Tours and Tickets
Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD
4.5
LIKELY TO SELL OUT*

Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD

By Drinking History Tours
About
from
AU$89.00
per adult
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 18-80, max of 10 per group
Duration: 3h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More


  • Photos of your tour (free upon request)
  • Map of Melbourne's best bars (free upon request)
  • Professional guide
  • GST (Goods and Services Tax)
  • Entry/Admission - Queen Victoria Market
What's not included
  • Gratuities
  • Alcoholic Beverages
  • Entry/Admission - Old Melbourne Gaol


Departure details
  • Market Espresso & Trolley Hire, Queen Victoria Market, 513 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Meet us outside L Shed, corner of String Bean Alley and Queen St, inside the Queen Victoria Markets (between L Shed and the toilet block!).
Return details
  • Fed Square, Swanston St & Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Fed Square, Swanston St & Flinders St in Melbourne

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 60067P6

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Not recommended for pregnant travellers
  • Minimum age is 18 years
  • Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities
  • Dress code is casual!
  • Most travellers can participate
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travellers

  • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

Which attractions will I visit with Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD?
How much is Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD?
Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD price starts from AU$90.73. Discover and book Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD on Tripadvisor
What is the Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD cancellation policy?
Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD cancellation policy: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Discover and book Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD on Tripadvisor
Which company provides Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD?
Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD is hosted by Drinking History Tours. Read reviews, discover additonal experiences or contact Drinking History Tours on Tripadvisor. Discover and book Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD on Tripadvisor

If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 60067P6

Reserve your spot
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

Similar experiences

Itinerary
  • You'll start at
    Market Espresso & Trolley Hire
    Queen Victoria Market, 513 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
    Meet us outside L Shed, corner of String Bean Alley and Queen St, inside the Queen Victoria Markets (between L Shed and the toilet block!).
    See address & details
  • 1
    Queen Victoria Market
    Stop: 40 minutes - Admission included
    See details
  • 2
    The Oxford Scholar
    Stop: 5 minutes
    See details
  • 3
    Old Melbourne Gaol
    Stop: 10 minutes - Admission excluded
    See details
  • 4
    Chinatown Melbourne
    Stop: 40 minutes
    See details
  • 5
    Southern Cross Lane
    Stop: 5 minutes
    See details
  • 6
    Pink Alley
    Stop: 5 minutes
    See details
  • 7
    The Capitol
    Stop: 5 minutes
    See details
  • 8
    Hosier Lane
    Stop: 5 minutes
    See details
  • 9
    Federation Square
    Stop: 5 minutes
    See details
  • You'll end at
    Fed Square
    Swanston St & Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
    Fed Square, Swanston St & Flinders St in Melbourne
    See address & details
+
About the operator
Drinking History Tours
292
Australia
Joined in October 2017

