Excursions with locals. Tripster - unusual excursions from locals

Excursions for independent travelers and vacationers on the official website of the Tripster agency. Book unusual excursions and walks from locals and make your trip unique and unforgettable. Tours are held in almost 400 cities around the world.

Tripster and unusual excursions

The Tripster service offers 2,500 unusual excursions from local residents in 340 cities around the world. They are organized and carried out mainly by our former compatriots who currently live in these countries. Russia is also very well represented. In addition to individual excursions, the Tripster website, in the "Trips" section, offers whole unique trips around the home country and in Bali.

Tripster is a meeting place for guides - locals and travelers. The guide offers the service the option of an excursion or a thematic walk in his place of residence, and Tripster posts it on his website. Before placing the service, the service can give the local resident their suggestions on how to improve his unusual excursion and make it truly unique and attractive for tourists.

The tourist, in turn, finds an offer of an unusual excursion or a themed walk from a local on the Tripster website and books it.

All the unusual excursions offered on the site were invented by local guides, sometimes with improvements made on the advice of the Tripster service, but always proven and reliable. On this site you will not find bus tours for large groups of tourists with boring rote guides. You will plunge into a world inaccessible to ordinary travelers who order standard excursions “for everyone”, get a unique, unforgettable experience during your trip and personal communication with a guide - a local resident.

Choosing and booking excursions online

After clicking on, answer the question “Where are you going?” In the search form by choosing a place from the drop-down list or by entering it manually. As a result, all offers of local residents for unusual excursions and walks will be displayed, indicating their name and price. By clicking on the selected offer, you will be taken to a page with a detailed description of the tour, a widget with a booking button and a link to contact a local guide.

All the excursions offered on the Tripster website are unique, and before you book the one that interests you, contact the guide using the link on the website and ask him about all the questions you are interested in related to the topic and the conduct of the event. If you have received answers to all your questions, go to the "Book" tab, select the date, start time of the excursion, the number of tourists, your name, contact information and click the "Send" button.

After the guide confirms the conduct of the selected excursion, his contact details will become available to you: phone and e-mail, by which you can contact him directly to clarify individual details.

The uniqueness of the unusual excursions and walks booked on the Tripster website also lies in the fact that, together with a local guide, you can make adjustments to the event so that it best suits your desires: change the route, add or exclude visited places, change the time of stay in them and so on.

After all the questions about the event are resolved, you pay 16% of the cost of the excursion on the Tripster website, and transfer the rest of the amount to the guide - a local resident after an unusual excursion or walk.

If your trip does not take place, the Tripster service will refund the prepayment.

Cancellation of the ordered excursion

If you decide to cancel your booked unusual tour, then

• firstly, inform the local guide about it;
• secondly, cancel the order on the Tripster website.

If you cancel 6 days or more in advance, the prepayment will be refunded in full. If the excursion is canceled 5 days or less in advance, the decision to refund the prepayment depends on the guide.

For a refund to be made, send a request to the e-mail specified in the "Return Policy" section of the Tripster website. The prepayment will be refunded to the same card from which it was received.

Visit and make your trip unique and memorable with unusual excursions and walks from locals.

In this post:

Excursions in 300 cities from Trypster.ru

I, like most modern people, prefer to make the most of the Internet system. With it, you can order and pay online, or call a taxi. And from time to time I use the service of ordering and paying for online excursions. If I go to a country with a huge number of attractions, then in order to use my free time effectively, I use the service . Therefore, we will consider all its advantages and capabilities in more detail.

Features and Benefits of Tripster

The site has been operating since 2013, but in this relatively short time, it was able to earn the trust of a huge number of travelers. Most interestingly, the people who created it decided to take a completely different approach to organizing excursions. It involves the organization of non-standard excursions, according to the preferences of each client. This is rare.

