You don’t have to jump out of airplanes, dive with sharks or abseil from the highest mountains to have travel adventures. When you come to a new city, maybe in a country you have never been before, just finding the next grocery store can be an adventure.
One of my favorite parts of traveling is just heading out on foot and exploring the surroundings. When you leave the touristy areas, maybe turn into smaller side streets and don’t just follow the main drag, the adventure starts. Sometimes it’s just a pretty little street, good for a picture or two, sometimes you find hidden gems not covered in any guide books.
Bus tours and guided tours tend to focus on attractions the tourist board deems worthy to include, and oftentimes they include as much as possible in a very limited time. Exploring on your own, you can spend as little or as much time as you want, no need to hurry on because your tour group is leaving.
You can just pop into that charming little restaurant you just stumbled upon and sit down for lunch. You can spontaneously visit that interesting museum, take as many photos as you like of that colorful mural you pass, or stop at the corner grocery store to buy a snack.
You all know the famous J.R.R. Tolkien quote, “Not all those who wander are lost,“ but sometimes it just feels safer to actually know where you are, and – even more important – how to get back to your accommodation or your parked car.
Since smartphones have made their appearance, things have become a lot easier. No need for cumbersome maps that identify you as a lost tourist the moment you unfold them, and you don’t even need to be able to actually read a map anymore. Just pull out your phone, open Maps or whatever map app you prefer, and a little dot appears exactly where you are. Easy as pie.
When traveling abroad, smartphones can be the perfect travel tool, but they can also swallow your money like nobody’s business when you have to pay for roaming, especially data roaming.
One app that combines planned walking tours, exploring at your own speed, and finding your way in a new city without the need for paper maps, Wi-Fi or cellular data plans is GPSmyCity’s City Walks App.
GPSmyCity.com has given me the opportunity to give away 20 promo codes for a full-version city walk app to readers of my blog.
The promo codes can be used both for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android devices and are currently available for over 470 cities all over the world.
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- Detailed city map with “Find Me” option
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- Multiple walking tours
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- GPS-guided city walks, no need for internet access or cellular data plan
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- Detailed walk route map with turn-by-turn directions
How to enter the giveaway:
The giveaway is open to all subscribers of this blog, so if you already are, you’re almost all set. If you aren’t yet, just move over to the right (or to the bottom on mobile devices) and subscribe via e-mail – not going to spam you, promise! Alternatively, you can subscribe through a WordPress account.
The only thing left to do is leave me a comment on this post and tell me which city from this list you would like to explore with GPSmyCity’s City Walk App.
20 lucky winners will be selected randomly on May 21, 2016.
If you win, you will receive a promo code for the city you chose in your comment. You will need to redeem your code within 28 days – but don’t worry, once downloaded, the app remains valid forever.
So where would you like to go exploring?
Hidden backyard in Portsoy, Scotland
I would love to win Cologne please! Great post 🙂
Totally agree. Exploring a place by walking is the best way. My favorite cities are those that are perfect for walking aimlessly through the streets. However, I also love bus tours because they allow me to see more and to hop off and then visit places a bit more 🙂
Arzo Travels recently posted…What To Do Before An International Flight
So true, aimless wandering is so much fun!
Is there a city you would like to explore with the help of a GPSmyCity app, Arzo?