Travel app review: likealocal

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]ravellers know that there’s nothing worse than being a tourist. Day trips, weekend getaways, month-long vacations – they’re all vulnerable to tourist traps and time-wasting, overrated sights. And let’s be honest: a good, unforgettable experience free from the tourist bug is quite hard to achieve. Who’s reliable enough to give out tips on must-visits and no-goes? Official travel guides share that annoying habit of fobbing off very limiting experiences, tailored the same way for different people with different interests, tastes, and budgets.

Luckily for us travelheads, Estonians Kalev Külaase and Ülane Vilumets have come up with a brilliant idea that will definitely change our student escapes. Likealocal travel guide is a thriving, passionate community that brings together experienced travellers, reviewers and casual travel-writing enthusiasts from all around the world who are willing to crank out tips and heads-up about their home turfs. Every city has its own page from which you can easily browse general info, places to eat, sleep and shop, or where to go on a night out. Just play with the colourful menu at the top of the page and you’ll find all you need to know. My personal favourite is the transport section, in the ‘City info’ sub-menu; local transport websites are usually terrible and written in a very peculiar English. However, in these city guides, locals will tell you which bus you have to take to get that cheap pint in the quirky pub downtown!

So, does this whole idea work in practice?

In order to answer this question, I packed my rucksack and jumped on a train to Florence (if this is not dedication…) with Mary’s reviews at hand. Now that I am in the middle of my post-Florence blues, I can confirm that my experience in the ‘Cradle of the Renaissance’ would have been much different (and less intense) without Likealocal’s tips. Once out of Santa Maria Novella station, I unleashed the irredeemable foodie I am and made my way to one of the suggestions in the ‘Budget Lunch spots in Florence’ list: Cioccolateria Ballerini, a jubilation of chocolate, cakes and pizza hidden in a rather anonymous side street just by the Arno river. Trust me when I say that the Florentine cake I had there has won my love forever. The rest of the experience turned into a series of WOAH-moments at the Duomo, the Uffizi or Ponte Vecchio – sights you probably don’t need a local to tell you about – and side-street incursions questing for hidden gems: an old monastery turned into a library; a tiny square with a funky name and cosy ice-cream parlours; a Benedictine church overlooking the city from high above.

Likealocal got it right.

And brace yourselves: you can actually be part of this project. If this sounds your kind of thing, Likealocal is a very new app and is looking for city editors to expand its content. It’s the opportunity to tell travellers the best way to experience your home town! For more info visit http://www.likealocalguide.com/.