As a Scottsdale resident, I thought I knew a little bit about Old Town... but we were looking for…read moresomething a little bit different for my mom's 89th birthday, and by far our favorite activity was Sam's walking tour. Sam's knowledge of local history along with all the current goings on is unsurpassed. She is delightful, well liked by everyone in town (look for lots of shout outs during your tour) and can advise you on everything to do during your stay in Scottsdale, whether you are local or a visitor! Highly recommend!

What a privilege and delight to take this walking tour led by a former mayor of Scottsdale! Sam…read morewas so knowledgeable-- little wonder -- she's been the mayor. Lots of personal insights. Go and enjoy!!

Super guide. Loved sightseeing. Can't go wrong taking this tour. Great mix of old and new.read more

We did the ghost tour on Saturday night and it was really great! We got to learn about many…read morebuildings around downtown Phoenix and even got to go into a speakeasy! How cool! Our guide was funny and informative and very entertaining! Will definitely be looking to go on another tour with them soon!

Amazing downtown Phoenix experience with so much history that isn't talked about enough in this…read morecity! Great tour even better people working it!

I got my exercise, fun solo night out, facts about the town and learned how to use some ghost…read morehunting instruments for fun! Valentina hosted and we walked around a couple of blocks and learned about some very important buildings and its history from old to restored and renovated. We also did some readings on her instruments and confirmed some spooky activities! Although you have to be careful not to use your phone next to the devices. One cool thing I've discovered is a speakeasy that was behind a large hotel in a corner alley and how people from different Midwest states like Illinois for one example would come in and buy buildings and a lot of land. Some buildings were owned by women who were successful and now haunted....!

courtney is absolutely amazing! gave an amazing history to jerome and was so respectful to…read morecustomers but most importantly the spirits! 10/10 i would recommend this to anyone!

What a joke! $45 walk a short distance over a long period of time, with only a few stories and…read morelittle to see. But, we did get to carry a phony electronic ghost buster device. I least expected a decent tour of town and some history. Standing around listening to walkie talkie static pretending to be a ghost?????

The Old Town Scottsdale food tour was fun and delicious! Tour guide Zach took us to four…read moreestablishments in the historic district: 1. Bootleggers, where we were served kale salad, brisket nachos and apple pie moonshine. 2. The Mission, where we were served pork tacos and a spicy elote. 3. Wine Collective, where we sampled 3 wines and snacked on charcuterie. 4. Cimmino's, where we had our choice of several flavors of gelato -- and the ingredients were imported from Italy! Each stop featured a unique atmosphere and tasty food. I really appreciated their ability to accommodate dietary restrictions -- because I don't eat red meat, I was provided with two smoked turkey tacos in place of brisket nachos, and with chicken tacos in place of pork tacos. This was a huge plus for me! We spent about half an hour at each establishment before walking to the next. As we traveled, Zach shared some fun facts about the area's history. I left with a satisfied tummy and some great new memories.

I went on Arizona Food Tours Scottsdale tour with a group on a private tour…read more I have been on many food tours all over the county and world. I generally hate giving a food tour three stars and really struggled with this review.. I decided to give three stars based on variety, value and authenticity. The food felt like a repeat of the same thing over and over again outside of a weird radish finger food and gelato at the end. The repeat tacos and/or nachos are basically cheap junk food that you can get anywhere and $100+ for a tour does not sit well with me when you are only served a few tacos and corn. Lastly, I just don't think Scottsdale has a unique culinary scene outside of pulled meat and tacos, which just doesn't get me that excited. There just is not much for them to do on a food tour in Old town Scottsdale so they did what they could. I always recommend a food tour in a new city and still recommend this one if you need to fill time but it was one of my least favorite tours unfortunately.

The tour was worth the five year wait/lottery! We had a wonderful docent and received a fantastic…read moretour of Tovrea Castle which was superb in every way possible. I have lived in Arizona, specifically the Phoenix area, for most of my life and have driven by Tovrea Castle thousands of times. It was so cool to be able to walk the grounds and get a peek inside. I would highly suggest entering the lottery, it's free and some people have better luck than I did and can get in sooner than 5 years. This was an insightful tour mixed with great storytelling and history. The basement with all the artifacts of the family and learning more about the area makes me proud to be a part of Arizona! Worth the visit!

