I was absolutely fascinated by the idea of ​​everything free in this world and especially such opportunities in travel! Only if recently I “ate free cheese” myself, now I decided to return the favor to the dear Universe and do something good, of course, for free!

Get approval by e-mail "from above" and beyond follow the news in a group where announcements of applications for greasers periodically appear;

First "catch" an interesting foreigner for you(not forgetting to correlate your language and other abilities with the wishes of the guest) and declare your desire to become a greeter for him on certain days and hours;

From the project coordinator get guest contacts, promptly write to him and arrange a meeting, not forgetting about the feedback from the coordinator, so that he is aware of what is happening;

meet a guest, take a walk, chat, enjoy mutual acquaintance, and also take a joint photo (even if it’s a selfie) and ask for feedback about a walk on the Tripadvisor website: link for St. Petersburg and for Moscow;

keep hunting for new foreign guests in your city!

Directly about your experience of participating in this project I can tell you a little for now, since my greeter debut was quite recent. I was going to show Dostoevsky's Petersburg to a novice Italian photographer, but in the end we went around, it seems, the entire historical center of the city, since the weather and free time allowed it. In addition to traditional conversations about Russian culture (vodka-girls-bears), during the walk I took my new friend to the famous Pyshechnaya on Bolshaya Konyushennaya, and the tour ended with a delicious dinner, which I got as a “thank you” for the hospitality. I won't lie, it was nice)

She shared with me a much richer experience of "guest farming" one of the most active Moscow greasers Vera Kukoleva…

Vera, please tell us what funny things happened to your sightseers in Russia?

It is very touching to watch how foreigners diligently try to learn how to read Russian and remember basic expressions. Instead of a long and terribly difficult "hello", sometimes the familiar "hello!" is obtained, with which tourists intend to demonstrate their politeness in shops and hotels. Well, "Pestopakh" instead of "Restaurant" is a well-known story.

Once, sightseers from America asked where I usually buy matryoshkas. I immediately imagined how every weekend I go to the sales of Russian folk toys at a student discount. I had to tell you that practically only tourists buy nesting dolls.

And what negative emotions can you get from greetering?

Negative impressions from excursions are extremely rare. They are rather exceptions, confirming the rule that greetering always brings only joy. Sometimes it's a shame when guests are not at all interested in anything related to the history of the city, its architecture. Such people just want to “talk about life”, and the preparation of the excursion turns out to be useless. And for each walk I carefully prepare in advance: I select the material, I try to find something new and interesting.

The project is free, but it's always nice to get a "thank you" for your work. In what ways did foreign guests thank you?

It is very nice when guests bring me souvenirs from their country. Once a group from Brussels presented a box of real Belgian chocolate (delicious, delicious!), and tourists from Italy brought a traditional Neapolitan pendant for good luck. Some foreigners, knowing that the program is free, want to tip their thanks and pay for the tour, but I never take money: for me it spoils the whole charm of the walk.

Meeting a greeter with tourists is like meeting good friends. We communicate easily, exchange stories about life in Russia and abroad. I give guests advice on how best to spend time in Moscow, where to go, how not to get lost in the subway. Often we maintain relationships after a walk and really remain friends for a long time. And who would think of taking money from friends? Therefore, I fundamentally refuse to "pay".

I thank Vera for a piece of her experience that she shared with us, and I hasten to torment questions more and more creator of the Moscow greeter community Alexei Sotskov…

Alexey, please tell us about how the idea of ​​creating such a project was born?

A few years ago I was going to go to New York and I was looking for free tours carried out by the residents themselves. I came across the Big Apple Greeter community, created to combat the stereotype that New York is a gangster city. Local volunteers showed the guests not famous sights, but the real life of the American metropolis, which turned out to be not so dangerous.

I really liked the idea of ​​this project and I decided to organize something similar in Moscow. The emphasis was on linguistic students who lack language practice. There are a lot of conversation clubs and thematic lectures in foreign languages, but you usually have to pay to participate in them. And excursions for foreign guests are a free conversational practice, and even in an extremely informal setting. Greeters in many cities are mostly older people who have a lot of free time, while in Russia, on the contrary, there are more young people.

To what extent is it an official organization and does it have some kind of “head unit” that manages all regional ones?

