Local Way
Find hidden gems with guides who know the place
5 followers
Find hidden gems with guides who know the place
5 followers
Book tours led by local guides who know their cities inside out find the food, stories, and corners tourists miss. Real local experiences across Italy. 🚧 On our roadmap: - AI Travel Assistant — conversational AI that matches travellers with the right guide based on interests, budget and travel style - Mobile app (iOS & Android) - Expansion to 5+ countries by 2027 - Warm Map: heatmap of authentic local experiences (not just pins) — unique to Local Way
How do you vet the local guides to make sure the experiences actually feel authentic and not just another tourist trap with a local name attached?
@nazlbornovxsfy Great question this is exactly the problem we're solving, not just describing.
Every guide goes through a manual onboarding process. We review their background, local expertise and the actual content of their tours before they go live. We look at whether they're a historian, a chef, a hiker, a local artist someone with a genuine reason to be showing people around, not just someone who downloaded a script.
On top of that, we're building a review system where travellers rate the authenticity of the experience specifically, not just "was it fun." And our Warm Map surfaces guides based on real activity and reputation, not who paid for placement.
We know the "local name, tourist product" trap exists everywhere. That's exactly why we didn't build a catalogue we built profiles. You see who the guide actually is before you book.
One thing I'd love to see is a way to book a guide for a specific time slot in advance, since some popular local spots get crowded and it would help lock in availability. Right now it sounds like you'd have to message guides directly, which could feel uncertain if you're traveling on a tight schedule.
@emirdemirbwv23 You're absolutely right, and this is on our roadmap.
The current MVP lets you discover guides and connect but we hear you on the friction of direct messaging when you're planning a tight trip. Real-time availability and instant booking confirmation is exactly what we're building toward in the next phase.
The guide profiles already include scheduling info, and we're working on making that a proper booking calendar with time slot selection, instant confirmation and automatic reminders. No uncertainty, no back-and-forth.
Good timing to flag it this kind of feedback shapes what we prioritise next. 🙌
Booked a food walk in Bologna through Local Way last month and the guide took us to a pasta shop tucked down an alley I'd never have found alone. The whole booking flow was simple and the guide clearly knew the neighborhood like a friend.
@yaarakturhgp A pasta shop tucked down an alley in Bologna this is exactly why we exist.
That guide didn't read about that place. They know it. And that's the difference between a tour and an actual local experience.
Really happy the booking was smooth too. Makes us want to work even harder on the rest of the flow.
Thank you for sharing this genuinely. 🙌