GOHOBO

There are some big name players in the backpacking guide world, as well as a load of blogs and travel sites, so what motivated some backpackers enough to create a website and app? Read on... We love to travel the world seeing the most incredible natural and human-made sights, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures along the way. We're lucky enough to have done plenty of it and came to realise other people had the same common issues with the info to use while travelling. Let's start with the traditional guidebook. Firstly deciding which bits of clothing to leave out of your pack to keep the weight down, then to throw a heavy book in is almost comical. The biggest issue is that the info is often out of date as books are only updated every few years. Things change fast, especially in developing countries. Countless times have we experienced or heard from others of trekking to see something that sounds awesome, only to find it's closed, knocked down or no longer what it says on the tin. There is also the issue of having it to hand when needing it. When you get off a 12-hour bus journey and approached by a hoard of taxi drivers offering to take you to your destination, are they telling you the correct price? Did it mention this in the guide book? Are you going to pull it out and start flicking through in the hope of finding out? So what about the many blogs and travel websites? The Internet is an amazing thing, but trawling the web for some information you trust or wasn't written years ago gets tedious - especially when you're travelling to have fun! Again, there's also the issue of having it to hand when you need it quickly. We thought an app could solve these problems and much more. Isn't there an app already I hear you ask? Surprisingly not. So we set out to make an app that's everything we would want. What makes our app unique is that everything is thoroughly researched and written for GOHOBO with backpacking in mind. Creating current, reliable content that is inspirational but not romanticised, and an engaging read rather than ‘wiki’ content. It’s also continually updated, 100% independent and gloriously with no ads! We pack everything that's in the guide books, all available offline with photos. Plus many other features like a wishlist, GPS maps, articles and an ideas generator. All available at your fingertips in seconds, and at a fraction of the cost, but we don't like to brag. A key feature is that we link places together. Our awesome custom maps and detailed travel info show you where you can go from a location, how to do it and the costs, even inter-country - creating a connected feel between places, rather than a disjointed list; a unique and incredibly useful thing! We've made it super easy for you to feedback if things change, helping keep everything as current as we possibly can! Plus as it's on your phone, you can read our inspiring articles anytime, anywhere! When we set out to do this, we had our concerns if we could actually pull it off. It's been mind-blowingly hard work, but we're ecstatic to say we've exceeded our own expectations! It's just the beginning, and we hope you'll join us in creating the best thing for backpackers since tie-dye. Well, better than that really. Thanks for reading and happy travels! GOHOBO Ethics - For those who are interested... We want to promote responsible tourism and point things out if they have a negative impact or just don't include them. We also try to be fair on local businesses. For example, we just give general advice on where to eat rather than name specific restaurants. Unless there's a good reason to mention one. Travelling is an adventure, follow your heart, eyes and stomach! We do give a core list of budget places to stay; this is so you always have some of the best options to hand if you need them. While we do take lots of time to select these places we encourage you to take a look at others. We do like to give places a mention if they are helping the local community or environment. OK, that's definitely it. Thanks again. GOHOBO