Best Middle East Food Tours 2024/2025

Feast on history, culture and seriously delicious food in the Middle East.

From hearty shakshuka and fresh sabich in Israel and the Palestinian Territories to tasty tagine, couscous and pastilla in Morocco, Middle Eastern food is loaded with flavor and made with love. With a local leader by your side, discover crunchy falafels from famous street vendors and learn the secrets of age-old family hummus recipes. Enjoy the ancient ritual of sipping Turkish coffee on a Turkey trip, tuck into zarb (a traditional Bedouin barbeque) under the starry Wadi Rum skies, or enjoy a mezze-style breakfast with a Jordanian shepherd. For these trips, ‘food tour’ doesn’t quite cut it. These are foodie adventures for the culinarily curious.

Our food tours in the Middle East

Morocco Real Food Adventure

12 Days From 990

Lift the lid on local cuisine on a 12-day food adventure through Morocco, taking in...

View Trip

Jordan Real Food Adventure

6 Days From 1161

Discover diverse heritage and delicious dishes on a 6-day food-focused journey through...

View Trip

Jordan, Israel & the Palestinian Territories Real Food Adventure

14 Days From 3868

Discover the authentic flavours of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories on...

View Trip

Israel & the Palestinian Territories Real Food Adventure

9 Days From 2542

Discover the diverse dishes of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, tasting sabich...

View Trip

Tailor-Made trips

Take four or more on an exclusive trip and tailor your itinerary

Learn More

Middle Eastern food highlights

People making tagine at a cooking class in M'Goun Valley in Morocco

Morocco – tagine

These stews slow-cooked under a cone-shaped lid are the pride and joy of Berber and Moroccan cuisine. There are endless variations, but chicken, olive and citrus is a well-known favourite, as is lamb or beef with prunes, fish with chermoula, and chicken with apricot. It's almost always served with khobz, or Middle Eastern flatbread, to mop up all the sauce.

A street vendor making falafels in Bethlehem in Isreal

Israel and the Palestinian Territories – falafel

Considered to be Israel’s national dish, these balls of deliciousness (made with ground chickpeas, herbs and spices) are a must-try plant-based dish. They’re usually served on a platter or in a warm pita pocket filled with pickled vegetables, crunchy cabbage salad and generous lashings of creamy tahini sauce.

An Intrepid group feasting on maqluba after a cooking class

Jordan – maqluba

Meaning “upside down” in Arabic, maqluba is made in a big pot over a low fire with meat, potatoes and veggies at the bottom, and rice at the top. Once everything is cooked and all the flavours merge together, the pot is flipped onto a big plate and garnished with nuts, fresh herbs and lemon wedges. It looks amazing and tastes even better.

Reviews

Why choose Intrepid

Real, authentic experiences

We love the highlights, but for us the real magic is found off the tourist trails. Our trips combine iconic sites with hidden gems that you’ll only discover with Intrepid. We’re talking mornings exploring the Taj Mahal, followed by a Mughlai cooking class with a passionate home cook.

Local expertise

Whether you’re perusing markets, hunting down the best street food bites or learning how to cook centuries-old family recipes at a homestay, there’s no better way to get the inside scoop on a destination – and its culinary traditions – than with an expert local leader by your side.

Small groups

Big coaches and flag-toting tour guides don’t cut it for us. With a maximum group size of 12, our groups blend in with the locals and have plenty of opportunities to interact with chefs, street food vendors and group leaders. It also means you can really connect with your fellow foodies.