So far, everything is managed by the virtual Global Greeter Network, which, however, has its own real president and even several departments responsible for marketing, accepting new members, etc. Annual meetings of the worldwide guitar community are held in various cities. There are plans to transfer the activities of the organization to the "official channel", but so far this is all at the design stage. It's funny, but some members of the Global Greeter Network, for example, all the same Greeters of the Big Apple (Big Apple Greeter) exist in a completely official form and are even sponsored by the city hall.

With this kind of support, I suspect that the New York greeter community is the most developed among its counterparts from other countries.

That's right, Big Apple Greeter is the most advanced, because they stood at the origins of a movement that originated as early as 1992, while their "official bosses" of the Global Greeter Network appeared only in 2005. On the this moment The New York Greeters Association has more than 70 members and conducts approximately 150 tours per month. True, it should be noted that such a high figure is achieved due to domestic tourists, that is, Americans from other states. We, unlike Big Apple Greeter, are more focused on working with guests from abroad.

Then let's just move on to the Russian greeter movement, tell us a little about its performance.

The Moscow community of greeters will soon be 4 years old, while the St. Petersburg community has been functioning for only 10 months. 70 participants are registered in the capital, in northern capital- about 40. As for the number of excursions, it very much depends on the season. During the season in Moscow, about 50 excursions with foreign guests are held per month, and in winter - only 20. In St. Petersburg, the numbers are still quite modest: only 40 excursions since the creation of the community. However, it should be noted that the number interested tourists increases every year, so we hope that we will continue to grow and develop!

I can only thank Alexey for an interesting conversation and wish the Greeters of both capitals more interesting guests from all over the world!

In this post:

Excursions in 300 cities from Tripster.ru

I, like most modern people, prefer maximum benefit use the internet system. With it, you can order and pay in online mode or call a taxi. And from time to time I use the order and payment service online tours. If I go to a country with a huge number of attractions, then in order to use my free time effectively, I use the service . Therefore, we will consider all its advantages and possibilities in more detail.

Opportunities and advantages of Tripster

The site has been operating since 2013, but in this relatively short time, it was able to earn trust huge amount travelers. What is most interesting, the people who created it, decided to take a completely different approach to organizing excursions. It involves the organization of non-standard excursions, according to the preferences of each client. This is rare to find.

Tripster.ru features:

• Guides who themselves are delighted with their excursions. These people themselves develop the route in such a way that every guest of the city is delighted. So that it will take your breath away, from new amazing places and facts. Among the guides are people of different specialties. These are architects, and journalists, and art historians, historians, and so on;
• Originality. The company uses standard approaches. Its motto is “No standard excursions”. Each walk is unique and inimitable, regardless of whether it is a visit to the museum complexes, or "walks on the roofs";
• Individuality. The service of unusual excursions does not work with crowds of tourists. Only individual programs are carried out, designed for one traveler and his companions. That is why I personally liked the system, I do not like platitudes.

Opportunities:

1. Independent choice of the author's excursion. That is, you yourself get acquainted with all the excursion programs of this or that guide, compiled by him independently. Read the reviews of people who have already used this excursion program. And only then decide whether this option suits you or not.
2. Advance booking online. Personally, I am very pleased with this service. I booked a convenient day and hour, arrived in a country or city, and rested. And then you can go on excursions.
3. Payment. It's a great option here. Make an advance payment, you have the opportunity to only 16% of the total cost. The rest of the money you give to the guide, directly at the meeting. But that's not all - if, for any reason, you can't visit the tour, the money is returned.

In my opinion excellent conditions, unique service individual excursions. You can learn more about all the offers on the official Tripster portal - experience.tripster.ru.

Advantages of online booking of excursions

List of virtues online booking trips to Tripster is quite impressive. But I would like to focus on the most important points:

• Complete freedom of choice (independence from tour operators, ideal for people who want to plan their own time);
• Saving time. There is no longer a need to spend hours on the Internet, choosing the most suitable tour option. Everything is in one place;
• Calm. A tourist can be sure that he will not be deceived, they will not sell tickets for excursions at inflated prices, and so on.

The portal is really unique, you won't find it in any other tour operator all over the world.

