Google has launched a new site designed to help travelers visiting new cities for the first time. Touring Bird is essentially a planning tool for tourists, listing the top attractions and activities to enjoy, and sharing tips from both locals and travel experts.
Touring Bird has emerged from Google's Area 120 division, an incubator that fosters employees' side projects. Google employees are allowed to spend 20 percent of their developing side projects, some of which then blossom into full Google products.
Taking the Stress Out of Travel Planning
Touring Bird is an attempt to simplify the planning process for tourists visiting a new city. As stated on the website itself, it helps budding travelers "explore, compare, and book experiences---all in a single place". Which could prove invaluable.
You pick a city from the 20 currently available, and you'll then get an overview of the top sights, interesting activities, local tips, and free tours. You can also explore each city by interest, filtering things to suit your personal tastes.
The top sights are the iconic visits everyone probably already knows about. However, hidden within the tours and tips sections are other activities that aren't listed in the guide books. And these will allow you to see each city from a different perspective.
At launch, Touring Bird covers Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, New Delhi, New York, Orlando, Paris, Prague, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.
The Perfect Planning Tool for Tourists
As a planning tool for tourists, Touring Bird does a lot right. It looks great, it's easy to navigate, and should help travelers enjoy the city break they're embarking on. Let's just hope Google adds more cities and more layers of information in the future.
As well as Touring Bird, there's Google Trips, which helps you enjoy an amazing vacation. Meanwhile, these are the skills you need to learn to travel more. Finally, for those who prefer staying at home, here are the best travel documentaries on Netflix.