Features of the Trypster.ru company:

• Guides who themselves are delighted with their excursions. These people themselves develop the route in such a way that every guest of the city will be delighted. So that it will take your breath away, from new amazing places and facts. There are people of different specialties among the guides. These are architects, journalists, art critics, historians and so on;
• Originality. The company uses standard approaches. Her motto is “No to standard excursions”. Each walk is unique and unrepeatable, regardless of whether it is a visit to museum complexes, or "walks on the roofs";
• Individuality. The unusual excursion service does not work with crowds of tourists. There are exclusively individual programs designed for one traveler and his companions. That is why I personally liked the system, I don't like platitudes.

Capabilities:

1. Independent choice of the author's excursion. That is, you yourself get acquainted with all the excursion programs of this or that guide, compiled by him independently. Read the reviews of people who have already used this excursion program. And only then you decide whether this option suits you or not.
2. Advance booking online. Personally, I am very pleased with this service. Booked a convenient day and hour, arrived in a country or city, rested. And then you can go on excursions.
3. Payment. Here is generally a chic option. To make an advance payment, you have the option of only 16% of the total cost. You give the rest of the money to the guide directly at the meeting. But that's not all - if, for any reason, you cannot attend the excursion, the money will be returned.

In my opinion, excellent conditions, a unique service of individual excursions. You can learn more about all the offers on the official Tripster portal - experience.tripster.ru.

Benefits of online booking excursions

The list of advantages of online booking excursions to Tripster is quite impressive. But I would like to focus on the most important points:

• Complete freedom of choice (independence from tour operators, ideal for people who want to plan their time on their own);
• Saving time. There is no longer any need to spend hours on the Internet, choosing the most suitable excursion option. Everything is in one place;
• Calmness. The tourist can be sure that he will not be deceived, will not sell tickets for excursions at inflated prices, and so on.

The portal is really unique, you will not find this in any tour operator in the whole world.

How to make an order and payment

The process of finding a suitable option, booking and paying on the official portal is quite simple. For example, I do this:

• I enter the Tripster portal - excursions from local residents;
• I enter the desired city or country into the search engine;
• I choose the excursion I like;
• I decide on a suitable day and time;
• I contact the guide and clarify all the points of interest;
• I enter personal data (surname and name, e-mail, phone number);
• I pay, sometimes I pay only 16%, and the rest of the calculation is already in place, to the guide.

There are a few more interesting points here. As soon as you make the payment (with a Visa or Mastercard - it doesn't matter), your phone number will open to the guide, and you will see it. Now it is possible to contact the guide at any time, before the appointed day of the tour. But until you make the payment, communication is possible exclusively on the portal. Well, as you can see, everything is simple, easy and accessible to the point of banality.

Many independent travelers have long mastered the skill of organizing excursions on their own, but such events do not always take place in the most informative way. Sightseeing tours bought from agencies can result in a fairly large amount, and walking in a crowd of tourists, trying to catch at least a fraction of the information is not always comfortable. Therefore, today excursions from local residents are gaining more and more popularity. This option is very convenient, because it assumes an individual approach, takes into account all the wishes of the tourist and, in general, can carry much more interesting information than a standard excursion from a guide. Where to find local residents who know everything about their city, and how to order a tour from them, we will tell you in detail in our article.

What is Tripster?

In 2013, an interesting resource appeared on the Internet under the name, which was originally a kind of platform for those who like to travel, within which tourists exchanged their opinions and gave recommendations on visiting a particular attraction. But in just a few months, the site has transformed into a real travel club, where an opportunity has opened up to negotiate with local residents about organizing excursions.

Today, on the site you can order individual sightseeing tours in 485 cities around the world. More than 210 thousand people used the services of the service in 2018 alone, most of whom were satisfied with the service they received. And there is nothing to be surprised at: after all, the guides are local residents, very creative and passionate people who know much more about their city than employees of travel agencies.

Who will be interested in the service?

Tripster is primarily aimed at solo travelers, not package travelers. The site provides an opportunity to find unusual excursions from local residents who, in addition to standard sightseeing tours, will show you secret corners, organize tasting tours and allow you to plunge into the cultural life of the city.

