Get the “Guideal” guide
While I have the utmost respect for travel agents (I studied to be one myself before changing career track ideas), there’s something I absolutely love about websites that allow your average amateur at home to help you with your travel. Many sites feature sections where you can review your opinions on hotels, restaurants, and attractions where you’ve traveled. However, Guideal (how cute is that name) lets the locals help you out - in person.
Basically, the gist of it is that people sign up to offer their wisdom and advice as a tour guide in their own area. A local guide will sign up and place an ad, basically, explaining what they’ll show you on their tour of their city. If you’re traveling, you can then contact a guide and set up a personal tour. Much like eBay, there is a feedback rating to help people figure out if a guide is right for them.
Some guides offer their services for free while others will charge a nominal fee - it’s up to you to decide how much you wish to pay, if anything, and choose your guide from there.
The benefits of this is that travel books and travel agents will focus on the bigger, more obvious attractions, the restaurants that are reviewed in papers, the sights everyone knows about. The local guide will know about that really good Italian restaurant that outsiders haven’t heard of. A local guide will be able to tell you a great place to go dancing that isn’t as crowded as the one that got listed in the travel brochure.
The site is still fairly new so they’re working on building it up - there are still a lot of places that don’t have guides yet. It seems to be catching on a bit though, so it may grow quickly.
I know that I enjoy telling people who plan to visit Montreal about a few of the places they might otherwise miss, so I think this idea is great!
What do you think? Would you sign on for a travel guide? Would you hire one?
(source)
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4 opinions for Get the “Guideal” guide
Akirasabine
Jul 21, 2008 at 11:14 am
That sounds great for an independent traveller like me! Only paying a nominal fee or nothing at all is another extra. Thanks for the info.
Brian
Jul 21, 2008 at 11:23 am
Interesting concept - looks to be fairly new with not that many people signed up, so will be interesting to see if it takes off
Heather
Jul 21, 2008 at 5:51 pm
What a great link! I think it’s an awesome idea. I wouldn’t sign up to be one myself because I can’t imagine being on the Strip every day, but I’d much rather be shown around a new town by someone who’s passionate about it rather than someone who’s only in it for a paycheck!
jean
Jul 21, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Very much agree. The local knowledge and wisdom shall be valued. Who else knows the place better than those live, work, study there? Who could have more passion for a place than the local people? Another site http://www.ourexplorer.com offers similar values. Just they provide professional tour guides as an option.
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