Many baby boomers, seniors and others like to hire a tour guide when they travel to an unfamiliar area. It is best to hire a local guide who knows the area and the people, and is aware of local culture and customs. A new online service I came across recently serves an important need when you plan to travel to a place where you want a tour guide. This service, LocalGuiding, connects travelers with local, independent tour guides in hundreds of cities around the world.
This site is not just a directory. On Local Guiding’s website, www.LocalGuiding.com, every tour guide has a public profile with reliable, detailed information about competence, guiding education, experience, local knowledge, etc.
So, you get to know the private guide before you’re going to arrange a tour with him or her. You can inform the guide of special interests you have and moreover you get to know if the guide suits you — a tour at least lasts a couple of hours and you probably won’t enjoy your tour nearly as much if the guide is dislikable or unknowledgeable.
Once you find a guide that suits you best, you can arrange a customized tour with him or her. By placing your booking via the LocalGuiding Website, you ensure that the guide will be highly motivated to provide you good service. Tour guides on LocalGuiding depend on receiving good customer ratings for their tours, otherwise they won’t get further business.
If you don’t have a precise idea of what activities you want to engage in, you can also browse hundreds of private and small group tours offered by local tour guides. Each tour is linked with the personal profile of the tour guide, so you’ll get reliable, detailed information about the person providing the tour.
You’ll also find on the LocalGuiding.com website a travel question and answer forum, where you can ask a question to get advice from locals. This is truly an excellent service.
