• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Step into the colorful world of Singapore’s Peranakan culture on this locally guided walk through the charming neighborhoods of Joo Chiat and Katong. From pastel shophouses to hidden family stories, discover how the Peranakans shaped this vibrant part of the city — and still do.

Destination

Singapore

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, 中文, Melayu, Msa

Included

• Private Guide
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Entrance to Attractions

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 8 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at In front of Rumah Bebe - Singapore to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Peranakan Heritage

   Your history tour in Singapore will focus on Peranakan Heritage. Learn the impacts, insights and hear stories related to this historic event from your knowledgeable host. Discover the city as you retrace history and go in-depth on the effects this part of history has on Singapore

4. Historical Highlights

   Check out main landmarks related to the theme of your history tour and connect their relevance through fantastic stories and facts from your expert local host

5. Hidden Treasures

   During your tour, you’ll also uncover hidden gems that will show you a different perspective of history as you know it, something you can’t easily find in a history book!

6. Storytelling Journey

   As you discover the historical side of Singapore, you’ll be able to go back in time thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Francesco🇮🇹 Italy

(About local Sharon)

3 August 2025

Avendo poco tempo a disposizione abbiamo optato per una visita guidata di mezza giornata. Sharon è stata perfetta perché in poche ore ci ha dato un assaggio di questa bellissima città Mezza giornata a Singapore

Marianne

(About local Grayson)

31 July 2025

James🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Stefan)

31 July 2025

Enjoyable tour with Stefan. Temples, hdb tour and last remaining kampung visit. Good facts, questions answered and steady pace in hot weather. Nice to see a side to Singapore that is away from the shiny MBS and Singapore sling at the raffles hotel. A refreshing change

Cathy

(About local Marcus )

29 July 2025

We have just spent a wonderful afternoon being shown around various locations and tasting some wonderful food along the way (don't eat before you go !!!). Marcus was a fantastic host and really knows his stuff! We learnt so much about the history and culture of Singapore which we would never have done just wandering around ourselves. It also gave us a good grounding of where everything is so will be able to go back to the places again. Marcus was very considerate - making sure we were in the shade when we stopped, supplying us with drinks to keep us hydrated and tickets for the MRT. All in all a fantastic day - thank you Marcus!!! Fabulous food tasting day with Marcus

Lydia🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Grayson)

27 July 2025

Die Führung mit Grayson war super toll. Er hat uns das Alltagsleben eines Singaporers näher gebracht, verborgene Streetart gezeigt und als Highlight die Nation Gallery.Tolle Führung mit großartigen Highlights

Lydia🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Marcus )

27 July 2025

Die Führung mit Marcus war sehr informativ. Er wusste vieles zu erklären und erzählen, speziell im Buddha Tempel. Auch alle anderen Sehenswürdigkeiten.Interessante Tour

koen 🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Grayson)

25 July 2025

the perfect start to our Singapore trip Grayson is a top-notch guide. He takes his time to explain everything clearly and in detail, and we learned so much about Singapore thanks to him. It was 100% worth starting our city trip with his tour. I would absolutely book Grayson again – highly recommended!Outstanding guide

Timo🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Grayson)

25 July 2025

Grayson is a very knowledgeable guide, who is giving his absolute best for you to make the tour completely worth it: It is not too much information and not to little, just exactly right! We had an amazing 4 hours with the local Grayson. Thank you so much! 👍🏼🤩Fun and interesting Tour!

Sascha🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Jack Zhao)

24 July 2025

thank you so much Jack for your time and experience. it was such a great day and we will never forget the time with you...Highly recommend ... wonderful Guide

Maria🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jon)

21 July 2025

Jon was very accommodating. He included all the spots we requested based on our short transit time in SIN. Very informative and funny too!

Anna

(About local Joisse)

21 July 2025

Would highly recommend Joisse as a tour guide. She met us in our hotel lobby and took us to all the areas we requested and she had a really thorough knowledge of Singapore and its history. She was such a lovely person too - thank you Joisse!Great personalised tour with Joisse

Shirley 🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Monica)

19 July 2025

Ze laat je kennismaken met Singapore en zoekt koele routes waar mogelijk. Gezellig dame, die zegt dat je tenminste 10000 stappen zet en veel van de stad ziet.Vriendelijk, weet alles over de stad!