How to order and pay

The process of finding a suitable option, booking and paying on the official portal is quite simple. For example, I do this:

• I enter the Tripster portal - excursions from local residents;
• Enter into search engine desired city or country;
• I choose the tour I like;
• I decide on the right day and time;
• I contact the guide and clarify all points of interest;
• I enter personal data (last name and first name, e-mail, phone number);
• I make the payment, sometimes I pay only 16%, and the rest of the calculation is already in place, to the guide.

There are a few more interesting points here. As soon as you make a payment (by Visa or Mastercard - it doesn’t matter), the guide will open your phone number, and you will see it. Now it is possible to contact the guide at any time, before the appointed day of the tour. But until you make a payment, communication is possible only on the portal. Well, as you can see, everything is simple, easy and accessible to the point of banality.

Many independent travelers have long mastered the skill independent organization excursions, however, such events are not always held in the most informative manner. Sightseeing tours purchased from agencies can result in a fairly large amount, and walking in a crowd of tourists, trying to catch at least a fraction of information is not always comfortable. Therefore, today excursions from local residents are gaining more and more popularity. This option is very convenient, because it involves an individual approach, takes into account all the wishes of the tourist and, in general, can carry much more interesting information than a standard excursion from a guide. Where to find locals who know everything about their city, and how to book a tour with them, we tell in detail in our article.

What is tripster?

In 2013, an interesting resource appeared on the Internet called, which initially was a kind of platform for travel lovers, within which tourists exchanged their views and gave recommendations on visiting a particular attraction. But in just a few months, the site turned into a real travel club, where it became possible to negotiate with local residents about organizing excursions.

Today, on the site you can order individual tours to attractions in 485 cities around the world. More than 210 thousand people used the services of the service in 2018 alone, most of whom were satisfied with the service received. And there is nothing to be surprised here: after all, the guides are local residents, very creative and enthusiastic people who know much more about their city than travel agency employees.

Who will be interested in the service?

First of all, Tripster is designed for independent, not package travelers. The site provides an opportunity to find unusual excursions from locals who, in addition to standard sightseeing tours, will show you secret corners, organize tasting tours and allow you to plunge into the cultural life of the city.

Especially attractive Tripster will find inquisitive and active tourists who are bored with monotonous excursions. As part of such events, travelers manage to climb to little-known rooftops for the best views of the city and go underground, test their creativity in pottery, art and dance, trace the technology of wine production and try different varieties of tea and coffee. As a rule, excursions from Russian-speaking locals are as rich as possible and fully meet the interests of tourists.

Advantages and Features

The services of the Tripster website have a number of important advantages, including:

1. A wide choice of excursions. As we mentioned above, Tripster organizes tours to 433 cities around the world. Several guides can work at one site at once, so finding a suitable option here is not difficult. And in addition to the most popular destinations on the site, you can also find little-known cities, the locals of which are ready to create all conditions for tourists for the most complete acquaintance with iconic places. It is noteworthy that today excursions from locals for locals are in high demand. So, for example, residents of Moscow often go to the company with a guide who combines a story about objects with exciting quests, puzzles and prizes.
2. Accounting for individual requirements. This is one of the most important advantages of Tripster. Firstly, the tour will be formed exclusively for you and your companions, and you will not find strangers at the event. Many guides from local residents recruit a group where the maximum number of people does not exceed 10. If there are more of you, then this issue is discussed individually with the guide. Secondly, the tour will be organized according to your interests. To understand how important this is, it is worth remembering at least guides from Turkey or Egypt, with whom the main part of the tour takes place at the factories of textiles, leather and carpets, rather than at the sight itself.
3. Possibility to book a tour in advance. If you know the exact dates of the trip, then using the Tripster system you can make an advance booking of the tour. And this is very convenient, because you do not have to search on the spot yourself. right person spending precious time on it. good guide will take care of all the nuances of the walk and will try to do it in the best possible way.
4. Opportunity to speak with the tour guide before booking the tour. The site provides for communication with local residents providing their services. You can ask them any questions you are interested in and only then make a decision about the reservation. And after making an advance payment, you will be provided with the contact number of the guide. Thus, you will have the opportunity to contact him and discuss all the details in more detail.
5. Small down payment. After you agree with a local resident about the tour, you need to pay 20% of the total cost of the service. This is done so that the conductor is sure of the seriousness of your intentions: after all, you are booking certain time, which will be denied to other clients. The rest of the amount you give to the guide in person.
6. Promotions and discounts. Tripster often offers discounts to its users. To take full advantage of the promotions, you must register on the site. Often you can find various promotional codes here: some of them are valid for only a few days, but provide good discount(up to 10%), others are longer, but the size of the discount in this case will be small (up to 5%).