Curious and active tourists who are bored with monotonous excursions will find Tripster especially attractive. As part of these activities, travelers manage to climb obscure rooftops for the best views of the city and descend underground, test their creativity in pottery, art and dance, track winemaking technology, and sample various teas and coffees. As a rule, excursions from Russian-speaking local residents are as rich as possible and fully meet the interests of tourists.

Benefits and Features

The Tripster website services have a number of important benefits, including:

1. A wide range of excursions. As we mentioned above, Tripster organizes tours to 433 cities around the world. Several guides can work at one facility at once, so it will not be difficult to find a suitable option here. And in addition to the most popular destinations on the site, you can also find little-known cities, the locals of which are ready to create all the conditions for tourists to get the most complete acquaintance with iconic places. It is noteworthy that today excursions from local to local are in great demand. So, for example, residents of Moscow often go to a company with a guide who combines the story about objects with exciting quests, puzzles and prizes.
2. Taking into account individual requirements. This is one of the greatest strengths of the Tripster. Firstly, the excursion will be formed exclusively for you and your companions, and you will not find outsiders at the event. Many guides from local residents recruit a group where the maximum number of people does not exceed 10. If there are more of you, then this issue is discussed individually with the guide. Secondly, the tour will be organized according to your interests. To understand how important this is, it is worth remembering at least the guides from Turkey or Egypt, with whom the main part of the excursion takes place at the factories of textiles, leather and carpets, rather than at the sight itself.
3. Possibility to book a tour in advance. If you know the exact travel dates, you can pre-book your tour using Tripster's system. And this is very convenient, because you do not have to look for the right person on the spot on your own, spending precious time on this. A good guide will take care of all the nuances of the walk and will try to do it in the best possible way.
4. Possibility to speak with a tour guide before booking a tour. The site provides for communication with local residents providing their services. You can ask them any questions you are interested in and only then make a decision on the reservation. And after making an advance payment, you will be provided with the contact number of the guide. Thus, you will have the opportunity to contact him and discuss all the details in more detail.
5. Small amount of an advance payment. After you agree with a local about an excursion, you need to pay 20% of the total cost of the service. This is done so that the guide is sure of the seriousness of your intentions: after all, you are booking a certain time in which other clients will be refused. You give the rest of the amount to the guide in person.
6. Promotions and discounts. Tripster often offers discounts to its users. To take full advantage of the promotions, you must register on the site. You can often find various promotional codes here: some of them are valid for only a few days, but provide a good discount (up to 10%), others are longer, but the discount amount in this case will be small (up to 5%).

How to book an excursion?

So, if the travel dates are determined, and the travel plan is drawn up, it's time to take care of the main part of the tour - excursions. Using the Tripster website is quite simple, but we decided to compile detailed instructions for working with the system for you.

Step 1. Finding a suitable option

We are on the main page of the site, where you can see two search boxes at once: one "Where are you going" - in the middle at the top and the second "Where are you going" - in the center. Both lines serve the same function. We enter the direction we need in any of them (in our case it will be) and click on the "Find" button.

At our request, the system was able to find 28 offers. To clarify the parameters of our search, we will use the form above, in which we indicate the dates we need, the number of people and the price range. Then we click on the "Find" tab.

After adjusting the parameters, the number of offers was reduced to 3. In order to familiarize yourself with the excursions presented by local residents, click on the photos.

A new window opens in front of us, where you can see information about the guide, information about the excursion itself, as well as a booking calendar. Busy days are highlighted in pink, free days in green. Below, under the calendar, there are reviews of tourists who have already used the services of this local resident. Be sure to read other travelers' opinions on the guide and his organizing skills. Having studied the information on all three proposals, we opted for the most budgetary option with a large number of positive reviews. Now we click on the date we need in the presented calendar and go to the next step.

After we clicked on the planned date, a form appeared in front of us. It is important to indicate the day of the proposed excursion, the number of tourists, name and surname, e-mail address and telephone number. Below is a field in which you can ask the guide all your questions. We draw your attention to the fact that by filling out this form, you are not yet booking an excursion, but only declare your intention. You can make a final reservation after the guide answers the questions.

