For Travelers, By Travelers… That’s the name of the game for Traveldudes, a website that collects stories and first-hand travel tips from folks who are in the midst of their journeys. Did a local let you know about a hidden beachside bar? Did you stumble upon the greatest view in the city? What’s the best way to get across town? Answers to these types of not-for-guidebooks questions abound on this unique site that acts as a sort of Inside Baseball for seasoned travelers.
We spoke with founder Melvin Böcher about the site, how it started, and what the future holds.
The Trip Tribe: What’s the creation story of Traveldudes?
Traveldudes: A few years ago I traveled with a friend through Indochina for 3 months and we wanted to share our experiences with our family and friends. So we started Traveldudes.org. At the beginning it was more a blog with diary entries and we soon added our own travel tips. But we realized that there were so many more experienced travelers, so opened the site for them to contribute as well. A paper guidebook is very limited with space and the “insider tips” are not real tips, since so many travelers use these guidebooks. The site gives us the chance to include many more tips in a structure that makes it easy for travelers find what they are looking for. Plus, these aren’t tips by just one author, but they’re from many experienced travelers.
TTT: How many active Traveldudes are there on your site?
TD: You don’t have to be registered to find quality travel tips on Traveldudes.org. So it’s mainly the ones sharing their own experiences right now and there are thousands. With the new version (soon to be launched) everyone gets their own profile where you can follow other travelers, as well as destinations and interests. That means that you will only see posts about Spain or food (for example) in your profile’s timeline.
TTT: What is the best story that you’ve read so far on Traveldudes?
TD: That’s very hard to say! I could tell you the best story per week, as every single week I get a post that really stands out. In general I like the adventure posts.
TTT: Besides your own, what’s your favorite travel blog?
TD: Also here I can’t point out one single one. I’ve got a big RSS feed folder with many great travel blogs. I’ve created two lists on Twitter with great travel folks and I can recommend to follow both lists:
Travel 1
Travel 2
TTT: Describe yourself in six words.
TD: I’m an: adventurous social media blogging entrepreneur
This piece was originally published May 2014.