Someone to show you the local hot spots, order the tastiest local dishes or help you haggle for market finds? Traveling to another country is intimidating enough. Even if you had the time to extensively research and prepare for your trip, you still might miss out. Tubudd, a Vietnamese-owned digital platform, connects travelers with a global network of verified and trained local buddies. Tubudd’s vision is to innovate a new form of tourism with fully customizable experiences that break down language barriers and build bridges between local communities and globetrotters like you. Locals are empowered to share their passion and their love for their cities, and travelers can attain one-of-a-kind experiences.
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Tubudd’s buddies offer personalized private excursions and activities in more than 30 destinations across Vietnam and 20 countries worldwide.
Buddies can speak in several languages, including English, French, German, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and many more. Thanks to an extensive network of Vietnamese expatriates across the world, Tubudd also serves Vietnamese nationals travelling abroad who wish to discover a new country with the help of a fellow compatriot.
Buddies are carefully recruited based on their knowledge of the cities, their language skills and their passion for sharing with others. They are vetted for language skills, and also receive background and reference checks. Tubudd also operates training sessions for buddies.
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Like looking for hotels on booking platforms, through a few clicks on Tubudd’s website and app, travellers can search for local buddies who match their travel needs and budgets.
You can select five types of buddies: 1. The “local” buddy to whisk you off to popular destinations in his/her city, and to try the best foods and drinks in the area; 2. The “professional” tour guide, with years of experience to shower you with information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage; 3-4. The “interpreter” or “business” buddies to provide translation services or support restaurant, hotel and transportation reservations for business people traveling for professional purposes; or 5. The “free” buddies, often students seeking to improve their language skills and to exchange and share their hometown with travelers.
Once you find your match, you simply exchange with your selected buddy(ies), customize your ideal trip and confirm your booking. Payments can be easily made on the app using Paypal, Visa or Mastercard. All you have left to do is meet your Tubudd buddy to get off-the-beaten track and have a true taste of local life!