When you make the final decision on booking an excursion, you need to make a prepayment for the service. It is 20% of the total amount of the tour. Payment can be made using a bank card or bank transfer. We choose a convenient method in the appropriate form. Here you can also ask the organizers a question and cancel the order if you are not satisfied with the guide's answers.

After payment, you will receive a notification of the completed operation on your email inbox. You will pay the rest at a personal meeting with the guide. This is how the site works with excursions from local residents.

Can I cancel my reservation

If you made a prepayment, but suddenly the trip is interrupted, I am ready to return the funds to you. The main thing in this situation is to contact the guide as soon as possible and inform him about the cancellation of the reservation. After that, it is important to notify the site support service by writing a letter to the administration to the address [email protected] Funds will be refunded according to the system's return policy:

1. money will be refunded in full if you inform about the cancellation of the booking at least 5 days before the scheduled excursion
2. if the cancellation occurs less than 5 days before the agreed meeting, then the site is ready to refund the prepayment only if the trip is interrupted for reasons beyond the tourist's control (for example, flight cancellation)

It is also important to consider that if a local resident, having agreed with you, spent his own money on the purchase of entrance tickets or made other expenses that cannot be compensated for when canceling the tour, the prepayment will be refunded minus the amount spent by him.

Conclusion

Guided tours by locals are a tempting alternative to the standard tourist walks. On the one hand, they make it possible to enjoy the sights of interest in an individual format, on the other hand, they reveal much more interesting information about the objects. At the same time, the organization of the walk takes place on a convenient day for you, taking into account only your interests.

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I was really captivated by the idea of \u200b\u200beverything free in this world and especially such opportunities in travel! Only if recently I myself "ate free cheese", now I decided to return the favor to the dear Universe and do something good, of course, for free!

Get approval from above and beyond by email follow the news in a group where announcements of applications for gritters periodically appear;

The first "Catch" an interesting foreigner for you (not forgetting to correlate your language and other possibilities with the wishes of the guest) and declare your desire to become a grinder for him at certain days and hours;

From the project coordinator get guest contacts, promptly write to him and arrange a meeting, not forgetting about the feedback from the coordinator, so that he is aware of what is happening;

meet the guest, take a walk-chat-enjoy mutual acquaintance, as well as take a joint photo (even a selfie) and ask for feedback about the trip on the Tripadvisor website: link for St. Petersburg and for Moscow;

continue hunting for new foreign guests in your city!

Directly about your experience of participating in this project I can tell you a little for now, since my grit debut took place quite recently. I was going to show Dostoevsky's Petersburg to an aspiring Italian photographer, but in the end we walked around, it seems, the entire historical center of the city, since the weather and free time allowed it. In addition to traditional conversations about Russian culture (vodka-girls-bears), during the walk I took my new acquaintance to the famous Pyshechnaya on Bolshaya Konyushennaya, and the end of the excursion was a delicious dinner, which I got as a "thank you" for the hospitality. Frankly, it was nice)

She shared with me a much richer experience of "hospitality" one of the most active Moscow gritters Vera Kukoleva…

Vera, tell us, please, what curious cases happened to your excursionists in Russia?

It is very touching to observe how foreigners diligently try to learn to read in Russian and memorize basic expressions. Instead of a long and terribly difficult “hello”, sometimes we get a familiar “hello!”, Which tourists intend to demonstrate their politeness in shops and hotels. Well, and "Pestopach" instead of "Restaurant" - everyone knows the story.

Once, sightseers from America asked "where do I usually buy nesting dolls." Immediately I imagined how every weekend I go to the sales of Russian folk toys at a student discount. I had to tell that almost only tourists buy nesting dolls.

What negative emotions can you get from gritting?

Negative impressions from excursions are extremely rare. Rather, they are the exceptions that confirm the rule that gritting always brings only joy. Sometimes it is a shame when guests are not at all interested in anything related to the history of the city, its architecture. Such people just want to “chat for life,” and the preparation of the excursion turns out to be useless. And for each walk, I carefully prepare in advance: I select material, try to find something new and interesting.

