We believe that travelling should be a mutually rewarding experience for both travellers and locals. The traveller gains knowledge, experience and is welcomed into a different culture. The locals gain income, employment and many diverse types of help through voluntourism. The relationship doesn’t work if it becomes one sided; if all travellers do is take from the local community or if the locals see travellers as nothing but a wallet on legs. It also falls down when big companies take all the money, and churn out the same generic experience to everyone passing through. If that happens neither the locals nor the travellers benefit.
The other thing we strongly believe is that when it comes to travelling, nothing beats a personal recommendation. Glossy brochures look great, but if you want the real inside track you need to get it from someone who knows what they are talking about.
That why we set up this site. Our goal is to help you to discover the hidden gems in every destination that you visit and to invite you to share the collective knowledge of the travellers that went before you. We want to make sure the people hear about the small local businesses that are offering an excellent, unique and authentic experience for travellers. We want you to be able to experience it, and them to be able to promote their business online, when often they don’t have a website because they can’t afford one.
We really need your help to achieve this. You might want to become a destination editor and help us by sharing your knowledge of a place that you really love. Maybe you just want to drop in from time to time to tell us about something you have done that you really loved (or hated, sometimes knowing what to avoid is as important as knowing what to do!) From a detailed guide on the culture of a country, to a quick review of a local business, it all comes together to build something great!
Even though we are all about helping the little guy, we also work with some big companies. To be honest some things need to be done by a big company; like insurance. We only work with big companies that we know and trust after many years working in the travel industry. We also make sure we work with big companies who make a difference in the places they visit. Why not read a bit more about how GAP Adventures, Imaginative Traveller and Intrepid Travel are making a difference.