#5 of 198 Nightlife in Melbourne
  • David J
    David J
    0
    0
    Great tour of Melbourne sights!
    Great tour, some places I’d never been before even though I live in Melbourne. The tour operator Tom was great, had a good engagement with each of the people on the tour. Would definitely recommend.
  • Y1893DAkeithv
    Y1893DAkeithv
    0
    0
    Cocktails and Exceptional Bars
    We experienced the Secret Bars and Laneway Legends tour and it was fantastic. Our tour guide Michael was very knowledgeable and managed our time without rush. Great cocktails. Highly recommend!
  • Trace L
    Trace L
    0
    0
    👏👏 Do it, you know you want to
    We loved this tour. As Victorians, it was a lovely reminder to explore your own backyard. There are so many wonderful hidden treasures that we never would have found on our own. Shout out to Micheal, our tour guide. We loved his stories and professional engagement with the group. Highly recommend this tour and Micheal.
  • J2938FBjb
    J2938FBjb
    0
    0
    Awesome tour
    Awesome tour ! Our guide Tom was super nice and very friendly. He knows some much stuff about Melbourne ! The hidden bars are the best thing about this tour because the drinks delicious.
  • robfsalop
    robfsalop
    0
    0
    Tom is a great tour guide!
    Tom was a great tour guide! He shared a wealth of knowledge with us and was very personable. 10/10, highly recommend this your for getting to know Melbourne better.
  • Nic W
    Nic W
    0
    0
    Tom is great
    Throughly enjoyed our tour with Tom- very informative, loved learning about the history of melbourne and found the backstories of certain streets and bars really intresting. The bars that were recommended were very fun with aspects of secrecy and good drinks
  • Michelle H
    Michelle H
    0
    0
    A fun tour of Melbourne’s laneways and bars.
    A great 3 hour tour of Melbourne bars and history. Three excellent bars - hidden bar, rooftop bar and gin distillery. Tom was an engaging, informative and entertaining guide.
  • Paul H
    Paul H
    0
    0
    Laughs and Drinks in Melbourne
    Excellent history and drinking tour of Melbourne. Have lived in Melbourne most of my life and still learnt so much and saw parts Ive never noticed before. Brilliant guided tour with Alda who made sure we all had a great time exploring the hidden laneways full of creepy stories. We also stayed hydrated in some great bars along the way. Bravo Alda!! Highly recommended..
  • A918IMcraigb
    A918IMcraigb
    0
    0
    Drinking and history tours of old Melbourne town
    The tour started around 3.30 pm after some very ordinary Victorian weather. We meet Alda outside the Transport bar and we all introduce ourselves to each other. It was a cool breeze blowing so Alda wasn’t no time starting our Drinking and History tour. The cocktails hit mark every time and the venues were amazing, the History and knowledge that Alda showed was brilliant and we will be back to do this again. Highly recommend. Alda did an amazing tour. Well done Benno this was a brilliant idea. Craig & Tonia from Tasmania 🍸🍸
  • Happycampers4v
    Happycampers4v
    0
    0
    Whiskey and Gin History tour
    I was on this tour with a friend for his birthday present. The tour guide was very informative and had lots of information about the history of Melbourne distilleries. We went to 3 bars and although everyone on the tour were whiskey lovers we had more Gin than Whiskey. I was a bit disappointed as we thought we were getting a whiskey tour. If you like Gin this is definatley the tour for you.
  • jodybrat
    jodybrat
    0
    0
    A great day out, despite Melbourne weather!
    So much fun! Tim did a great job of managing a walking tour on a very rain Melbourne day, the information and stories were great, even know we live in Melbourne we learned a lot! The bars were great and it’s nice to see so much of the city that’s otherwise hidden Definitely recommend
  • 929pedro
    929pedro
    0
    0
    Fantastic experience. Interesting and entertaining
    It was a cold night, but that didn't matter. We enjoyed the walk, the stories, the bars and the drinks. Although we've lived in Melbourne for many years, we got to see a side we hadn't experienced before, and that was great.
  • leatwell2023
    leatwell2023
    0
    0
    Eye opener
    The night was fun. Full of laughs with enough information about the cities history. So exciting discovering hidden bars with fabulous cocktails. Great crowd to enjoy it with. Our host was fantastic, knowledgeable and fun. Def a must to do in the city. I am still waiting for the promised photos.
  • SDMcHenry
    SDMcHenry
    0
    0
    Fascinating Tour
    Lenny was fun, energetic & knowledgeable. This is a terrific way to see Melbourne & enjoy some wonderful yummy cocktails from bars you might otherwise walk past. We learnt some great history about Melbourne we didn't know. Highly recommend booking a tour. Wear your walking shoes.
  • 173glendaq
    173glendaq
    0
    0
    Spooky tales and great cocktails, what more could you wish for
    Awesome experience! Our guide was so knowledgeable and funny! We would definitely do it again!! So much we didn’t know about our own city!
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
45 reviews
Excellent
37
Very good
3
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
2

Tom F
1 contribution
Oct. 2022 • Friends
I did the tour with a friend of mine as we saw really good reviews for it and both enjoy learning about a new city and having a pint. We were meant to be on the normal history tour but they couldn't get the minimum amount of people. We agreed to go on the creepy tour with a generous 10% off.

The tour consisted of 3 bars over the course of 3 hours. The service in in the first 2 bars were extremely slow to the point the guide made a comment about it. The bar tender in the second bar was also quite rude to my friend. She didn't believe he was on the tour even though he stated he was and she tried to charge him for the drink. Once the guide came up to clarify, she blamed him saying that he didn't say he was on the tour and ignored his drink request for quite awhile. This forced us to down our drinks again after the slow service from the first bar.