The project is free, but it's always nice to get a "thank you" for your work. In what ways did foreign guests thank you?

It is very pleasant when guests bring me souvenirs from their country. Once a group from Brussels presented a box of real Belgian chocolate (tasty, tasty!), And tourists from Italy brought a traditional Neapolitan pendant for luck. Some foreigners, knowing that the program is free, want to express their gratitude with a tip and pay for the excursion, but I never take money: for me it spoils the beauty of the walk.

Greter's meeting with tourists is like meeting good friends. We communicate at ease, exchange stories about life in Russia and abroad. I give my guests advice on how best to spend time in Moscow, where to go, how not to get lost in the metro. Often we stay in touch after a walk and really stay friends for a long time. Who would think of taking money from friends? Therefore, I refuse to "pay" on principle.

I thank Vera for a piece of her experience, which she shared with us, and I hasten to torment you with questions. the creator of the Moscow gritting community Alexei Sotskov…

Alexey, please tell us about how the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating such a project was born?

Several years ago, I was planning to travel to New York and was looking for free guided tours there by the residents themselves. Stumbled upon the Big Apple Greeter community, created to combat the stereotype that New York is a gang city. Local volunteers showed the guests not famous sights, but the real life of the American metropolis, which turned out to be not so dangerous.

I really liked the idea of \u200b\u200bthis project and decided to organize something similar in Moscow. The focus was on linguistic students who lack language practice. There are many speaking clubs and thematic lectures in foreign languages, but you usually have to pay to participate in them. And excursions for foreign guests are free conversational practice, and even in an extremely informal atmosphere. In many cities, gritters are mostly aged people who have a lot of free time, while in Russia, on the contrary, there are more young people.

To what extent is this an official organization and does it have some kind of "head unit" in charge of all regional ones?

So far, everything is run by the virtual Global Greeter Network, which, however, has its own real president and even several departments responsible for marketing, admitting new members, etc. Meetings of the worldwide guitar community are held annually in various cities. There are plans to transfer the activities of the organization to the "official channel", but so far this is all at the design stage. It's funny, but some members of the Global Greeter Network, for example, all the same Big Apple Greeter exist in a completely official form and are even sponsored by the city hall.

With this kind of support, I suspect the New York Gritters community is the most developed among its international counterparts.

That's right, Big Apple Greeter is the most advanced, because they stood at the origins of the movement, which originated already in 1992, while their "official bosses" Global Greeter Network appeared only in 2005. At the moment, the New York Gritters Association has more than 70 people who conduct about 150 excursions a month. True, it should be noted that such a high figure is achieved at the expense of domestic tourists, that is, Americans from other states. We, in contrast to Big Apple Greeter, are more focused on working with guests from abroad.

Then let's just move on to the Russian gritting movement, tell us a little about its performance.

The Moscow community of gritters will soon be 4 years old, and the St. Petersburg community has been operating for only 10 months. 70 participants are registered in the capital, about 40 in the Northern capital. As for the number of excursions, it depends very much on the time of year. During the season in Moscow, about 50 walks with foreign guests are held per month, and in winter - only 20. In St. Petersburg, the figures are still quite modest: only 40 excursions since the creation of the community. However, it should be noted that the number of interested tourists is increasing every year, so we hope that we will continue to grow and develop!

I can only thank Alexey for the interesting conversation and wish the gritters of both capitals more interesting guests from all over the world!

Standard excursions are becoming a thing of the past, when a crowd of tourists tries to keep up with the guide at the same time, take a picture, remember at least something from a speech, full of numbers, dates, historical references. In the 21st century, an individual approach wins, taking into account the needs of each client, which it can boast of. Clients are offered an exclusive, created by a person who knows everything about his city and is able to captivate and intrigue the traveler.

Who conducts the tour

In places where tourists gather, both in megalopolises and in small towns, there will certainly be people of a creative mind who have a considerable baggage of knowledge. Among them may be professional historians and local historians, library workers, journalists and architects, teachers and art historians. The main thing is that these are caring, enthusiastic, sociable people with whom it is very interesting to spend time.

