A new adventure travel app attempts to make it easier for travelers to plan, book and review activities around the world, and chat to fellow participants in advance.
Billing itself as the ‘first adventure marketplace’, Envago is a new travel app in the adventure travel market. It’s modelled on the one-stop-shop concept, where travelers can plan and book activities around the world offered by registered ‘adventure planners’. They can also see reviews, chat to others who have booked the same activity, ask questions, and add feedback afterwards.
Activites are divided into five categories – Air, Earth, Water, Rock & Ice, and Volunteer – and include climbing, hang-gliding, zip-lining, kayaking mountain-biking and glacier-hiking, to name a few. Experiences are worldwide, such as paragliding over Pokhara’s Phewa Lake in Nepal, camel-trekking across Morocco’s Erg Chebbi dunes and river-rafting in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. Other destinations include Croatia, Bahrain, Oman, Norway, Venezuela and even Saudi Arabia, with new destinations added regularly.
The app has a browse-and-click approach – travelers can select by location, date, type of activity and difficulty level, and the app will search its database and show available activities, group size and prices. It also lets you see who else is booked to go and chat to fellow participants via the group chat facility.
Other functionality includes the option to save activities (before booking) to a wishlist, and a planning tool which can be helpful for longer trips. Additionally, a route mapping function uses geo pins to sort the adventures on offer in a certain region.
Envago allows users to browse unique adventures and connect with other adventure seekers.
Screenshots courtesy of Envago
Envago say they will verify all providers before their activity is registered on the travel app, and it’s hoped this will particularly apply to the volunteer experiences which often attract controversy. Activity providers can also instant-message anyone booked on their activity, and offer information and answers about what to wear, bring and expect.
The app is free on the iPhone AppStore and on Android’s Play Store. Payment is managed through the app; the full amount is held securely by Envago and transferred to the adventure planner just before the event. Travelers should also check the terms and conditions, particularly with regards to cancelation as providers may have different terms.
Envago is tapping into a growing trend catering to travelers’ desires for ever more immersive experiences – another newcomer is Airbnb’s Trips app which suggests local hang-outs, events and insider tips in selected destinations – and travel apps are proving a a popular way to add an extra dimension to trips.
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Find out more about Envago
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Meera Dattani
April 19, 2017