Jacqueline🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Grayson)

18 July 2025

Grayson was very informative and interesting. It was our first day in Singapore and the tour was a good start to getting to know the place. Very enjoyable!A good introduction to Singapore

Gregory🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Monica)

15 July 2025

Fantastic experience from start to finish - including booking. Could not find tour on website to book - emailed Monica and her quick reply enabled my booking to proceed - Yay Monica Ended up at wrong meeting point - messaged Monica and she came to our location - yay Monica Tour was for our 5 year old Granddaughter and was exactly what we wanted to introduce her to food and culture from other countries - including local food , markets etc - yay Monica Thank you again MonicaTasty Tour for Little Foodies

Laura🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Grayson)

13 July 2025

Grayson met us on time in the Arab quarter, where we had our first tastings. He selected traditional dishes that locals would choose. He explained how the dish came about and how they are prepared. Next stop was little India where we visited a Hawker center. On the way over there he explained some aspects of Singaporian life as public housing. The last stop was China town which we got to with the MRT. The food in Chinatown was really good and interesting. These were dishes that we wouldn’t have selected on our own. Overall great experience and glad we did it.Great Food Tour

Andy & Lisa

(About local Grayson)

11 July 2025

A fantastic experience, don’t eat before you go you will finish full! A Food Experience With Grayson

Rachelle🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Grayson)

10 July 2025

We had a really good and nice experience with Grayson. He showed us beautiful places where we wouldn’t have come if we had to go by ourself. Also Grayson learned us a lot about the history of Singapore. It was really nice!

Laura🇺🇸 United States

(About local Monica)

6 July 2025

Monica introduced us to so many Singaporean dishes that we would never have found on our own. Thank you, Monica, for a great food tour!A Singaporean feast

Robin🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Grayson)

5 July 2025

Even as Singaporeans, we enjoyed this tour by Grayson. He was helpful and quite a mine of information about our home town. Definitely recommended especially for visitors to the Lion City. Learning New Things About Singapore!

Anna🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Grayson)

5 July 2025

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour with Grayson. He was very knowledgeable, considerate and able to adapt to our large age range 7-75. After the trip we felt we had a good understanding of the history and how Singapore function todsyA great introduction to Singapore

Maura

(About local Grayson)

2 July 2025

We really enjoyed our tour with Grayson. We only had 36 hours in Singapore and got to see more of it than we ever would have on our own. The 3 areas we went to were fantastic and the history of Singapore was so interesting to hear. The food was great and again, we wouldn't have tasted these on our own. Many thanks.A lovely lunch out

Lori🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

30 June 2025

This tour was one of our Singapore highlights! We loved the diversity of the food and the three neighborhoods we visited. Grayson was well-organized and an effective communicator. We enjoyed his commentary on Singapore culture.Great Food, Great Guide

Lauren🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

29 June 2025

We had fun sampling different local, tasty foods. Grayson was thoughtful about accommodating our dietary restrictions. We also enjoyed learning about some of the history of Singapore and the Chinatown district. Delicious food tour

Peter🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

27 June 2025

Grayson was fantastic. vVery accommodating and very knowledgeable. It would be hard to imagine I better host and guide to the city! Top Notch!

Nathan🇺🇸 United States

(About local Monica)

24 June 2025

Monica was great in customising a great tour for us and for being flexible with our plans. She made sure we saw all of the highlights!Great flexible tour guide!

Mel🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Monica)

22 June 2025

My daughter and I organised it so that we had an overnight layover in Singapore before our next flight. Went with Monica in the morning to discover what we could in 4 hours! It was a really great experience. We had so much fun and saw so many things. She accommodated us with times and with a couple of places that we wanted to see as well. Would definitely recommend!Amazing experience

Susan and David🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Grayson)

21 June 2025

If we could give Grayson more than 10/10, we would. The food tour exceeded our expectations and we really enjoyed our morning with Grayson. He is a very pleasant unassuming man with a relaxed but professional personal style. Although, this tour has a focus on Singapore food, we learnt so much about life in Singapore, the cultures, and lots more. We really appreciated that he was happy to answer our questions. Susan has a hearing loss and really appreciated that Grayson was happy to use her remote microphone which fed his voice through to her hearing aids. This made it much easier for her. Thank you so very much Grayson. This tour with you was one of the best things we have done in Singapore. By the way, we really enjoyed the food tastings and the different environments that we visited to experience them.Exceeded 10/10

Aaron🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

17 June 2025

A big thank you to Grayson - he was organized, insightful, and engaging. We tried 10 different intriguing foods that you might not find in the guidebook. We walked through Arab Street, the Malay section and took the MRT to Chinatown. Along the way, Grayson gave us context for the food that we tasted along with the history of its introduction. As we walked, he gave us insights into Singaporean culture and politics that added to the experience. We were impressed by his depth of knowledge and appreciated him sharing his life experience. I would give him a 10 out of 10 and would recommend this to anyone visiting Singapore, ideally you might do it on your first day as Grayson was also full of suggestions that were very useful. Thank you! More than just food - insight into culture

Dave🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

14 June 2025

We had a fantastic afternoon with Grayson!Dave

Unknown

(About local Grayson)

14 June 2025

Daphene🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

12 June 2025

Grayson was very knowledgeable and well prepared for our tour of Singapore. He took us to some amazing sights. Grayson also selected some amazing foods that we might’ve have tried! Grayson was very kind! My husband had lots of questions. Grayson enjoyed explaining and digger in deeper into Singapore history! We learned a lot about and we are so happy we booked with locals. com! Because we were able to learn from a locals perspective!10

Tara

(About local Jack Zhao)

