Don’t let a guidebook tell you what a city’s best restaurants, bars and clubs are. No one knows a place better than its locals. Red how to meet locals in Scandinavia.
Find a local in Scandinavia to show you around. The concept of Showaround is one of those very few travel-related services, a sort of an AirBnB for touring places you visit. When it comes to travel, you can spend hours poring over guidebooks or trawling through Google results, searching for the best places to go. But there are so many recommendations on the internet that it makes it really difficult to choose. Only genuine advice from a local can help you to see and do things in a new city that truly interest you.
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Everyone who has ever traveled know about package deals; sightseeing trips with tourists taking that obligatory selfie in front of a famous statue. But how can you find the real heart of a destination, the one only locals know about and get to see?
Showaround is a really good service when you’re traveling to a new country or city where you don’t speak the local language or don’t know much. Showaround is a network of passionate locals offering tailor-made tours, In just three years the number of registered locals has grown to 129360 across 11989 cities worldwide. From artists to bankers, you may choose your specialist local and discover the secrets they have to offer. Many even give tours for free!
Founder Linas Sablovskis saw an obvious gap for locals to act as tour guides in their own cities and give travelers a more tailor-made, intimate experience. “In brief, Showaround allows locals to earn some extra money by showing travelers around their city,” he says. “In other words, it is a marketplace for private tours with locals who are ready to show you the best their cities have to offer, and then tailor activities to your interests,” he adds.
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Also, for solo travelers, having a local around is even better as they provide not only knowledge, some maybe less touristy attractions and educated insights, but also company. Once you have set up an account, finding a local is easy. Just enter a destination in the search bar and you’ll be shown a list of people available in the area, with a profile that shows not only what activities they can offer, but also highlights their personality and interests, so you can find a like-minded local. You can even chat to them beforehand, to outline your expectations and interests for the tour.
There is also a feature called Trips, whereby you can create a trip to your next destination and receive offers from locals with suggestions for your visit. This is an easier and effortless way of planning your trip as you simply choose which offers you like. However, it does not limit you to only those offers rather than seeking out someone potentially more suited.
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A review system informs travelers about the experience of others. But have in mind that Showaround is not a dating app of sorts, camouflaged behind an apparent service provider. You are really going to meet people who will be your guides for the period of time you have booked.
However, Showaround provides an easy way to meet local people and make new friends, meaning you’ll feel at home wherever you are. You’ll see the city through a local’s eyes and stay away from pricey tourist traps. It’s suitable for all, from business travelers and backpackers, to families and groups.
Realize that there are a lot of search options that you have to customize your search and make sure that you find guides based on your interests or what you’d like to see and do, saving you some time on guides that are too expensive or who wouldn’t be able to meet your demands.
Get to know a new city better than you could have ever imaged with this platform. After all, some of the most interesting spots, don’t always make the guidebooks.
The founders are currently based in Malta and Greece, while their team is located in Lithuania.
Photo credits:
Woman and reindeer: Photo by Ugur Arpaci on Unsplash
Couple at waterfall: Photo by SaiKrishna Saketh Yellapragad
Beach: Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash
Kid in snow: Photo by ?? Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
Feature image (on top): Woman at Aksla viewpoint, Ålesund Fjord Norway photo: Samuel Taipale Visitnorway.com
Meet Locals in Scandinavia, written by Tor Kjolberg