India is a treat for anyone whose taste buds lead their travels. Every region offers a sense of flavour, history, aromas, and culture fused together through food. For your taste buds to get as much of a holiday as you do, this travel guide takes you through some of the best culinary tours and experiences.
For Indians, food is a part of who they are, it’s their identity. Spices speak stories, cooking is tradition, and meals are meant to celebrate. Every dish reflects geography, history, religion, trade, migration, and family, from dosa stands in the South to beachside seafood in Goa and slow-cooked Awadhi gravies in the Himalayas.
Here are some of the best culinary trips across India—mixing street-food trails, cooking classes, heritage meals, market visits, and immersive workshops.
Jaipur
Rajasthan has more than just deserts and palaces—it’s about fiery flavours, sweets and preserved foods. The local families in Jaipur host cooking classes to teach traditional Rajasthani dishes like dal baati churma, gatte ki sabzi, ker sangri, and seasonal local sweets. Some classes include a pre-cooking market tour to let you walk through vibrant bazaars, pick fresh produce and touch the textures.
Delhi
Delhi, especially Old Delhi, is a contrast of sights, sounds, and tastes. From paratha and chole at early morning stalls to kebabs dripping in spices, to jalebi- rabri as dessert, a food walk in delhi is a gift for your cravings. You may try iconic spots in Chandni Chowk or guided food-walks to discover hidden gems that locals love but tourists often miss.
Lucknow
Lucknow’s cuisine is the poetry of cooking whether its slow dum-cooked biryanis, galouti kebabs that melt in your mouth, sheermal, or simply delicate breads. It’s a place to join a culinary tour around Aminabad, Hazratganj or other old parts of the city to sample local classics.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is a treasure chest of flavour. Its cuisine is shaped by its royal past, the Nizams, and by centuries of mingling of Mughlai richness, Persian touches, and even Arab influences. Must-try local dishes include: Hyderabadi Biryani (the famed dum biryani), Haleem, Lukhmi, Pathar ka Gosht, Osmania Biscuits with Irani Chai, and desserts like double ka meetha and Khubaai ka meetha.
Kolkata
Very few places can even match Kolkata for how it balances sweet and savoury so intricately. From puchkas, spicy fish curries and kathi rolls, to Bengali sweets like rosogolla and mishti doi—every bite is a blend of colonial history, cultural layering, and sea air.
Mumbai
Mumbai’s food scene never sleeps. Evening and night tours bring you to street- food stalls, open-air stalls, local chai and vada pav joints, seafood corners, and markets. These tours are lively, energetic, full of flavours that juxtapose the fast life, the sea, the bustle of people commuting home. They show you how Indian food is not just heritage—it’s also daily, changing, alive.
With Travassa Travel Experts, your next food destination will be a culinary story. From the sizzling hot street-food stalls of Delhi to the refined Awadhi kitchens of Lucknow; from marketplaces bursting with spices in Jaipur to the coffee and sweets of Kolkata’s colonial lanes — every meal becomes a memory.
Let Travassa plan your food adventure in India. Taste history. Taste tradition. Taste the real India.
Q. When is the best time of day to do a food tour?
Early morning and evening are your best bets. Try to avoid mid-afternoon, especially in warm or humid weather, because food might have been sitting out, which increases the chance of spoilage.
Q. Can a vegetarian still enjoy multiple food options in culinary tours?
Yes, absolutely. Many parts of India have rich vegetarian traditions (especially in South India, parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, etc.). Even in places famous for meat or seafood, you’ll find lots of vegetarian dishes and sweets. You’ll still get a full flavour-filled experience without compromising your diet.