How to book an excursion?

So, if the dates of the trip are determined, and the travel plan is drawn up, it's time to take care of the main part of the tour - the excursions. Using the Tripster website is quite simple, but we decided to put together for you detailed instructions for working with the system.

Step 1. Finding the Right Option

We are on the main page of the site, where you can see two search columns at once: one "Where are you going" - in the middle at the top and the second "Where are you going" - in the center. Both lines perform the same function. We enter the direction we need in any of them (in our case it will be) and click on the "Find" button.

At our request, the system was able to find 28 offers. To clarify the parameters of your search, we will use the form above, in which we indicate the dates we need, the number of people and the price range. Then click on the Find tab.

After adjusting the parameters, the number of offers was reduced to 3. In order to get acquainted with the excursions presented by local residents, click on the photo.

A new window opens in front of us, where you can see information about the guide, data about the tour itself, as well as a booking calendar. Busy days are highlighted in pink, free days in green. Below the calendar are reviews of tourists who have already used the services of this local resident. Be sure to read the opinions of other travelers about the guide and his organizational skills. Having studied the information on all three proposals, we opted for the most budget option with a lot of positive feedback. Now we click on the date we need in the presented calendar and proceed to the next step.

After we clicked on the planned date, a form appeared in front of us. Here it is important to indicate the day of the proposed excursion, the number of tourists, first and last name, email address and phone number. Below is a field in which you can ask the guide all your questions. Please note that by filling out this form, you are not booking an excursion yet, but only declaring your intention. You can finally reserve the date after the guide answers the questions asked.

When you make a final decision about booking an excursion, you need to make an advance payment for the service. It is 20% of the total amount of the tour. Payment can be made using a credit card or bank transfer. We choose the method convenient for us in the appropriate form. Here you can also ask the organizers a question and cancel the order if you are not satisfied with the answers of the guide.

After payment, a notification about the completed transaction will be sent to your email inbox. The rest you will pay at a personal meeting with the guide. This is how the site with excursions from local residents works.

Is it possible to cancel the booking

If you have made an advance payment, but suddenly the trip fails, I am ready to return the funds to you. The main thing in this situation is to contact the guide as soon as possible and inform him about the cancellation of the reservation. After that, it is important to notify the site support service by writing a letter to the administration at [email protected] Funds will be refunded in accordance with the return policy of the system:

1. the money will be returned in full if you inform about the cancellation of the reservation at least 5 days before the planned excursion
2. if the cancellation occurs less than 5 days before the agreed meeting, then the site is ready to refund the prepayment only if the trip is disrupted for reasons beyond the control of the tourist (for example, flight cancellation)

It is also important to take into account that if a local resident, having agreed with you, spent his own money to buy entrance tickets or made other expenses that cannot be compensated if the tour is canceled, the prepayment will be returned minus the amount spent by him.

Output

Excursions from local residents are a tempting alternative to standard tourist walks. On the one hand, they provide an opportunity to enjoy the sights you are interested in in an individual format, on the other hand, they reveal much more interesting information about the objects. At the same time, the organization of the walk takes place on a convenient day for you, taking into account only your interests.

Related posts:

Standard excursions are becoming a thing of the past, when a crowd of tourists is trying to keep up with the guide at the same time, take pictures, remember at least something from a speech full of numbers, dates, historical references. In the 21st century, an individual approach that takes into account the needs of each client wins, which it can boast of. Clients are offered an exclusive created by a person who knows everything about his city and is able to captivate and intrigue the traveler.

Who is doing the tour

In places of congestion of tourists, both in megacities and in small towns, there will certainly be people of a creative warehouse who have a considerable store of knowledge. Among them may be professional historians and local historians, librarians, journalists and architects, teachers and art historians. The main thing is that these are caring, enthusiastic, sociable people with whom it is very interesting to spend time.