The future guide registers on the Tripster.ru website, undergoes an interview, introduces a topic, gets help in creating a unique project. The authors set their own prices, but the competition is very high, so it is not in their interests to overcharge the service.

People's comments on excursion trips are full of gratitude and appreciation, allowing you to better understand the specifics of the project.

Features of the project

Created in 2013, the Tripster project began as a communication club, where tourists exchanged experiences and shared valuable advice. As the community grew, it became autonomous, and within a few years it turned into a kind of travel club. Customers who register on the site are offered unusual tours sponsored by local residents.

Indeed, who else will be able to tell about the history, customs, curious facts from the life of the city and its inhabitants so captivatingly, competently? The walk, organized according to the author's script, will show local sights from an unexpected perspective. From local residents, a tourist learns information about which guides from hotels or excursion bureaus never tell.

The first experiences of amateur excursions were successful and brought new clients. Russian-speaking guides, well versed in various fields, from wine and coffee to high art, were sought in all corners of the world. If you have something to tell about your city, you can try your hand and earn extra money.

In addition to standard trips to cult places, tourists:

• explore the hidden corners of the city;
• go up to rooftops and sink into the ground;
• taste different sorts of coffee and tea;
• get acquainted with the technology of wine production;
• try their hand at pottery and painting;
• attend master classes in national dances;
• go backstage theatrical.

Family excursions, interesting to all family members, regardless of age, turned out to be in great demand. These are walks for curious why, the wonders of the Moscow Kremlin, the skyscrapers of Moscow City. For children from 14 years old, exciting quests with treasure hunt, riddles and prizes are offered.

The tripster provides the client with new opportunities:

• non-standard approach;
• individual programs;
• an extensive selection of excursions around the world (409 cities);
• preliminary online booking;
• payment on the spot;
• security guarantee.

Service designed for independent travelers... Mass excursions with a large number of people are not provided. Everything is purely individual. The group includes only you and your companions. The guide himself sets the maximum number of wards, as a rule, no more than 10 people.

© evergreenkamal / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

How to choose and book an excursion

So you've decided on a trip and want to make it interesting and meaningful. Your actions:

• go to the official website;
• enter the selected city or country in the window;
• read the offers and mark the option you like - look at the number of stars and read the reviews;
• select a free day in the calendar and set a convenient time;
• contact the guide and discuss the details;
• enter your details (last name, first name, phone number, email address);
• pay 16-20% of the total cost;
• the rest of the amount you give personally to the guide.

Users highly appreciated the benefits of shopping tours online. You get freedom of action, do not depend on the tour operator, save time and save your nerves. The agreement, which is concluded between the client and the site administration, guarantees security and is legally binding.

Payment details

People don't like to pay in advance for services. The service provides the user with the opportunity to first get acquainted with the future guide and make sure that the excursion program suits him.

At the first stage, communication takes place in the form of correspondence on the site. Having finally decided, you transfer the advance payment to the guide. This can be done using Visa or Mastercard.

After this operation, you will receive the guide's phone number. He, in turn, opens your number, and you can keep in touch until the appointed time.

The main payment is made immediately before the excursion. If for some reason the meeting does not take place, the money will be returned to the card in full.

© [email protected] / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

Tripster promotions

To get back a part of the money spent on the purchase of the excursion, Authorization on the site allows you to use promotions, discounts, often timed to coincide with some significant date or before the holidays.

The site contains promotional codes of both periodic and permanent action.

If you set a goal and track discount information, you can save from 5% to 10%. To use a nice gift:

• go in;
• select an excursion by clicking the "Order" button;
• specify the date and time;
• enter the current, not currently, promotional code into the box at the bottom of the page.

The decision must be made quickly. Short promotional codes are valid for a short period of time - from 2 days to a week. Long-term promotions are an exception, but the discount percentage will be lower.

The project continues to develop, covering new, unknown corners of the planet. As a result, you will fill your vacation with new experiences and meet smart, passionate people. You won't be bored!