Lake
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Cross Street (Pass By)
Balaji Dosai (Pass By)
Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Private tour: only you & your local guide
- Includes city highlights in between food stops
- Alternatives offered for those with dietary restrictions
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.5
based on 85 reviews
Susan_O, Feb 2025
Omir (our guide) was great. We learned about the different foods and the Sri Lanka culture. You definitely need to come hungry!
Stephanie_H, Nov 2024
. Chandana, is a lovely, gentle, well spoken man. Very clean and smart, speaks excellent English and is not pushy. The very first eating place was The Bake House. The food was delicious. We had to stop eating, to save ourselves for the next corses. We walked around the centre of Kandy, chatting to Chandana, about the area, food, and general thinks of the country. It was very relaxed and a great experience. Chandana was very helpful and a pleasure to be with. We can recommend his tours.
Dianne_B, Aug 2024
We loved the amount of different tastes, like all kinds of fruits, sweets and snacks. It was a pity that we didn't go to the Boeddha statue and weren't given much of historical and cultural information, but it's been a good way to quickly explore Sri Lankan flavours at local sites and Umar is a kind guide who offers lots of tastings.
Laura_V, Jul 2024
It was totally worth the money!
Nice guide & very nice food. If you want to try the real srilankan food, you have to do this tour.
You also get a little info about the city 🫶
Thank you very much Buddhima 🫶
Nick_A, Apr 2024
Our family of 4 saw the sights of central Kandy while touring thru the markets and food stalls, ending in a very authentic local restraunt. Delicious food, and no belly aches over the following days! We enjoyed getting to know our guide Umair and his passion for travel. Cheers, Nick, Prue, Millie and Finn.
Tracey_H, Jan 2024
Very disappointed. We booked this tour off the recommendations. Our guide met us and immediately rushed us off to a fruit and veg market. We sampled lovely fruit. However our guide was preoccupied and on his phone permanently. Another man turned up to assist and we proceeded quickly to our next stop. They both stood over us while we ate seemingly in a hurry. There was no information on food or history of Kandy. We were then offered a short cut to our last stop where we were given a chicken curry. Wed all ready informed the company at the time of booking that we were vegetarian. We were told to pick the chicken out of the curry. Thst meal lasted 10 minutes snd we were then told they eere leaving. They waited for a tip which of course we didn’t give and they left. The whole tour took 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Lydia_D, Dec 2023
I’d heard such great reviews about this tour so was really excited. Instead was left as a solo traveler to get hasseled on the street and the tour guide didn’t turn up, after half an hour I left.
Response from Host, Jan 2024
Dear Lydia,
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced during The 10 Tastings of Kandy With Locals: Private Street Food Tour. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, and we are genuinely sorry that your expectations were not met.
Please rest assured that we take this matter seriously, and we will investigate the circumstances surrounding the absence of the tour guide and the hassle you encountered. This falls short of our commitment to providing private sustainable tours with personalized experiences.
We understand the importance of your time and the disappointment this situation may have caused. Our team is dedicated to addressing and resolving this issue promptly to prevent such incidents in the future.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we appreciate your understanding as we work to improve our services.
Best regards,
Withlocals team
Selwyn_P, Nov 2023
I have complained 3 times to Viator, and they have never responded. The Experience I had was:
The 10 Tastings of Kandy With Locals: Private Street Food Tour
Right through the time the local guide was with us he was either on his phone or talking to someone who was shadowing him. He made no attempt to engage with us, tell us what to expect, what the program would be or enquire about our expectations.
He took us to a fruit market stall, gave the owner a few rupees, and in return, the owner gave us 3 fruits to try, that we had already eaten before. He then took us to a public eating food place, told us to sit, and got us 4 small little bites of food, which were frankly not cooked well. This was NOT street food. He never even offered us a drink. At no time did he explain what we were given until we asked. He was totally pre occupied, and did not want to be there.
The following is what we expected as detailed on your website, and under each item I have detailed our experience in RED:
What To Expect 1 Kandy Municipal Central Market Fruity Flavors: Find your first tasting on the Kandy market, the perfect place to see the life of the locals and also the best spot to try some delicious local fruits Open Sesame: YES BUT NOTHING DIFFERENT, MANGOES, BANANAS AND GRAPES.
What better way to satisfy your sweet tooth than by enjoying some Sri Lankan candy, which is known to be a healthy sweetmeat containing sesame seeds and jaggery Buffalo Curd: Try some buffalo curd, a thick and smooth snack that’s perfectly complemented with a special sweet syrup and served on a clay cup - it is simply divine! 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
2 Bogambara Cultural Center Buddha Statue: Follow your host to this giant statue, rising from a hill and built in 1972. The locals have several stories about the statue, and how it came to be 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
3 Bogambara Prison Prison Break: While making your way to the next delicious tasting, pass by this historical spot of which your local host will tell you the story behind, including the colonial architecture 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
WAS NOT PROVIDED
4 Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe Mawatha Food Project: Enjoy 3 tastings of Hela Bojun from wade (fried dumplings) to cutlets, stuffed with fish and potato, and dosa, a pancake made from rice and black gram, while discovering more about this empowering movement 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
THE ABOVE FOODS WERE NOT PROVIDED. INSTEAD WE WERE GIVEN SOME DRIED SNACKS AND A SAMOSA THAT WAS DRY AND TASTLESS.