The future guide registers on the Tripster.ru website, passes an interview, presents a topic, and receives assistance in creating a unique project. The authors themselves set prices, but the competition is very high, so it is not in their interests to overestimate the cost of the service.

Reviews of people about excursion trips are full of gratitude and appreciation, allow you to better understand the specifics of the project.

Project Features

Created in 2013, the Tripster project began as a communication club where tourists exchanged experiences and shared valuable advice. As the community grew, it switched to autonomy, and in a few years it turned into a kind of travel club. Clients who have registered on the site are offered unusual excursions sponsored by local residents.

Indeed, who else can tell about the history, customs, curious facts from the life of the city and its inhabitants in such a fascinating, knowledgeable way? A walk organized according to the author's scenario will show local sights from an unexpected perspective. From the locals, the tourist learns information that guides from hotels or tour agencies never tell.

The first experiences of amateur excursions were successful and brought new customers. In all corners of the world, Russian-speaking guides were sought, well versed in various fields - from wine and coffee to high art. If you have something to tell about your city, you can try your hand and earn some money.

In addition to standard trips to places of worship, tourists:

• explore the hidden corners of the city;
• rise to rooftops and descend underground;
• tasting different varieties of coffee and tea;
• get acquainted with the technology of wine production;
• try their hand at pottery and painting;
• attend master classes in national dances;
• go backstage at the theatre.

Family excursions, interesting to all family members, regardless of age, turned out to be very popular. These are walks for inquisitive why-do-it-yourselfers, the wonders of the Moscow Kremlin, the skyscrapers of Moscow City. For children from 14 years old, exciting quests with treasure hunting, riddles and prizes are offered.

Tripster provides the client with new opportunities:

• non-standard approach;
• individual programs;
• an extensive selection of excursions around the world (409 cities);
• preliminary online booking;
• payment on the spot;
• security guarantee.

Service created for independent travelers . Mass excursions with a large number of people are not provided. Everything is purely individual. The group includes only you and your companions. The guide himself sets the maximum number of wards, as a rule, no more than 10 people.

© evergreenkamal / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

How to choose and book a tour

So, you have decided to travel and want to make it interesting and meaningful. Your actions:

• go to the official website;
• enter the selected city or country in the window;
• take a look at the offers and mark the option you like - look at the number of stars and read reviews;
• select a free day in the calendar and set a convenient time;
• contact the guide and discuss the details;
• enter your data (last name, first name, phone number, e-mail address);
• pay 16-20% of the total cost;
• The rest of the amount you give personally to the guide.

Users highly appreciated the benefits of buying excursions online. You get freedom of action, do not depend on the tour operator, save time and save your nerves. The agreement, which is concluded between the client and the site administration, guarantees security and is legally binding.

Payment Details

People don't like to pay in advance for services. The service provides the user with the opportunity to first get acquainted with the future guide and make sure that excursion program suits him.

At the first stage, communication takes place in the form of correspondence on the site. Having finally decided, you transfer the advance payment to the guide. You can do this with Visa or Mastercard.

After this operation, you will receive the guide's phone number. He, in turn, opens your number, and you can keep in touch until the appointed time.

The main payment occurs immediately before the tour. If for some reason the meeting does not take place, the money will be returned to the card in full.

© [email protected]/flickr.com/CCBY 2.0

Promotions from Tripster

To return part of the money spent on the purchase of an excursion, Authorization on the site allows you to use promotions, discounts, often timed to coincide with a significant date or before holidays.

Promotional codes of both periodic and permanent action are laid out on the site.

If you set a goal and keep track of information about discounts, you can save from 5% to 10%. To use a nice gift:

• come in ;
• select a tour by clicking the "Order" button;
• specify the date and time;
• enter the currently valid promo code in the box at the bottom of the page.

The decision must be made quickly. Short promotional codes are valid for a short period of time - from 2 days to a week. The exception is long-term promotions, but the percentage of the discount will be less.

The project continues to develop, covering new, unknown corners of the planet. As a result, you will fill your vacation with new impressions and meet smart, enthusiastic people. You won't be bored!