By Maria Yagoda | FoodAndWine.Com

Troy Warren for CNT

It involves shrimp and grits.

Every year, Tripadvisor surveys the top-rated food experiences offered on its website, and in 2021, the activity was appropriately socially distant: a food and wine walking tour of Charleston, SC.

The tour, called “Undiscovered Charleston: Half Day Food, Wine & History Tour with Cooking Class,” guides guests around the city to eat at some of the top establishments in the city’s historic dishes. Local chef Forrest Parker then prepares lunch, demonstrating how to make three Lowcountry recipes that are paired with wine.

Globally, the booking website’s most popular overall activity was a Jet Ski Tour of Dubai, which passes by Burj Al Arab and Palm Jumeirah. In the States, the top experience was a kayak tour of Shell Key Preserve and Tampa Bay. In a statement, the site noted that the most popular things to do were outdoors, often on water, due to the pandemic.

Tripadvisor’s methodology involved calculating “the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings for experiences, tours, activities and attractions” on the website from January 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021.

“With no other accolades of its scale, the Travelers’ Choice Things to Do Awards are in a class of their own, highlighting activities travelers have determined are essential when visiting a destination,” said Kate Urquhart, General Manager, Experiences at Tripadvisor. “With no other accolades of its scale, the Travelers’ Choice Things to Do Awards are in a class of their own, highlighting activities travelers have determined are essential when visiting a destination.”

In July of 2020, Tripadvisor named The French Laundry the best fine-dining restaurant in America, based on reviews from before the pandemic.