12 June 2025

Our family had a great time with Jack and we enjoyed the food. He is very knowledgeable. Gteat tour

bjcruikshank

(About local Grayson)

11 June 2025

Grayson was an incredibly helpful and informative guide. He not only showcased the food of three different areas well, but he gave us a fantastic insight into the history of each area and the culture of Singapore. We couldn’t think of a better way to get to know the city than this tour. Great food, brilliant insight to Singapore

Gene

(About local Marcus )

10 June 2025

Marcus lead us on a great food tour of Singapore. Very knowledgeable on the history and food. He was able to accommodate special food requests and select the best food options. Would recommend Marcus as a tour guide. Wonderful Guide

Rodney🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Jon)

10 June 2025

We had a great afternoon on a tour with Jon in Singapore. He was great with communication and very flexible. We had a really well thought out tour with a mix of history, Singapore now, highlights and how to get around. We would highly recommend Jon as a guide for you to get to know Singapore.Great Afternoon in Singapore

Jennifer🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

7 June 2025

Grayson’s tour is both informative and delicious. We learned things about Singapore that we would never have known on our own. We highly recommend it!Absolutely worth the time and money

Nathan🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Monica)

6 June 2025

Monica was really knowledgeable and really patient with the children!Great Guide

john

(About local Marcus )

4 June 2025

History..food choices...sites... Marcus was very versed in facts and figures about Singapore!Informed guide

Linda🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Monica)

3 June 2025

Monica picked me up at the hotel and showed me a side of Singapore that many tourists don’t see from the singing birds to the original village and local shopping areas. She was so considerate and aware of how hot it was for me that we popped into air conditioned places. So interesting to hear her personal life. A non tourist experience

Ryad🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

(About local Grayson)

29 May 2025

Thank you Grayson for this excellent tour!Top tour!

Lara🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Grayson)

28 May 2025

We had a great food tour with Grayson. In addition to being knowledgeable about the food, he shared lots of good information about Singapore and the history of the area. The foods he chose for us to sample were delicious and he provided a wide range of new flavours for us to try. He was great company all day and I would recommend him to anyone looking for a tour!Top-notch Food Tour

Annabel 🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Monica)

28 May 2025

I had an amazing experience thanks to Monica. She is friendly, passionate, knowledgeable, and considerate. The perfect guide. Highly Recommend!

Emily🇺🇸 United States

(About local Grayson)

26 May 2025

My friend and I had a private tour of the hawker centres in Kampong Glam, Little India and Chinatown arranged within a day's notice. We had great food and lots of insights into both historical and modern Singapore. Grayson was kind, funny, considerate and so knowledgeable. This was the highlight of our trip.Wonderful afternoon, wonderful host!

Makaylaa

(About local Grayson)

20 May 2025

Grayson was very attentive, professional, and shared lots of information points throughout our tour. He promptly guided us to many different food areas and we sampled Indian, Malaysian, and Chinese dishes. There is a bit of walking involved, so I would recommend bringing a fan and/or an umbrella to cool down. All of the places we stopped to eat at did not have aircon, so just be prepared for the hot weather. Grayson noticed we were thirsty and led us to a nearby 7-11 to hydrate, as well. Grayson also went into more detail about the history of each area we visited and answered all of our many questions about housing, daily life, and more in Singapore. I would definitely recommend this tour with Grayson for anyone looking for an insider view of the city. And to enjoy a variety of delicious treats!Great food with Grayson!

Ulrike

(About local Jack Zhao)

19 May 2025

Jack adjusted the tour to my wishes which was great, I saw a lot and he also extended the schedule. Unfortunately he was quite unfriendly and not in the right mood. Sometimes he weren't listening and didn't answer my questions or in a complete different context and kind of arrogant. Sorry to say that, but I didn't feel welcome. Highlights of Singapur

Christin

(About local Marcus )

12 May 2025

If you want to see a lot of the city, experience great food and interesting culture while learning about Singapore, this is the tour for you. Marcus was a great guide and took us to three major areas of Singapore. He is very knowledgeable about the city, culture, food and history. We learned how to ride the MRT subway system also. I would highly recommend Marcus and this tour to start your Singapore journey!Great tour to experience Singapore!

Sue

(About local Grayson)

9 May 2025

Grayson was a wonderful host as well as trying many food samples he also explained the history of Singapore to us as we went. Having a private tour was great as we were able to stop along the way as well as ask many questions. Highly recommend Grayson as a guide.Great walking tour

Unknown

(About local Grayson)

7 May 2025

Learned a lot about food as well as about old and new Singapore. Grayson knows lots about everything !As promised!

Martyn

(About local Grayson)

2 May 2025

Grayson was a great guide. We were very happy that not only did he give us such a thorough and interesting food tour, but added so much extra historical facts and information too. We really enjoyed our time with him. Thoroughly recommend him!

Kirsti🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Grayson)

2 May 2025

Great few hours learning about the city’s food and cultural scene. Grayson really took on board what our interests were and based the tour around that which was excellent! Highly recommend. Perfrct intro to Singapore