TripHappy is an online platform that helps you plan your next backpack trip based on data.
Data-driven Backpacking
When Calvin from TripHappy told me about data-driven backpacking I was confused and skeptic. Why should I use data-driven tools to plan my journey? Usually, while on my trips I just step into the next hostels and chat with one of the other backpackers about my next destination. Isn´t that what makes trips unique adventures? For those who don’t know where to go for their next vacation, consider taking a Vietnam Photography Travel Tour.
photo credit: Thomas James Caldwell Sunrise Point With Tree via photopin (license)
Maybe, but maybe you are short on time and just want to maximize your trip experience, then TripHappy comes in quite handy. The platform offers a visual trip planner, an accommodations comparison engine, and travel guides for your trip to the Cayman Islands.
What is TripHappy about?
The trip planner lets you select your start destination and will take you from there to your next destination. Based on uploaded trips from other users the platform tells me that 9% of the people head to Boston from New York, 8% to Los Angeles and 6% to Philadelphia. So let´s follow the crowd and add Boston as my next destination.
From Boston, most people fly over to San Francisco to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. From San Francisco, 17% of the people went to Los Angeles. In this way, you can simply create trips step-by-step with a few mouse clicks.
Too lazy to plan? No problem, TripHappy provides you also a platform where you can look through already created trips by other backpackers and use them as an inspiration for your own journey. You can also like or watch trips so that others recognize popular trips quick. Furthermore, you can share your trips with your Facebook or Twitter friends.
For all destinations, you find reviews written by other users as well as accommodation deals from your favorite booking platforms such as AirBnB, Booking.com or Hostelworld.
What is in for me?
In my test, it didn´t take me more than 5 minutes to plan a trip through North America and I´m really happy with the result. The interface is quick and easy to use and trip planning is so much easier than going through 300-page travel guides or dozens of TripAdvisor pages. In the future, I would like to have the possibility to automate trip planning based on time span and budget.
If you live for the moment on your trips then TripHappy won´t make you happy, but if you´re looking for an easy to use tool that supports you while creating your next trip it is definitely worth a try.
TripHappy is available as a web app.
When you created your first trips, let me know in the comments.