If you live in the Valley it's highly likely that you have driven by this place. From the 202 fwy…read moreyou can easily see it. I often wondered what is that building? Finally after passing it so many times I was curious enough to look it up. I googled "cake shaped building PHX" and it was the first result. "Tovrea (said tov-ree) Castle aka A jewel in the Sonoran desert" Since 2010 the City of Phoenix purchased, renovated, and opened it for tours. The very abbreviated story with this place is that some homesteaders from the early 1900s owned the land, sold 277 acres to a wealthy Italian man. Alessio Carraro had built a fortune in the sheet metal business in the 1920s from San Fran. He planned to build a hotel resort surrounded by a housing subdivision on 277 acres, Carraro Heights. The castle was built near the timing of when the Great Depression set in. Carraro wanted out, he sold the castle and some amount of acreage (for a fraction of his investment) to Della Tovrea, wife of cattle baron E.A. Tovrea. She lived there until her tragic death in 1969. Nearby is the Stockyard Restaurant, built by E.A.'s son so cattlemen had somewhere to eat near the stockyards. That restaurant still exists today. I plan to check it out. If you want more details and full story, go take the tour :) however tickets are not easy to come by. Tours sell out many months in advance and they started using a lottery system. I bought my tickets months ago. However worth a try to go. I wouldn't say its the most amazing thing I've ever seen and the use of the word "castle" is a stretch. I've been inside some real castles in US and Europe, however it's interesting and a fun thing to do and it satisfied my curiosity! :) Per their website- The Ticket Lottery for Fall 2022 Tickets has ended and all tickets have been distributed - look for last minute cancellation tickets. Ticket Lottery for Spring 2023 Regular Tours closed on October 15, 2022 and Winners will be notified via email starting November 1, 2022. https://tovreacastletours.com

Amazing location ! So much more than just a horseback ride. The town was a blast and Cowboy Bob our…read moreguide was a good time and wealth of information. Highly recommend

Our guide Rusty was fantastic, super knowledgeable about the desert and very entertaining in the…read moreold western town.

Amazing super fun take on escape rooms! I have never heard of something like this and Charlie our…read moreguide was super funny and amazing with me and my girlfriend! Overall would go again and recommend to anyone!

My group had so much fun driving through Old Town Scottsdale and solving puzzles. Our driver was…read morefun and helped us along the way. It was a great way to see Arizona and be off our phones.

Loved Jared's guide style! He is so fun, funny, and entertaining, so knowledgeable, and so…read moreaccommodating! We learned a lot about history and had a ton of fun, meeting new people along the way. Looking forward to the holiday light tour

My friends and I went on the Murder & Mystery True Crime Tour with Jarod, and it was phenomenal. If…read moreyou have locals or visitors on your tour, you will learn some Phoenix history and be entertained. The Winnie Ruth Judd murder house was my highlight of the tour. I've read multiple books on the case, and I still learned so much! Highly recommended for the authenticity, research, and storytelling. This is the tour you want to go on in Phoenix. Accept no substitutes.

It was the Felch House and it's front lawn chess set that had caught my eye about eight months ago…read more Then, the whole tree-lined street of Lynwood seemed to suck us in as we'd just done to our breakfasts. (Vovomeena) For a leisurely after-breakfast walk, we went. We admired the grassy front lawns (many "newer" suburban communities don't allow grass in the front lawn) and the architecture of the homes (bungalows mostly) as well as the mature trees and landscaping. Then, just a couple days ago, it happened again. Lynwood is one nice street down which to take a stroll and check out the architecture. And it was then that I learned that this area is designated "The Historic Roosevelt Neighborhood" which is the area from McDowell to VanBuren and from Central to 7th Avenue. it's a series of neighborhoods that grew North of Phoenix between 1893 and 1930. Lynwood St is actually located in an overlap with historic area: "The FQ Story Neighborhood Historic District" which spans from McDowell south to Roosevelt Street and from 7th Ave west to Grand. I'd thought I'd noticed, too, as we'd driven by one of the homes..that there was a white box affixed to a tree. Christmastime...letters to Santa maybe? or maybe the home had a special historical designation...? The joy of discovery. Simple stuff. It wasn't either of those. Note: There's an annual home tour in early November "Historic Roosevelt Home Tour" If you feel like you want to keep walking/sightseeing - check out the nearby "Japanese Friendship Garden" at Portland and 3rd Ave...(there is an admission fee.)