5 Kandy Lake Amazing Viewpoint: Join your local to this breathtaking viewpoint over the lake, where it’s optional for you to take a ride in one of the Joy Boats! 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
6 Colombo Street Delicious Chips: Taste some cassava chips, renowned for its ability to survive extreme droughts, and thrive in rainy conditions. It’s a delicious substitute for potatoes and the locals love it 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
7 Cross Street Roti Time: Take a bite out of this signature food, made with chicken or veggies that started out as a street food favored by the locals and is now served in local restaurants 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
8 Balaji Dosai King Coconut: This famous drink is the water contained in a variety of bright orange-colored coconuts, and is indigenous to the tropical island of Sri Lanka. It’s refreshing, healthy and delicious! 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
9 Mlesna Tea Centre Cozy Tea: Take a sip of the famous Ceylon tea, which is the number 1 tea around the world. The tea production of Sri Lanka is one of the main income sources of the country! 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
10 Bahiravokanda Vihara Bu
ddha Statue Steep stairs lead to hilltop views from this Buddhist place of worship with a souvenir shop. 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
WAS NOT PROVIDED
I would like a full refund please. This local tour guideis on the take. He did as little as possible, did not spend more than $10, was totally uninterested in being with us, spent a lot of his time on the phone,(I have pictures to prove this), was talking to someone shadowing us when he was not on the phone. Did not provide most of the experiences above that we so looked forward to. This was the only Local Tour Guide we chose to do on our travels after this experience.
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Dear Selvyn,
We sincerely apologize for the disappointing experience you had during the private Kandy food tour. Your detailed feedback is invaluable in helping us address this matter effectively.
To investigate and resolve this issue, could you please provide your booking ID? Sharing this information directly with us via email at info@withlocals.com will assist us in understanding the specifics of your tour and taking appropriate actions.
We genuinely regret the discrepancies between the expected and actual experiences, and we are committed to rectifying the situation. Your satisfaction is our priority, and we appreciate your patience as we work towards a resolution.
Thank you for your cooperation, and we look forward to resolving this matter promptly.
Best regards,
Withlocals team
Nicolle_W, Jun 2023
Such a good food tour. It was amazing to try all new things, really enjoy the local fruits and getting to experience the market! Definitely recommend!
Alfonso_V, May 2022
We enjoyed the tour with Umair but we found it too expensive for the incredibly cheap prices that the local food has in Sri lanka (we paid 44 euros and a local lunch costs around 6 euros with beverage).
He took us to the market to try all the fruits, the sweets and to smell the spices. Afterwards, we ate a local crepe-like lunch. We missed the hopper because it was closed due to the petrol crisis of the country. 2h in total.
Umair was a nice tour guide, answered our questions, but we were expecting some historical background from the tour description.
Response from Host, May 2022
Hi there, my name is Lieke from Withlocals and I am part of the quality and support team. At Withlocals we want our guests to have the best experience of their trip so we are very disappointed to find out about your negative tour experience. As we cannot directly get in touch with you from here, please email us at info@withlocals.com and we will make sure to follow up on this issue.
We are looking forward to your email. Thank you and please accept our apology on behalf of Withlocals.
Have a great day,
Lieke | Withlocals
olliver_j, Mar 2020
Thanks for a great tour.
Showed some great Sri Lanka specialties and food markets.
I would recommend this to my friends.
Annina_H, Jan 2026
The food tour with Rasheed was super informative. He is a native of Kandy and was able to explain a lot about the city and the food. We tried many different specialties and you should definitely come hungry.
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Freek_S, Sep 2025
150 euros (176,000 LKR) for four street food snacks and a stop at an old local snack bar. That's ridiculous. The guide does his best and was super but probably goes home with a few rupees, while Viator misleads the place here. This is just a scam. NEVER BOOK
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Response from Host, Sep 2025
Dear Freek,
Thank you for your feedback.
I’m glad to hear you appreciated the effort of your guide, though I regret you felt the experience did not deliver the value you expected.
I do want to clarify one important point: guides on our platform are fairly compensated, as we are committed to supporting our local partners and ensuring their work is rewarded properly.
That said, your comments about the food variety and overall value are taken seriously. We will review the experience with our local team to make sure the tastings and presentation better reflect the price and give guests a clear understanding of what is included.
We appreciate you sharing your perspective, as it helps us improve both transparency and quality for future guests.
Kind regards,
The Withlocals Team
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