The other issue was the weather. It was raining really badly throughout the tour and although my friend and I had jackets, other members of the tour did not. The weather was so bad that my friend and I thought of abandoning the tour and just finding a local bar to get shelter.

I believe that the guide should have read the room alittle and found a local bar to shelter in. We would have been happy to pay for our own drinks and listen to her talk. Spending nearly £80 pounds each, I would have thought there would have been abit more than 3 drinks in total for the tour and that the guide would have seen that the tour was not viable in such weather and abandoned it.
Written 16 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hi there Tom, thanks for taking the time to leave a review, and its disappointing to hear the tour didn't live up to our lofty expectations. I thought I'd take the chance to address a few points in your review. Firstly on the weather. Needless to say we don't control what mighty Zeus throws at us, but it's worth clarifying that as much as possible, we avoid abandoning tours due to weather (unless its putting people in jeopardy). The guide on the day made the call that while the weather was bad it was worth pressing on; in any case, the worst of the weather hit later in the tour, not near the beginning, so it hardly felt worthwhile to finish early given the tour was close to concluding. Secondly, the tour inclusions. We do make it pretty clear what the tour includes (a beer, wine or cocktail per bar).Of course its much more than a bar crawl, including history, interesting stops, photos, partner discounts etc. But I'm sorry if this wasn't clear from the outset. Thirdly, bar staff. I wont say this is entirely out of our control as we do select the bars we visit, but obviously we don't hire the staff who work on the night. I will be speaking to the bars in question personally to ensure we have no issues in the future - or they simply wont get our custom. Period. In any case, please reach out to me if there is anything else I can help you with.
Written 17 October 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

tim
Melbourne, Australia1 contribution
While the bars themselves were cool, we felt like this tour was poor for multiple reasons

1. The host was not engaging to listen to which means the tour got boring almost instantly

2. The content of the tour itself wasn't interesting and definitely wasn't scary or haunted, the host normally just mentions some people that have died in centuries past and saying "so this area is supposedly haunted" and moving on

3. Less than an hour was spent in the bars total, and the tour went longer than it was meant to, which means 3 hours of the trip was spent walking around Melbourne, while the host talks to you from the front with their back turned to you. If the topics were interesting then it may not have been so bad.

4. You could only select from a small curated list of drinks from each bar, which intails maybe 7 or so options in total - 2 beers, 2-3 wines, espresso martini and a frozen margarita for most of the stops... If none of those options interests you then you're out of luck. Those options were almost identical for the 1st and 2nd stop. The 3rd stop had more options, you could seemingly pick from their real menu but was seemingly only wine and cocktails.

Overall, the tour was too long with too much walking and the history content was exceedingly boring. Maybe other trips would be better with a more engaging host, but overall considering the price the basis of the tour itself is lacking and needs improvement. Less walking, less history lectures, more drink choices and maybe visit somewhere actually scary would make this a better tour.

I was in a group of 3 and we all couldn't wait to finish the tour but the other 2 members of this tour not in our group actually couldn't wait and left mid-tour which shows that we weren't alone in our disappointment here. Not sure how this gets such high reviews. Honestly save your money, google some interesting hidden bars in Melbourne yourself and just visit them without the cost, a boring tour, limited drinks options and 3 hours of walking.
Written 16 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hi Tim, thanks so much for your review, I know it takes time to punch these out, so we do appreciate it - even bad reviews! I'll address your points in turn, but in summary (and reading between the lines) it feels like your expectations for the tour were for more of a pub crawl and less of a history tour, which sadly is not what we do. For anyone reading this response, it's worth pointing out that if you are looking for a boozy bar crawl, we can recommend other companies that do amazing tours. On your comments regarding the host and content...again, I would say there was a misalignment of expectations. The guide is definitely a history person, and probably not the kind of content/style you were after. That being said, we always want our stories told in an entertaining way, and I've spoken to the guide about how she can take this to the next level. In terms of timing, we spend a total of 90 minutes inside bars (about 30 mins per bar, including our last bar), with about 90-110 mins in between bars. Your tour did run a bit over time that night, which is something we are looking to sharpen to make sure it's as close to 3 hours as possible. I understand the tour started late due to your group not arriving on time, which of course has an impact on overall timings. On the topic of drinks, we offer guests a choice of beer, wine or cocktail at each bar. For some bars, we have created a custom menu (mostly to speed up service). I would say for most people, 2-3 beer choices, 2-3 wine choices and 2-3 cocktail choices are more than sufficient, but we are happy to accommodate guests who can't find something on the menu they like. On the topic of guests leaving earlier, I wouldn't presume to know how people are feeling or their rationale for leaving a tour, so I'd ask you to do the same. My understanding is the guest left early to catch a changed flight, leaving just before the final bar. In summary, I'm sorry this didn't meet your expectations, and I hope I've clarified some of your observations.
Written 17 April 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Gron B
1 contribution
Could not rate Daniel's knowledge and passion on Melboure history high enough. From the get go he had our group intrigued and captivated in a teaser of Melbourne's history. I would highly recommend the Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Drinking Tour. I look forward to another Drinking tour soon!
Written 23 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
He's the master, that's for sure. I'm actually getting sick of leaving thank you notes for the great man :) Joking, we are very lucky to have him, and very grateful for your kind words and review.
Written 10 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Debbie W
7 contributions
Our guide Alfa was very knowledgeable and the stories she told were interesting but I had expected a more ghostly and slightly scary experience. The bars were fun especially the last one with a hidden door. But overall the description did not match what I expected.
Written 7 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hi there! Thanks for the review - we don't really advertise the tour as a "ghost tour" as such, more of a general collection of dark stories, but we appreciate the feedback.
Written 11 August 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

timbo144
Newcastle, Australia120 contributions
Very interesting and entertaining tour of a fair coverage of the Melbourne CBD. The dialogue was informative and Alda our tour guide had a wealth of the facts beyond just the script. The three bars that we visited were all very different and all very interesting in their atmosphere and vibe. All in all highly recommended.
Written 9 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hey Timbo! Thanks for the cracking review! Alda will be happy to hear you had such a great time!
Written 13 April 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Oldfartsurfer
Lauderdale, Australia7 contributions
An excellent tour for a cold dark winter’s night in Melbourne. Our guide, Lenny, was a great raconteur with a deep knowledge of the city’s dark history. He was also very handsome!! We visited a few hidden bars for a warming bevy along the way. Highly recommended.
Written 17 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hahaha this one sounds like it was ghost written by Lenny :) Thanks again for the review, very glad to hear you had such a great time.
Written 10 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Anita B
1 contribution
Oct. 2022 • Friends
Great tour guide who was very informative, friendly and helpful. Good fun spooky tour. Would definitely recommend these guys and look forward to another tour with them the next time we visit Melbourne 😀
Written 5 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Wow what a great review, thanks so much for taking the time, we really appreciate it. Looking forward to having you back soon!
Written 18 November 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Bree H
1 contribution
Aug. 2023 • Friends
We did the Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales tour on the weekend and had the best time. We learned so much interesting, grisly and spooky history walking through the streets of our state’s capital, thanks to our fantastic, knowledgeable and fun guide Lenny. The three bars we visited were very funky and made THE coolest looking cocktails. Definitely considering a return to Melbourne soon for another tour from your offerings. Thanks for a fun afternoon.
Written 11 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Thanks so much for the review! Really appreciate it! -Beno
Written 12 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Judith A
1 contribution
Jul. 2022
A very entertaining tour with wonderful stories of Melbourne's dark past. Lenny was a wealth of knowledge and the hidden bars were quirky and fun. Cocktails were delicious! Would highly recommend to anyone wanting to do something a little different.
Written 31 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hi Judith! Thanks for writing such a lovely review of Lenny's tour, we really appreciate it.
Written 10 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

loren s
1 contribution
We absolutely loved this, Daniel was a fantastic guide. Daniel really gets involved and meets everyone’s needs as well as easy to get along with. I’d definitely recommend this to our Tasmanian friends and family
Written 18 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben O
Hey Loren! Thanks for this review, we really, really appreciate it. Can't wait to host the next apple isle expedition!
Written 10 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Showing results 1-10 of 42
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

Hidden Bars & Creepy Tales Tour Of Melbourne CBD provided by Drinking History Tours