GoGoBot: Plan Your Trip Easily & With Help from Your Friends!

Anyone who knows me knows that it is an absolute dream of mine to travel to Japan one day. It's definitely #1 on my bucket list. I am ecstatic to announce that in April 2013, I will be able to cross it off that list! I have the amazing opportunity to visit Tokyo for 10 days in just a few short months so I really need to start planning it asap. Traveling within the country is one thing, but to the Far East? I feel trip planning is entirely different and you really need all the help you can get!

I have purchased 5+ travel guides/books and browsed countless travel sites. With all that information at my disposal, I still feel a bit overwhelmed. Perhaps I have too much information? With that said, I recently discovered GoGoBot, a travel site that can help you plan your entire trip from where you will stay, what you will do and where you will eat. Having those three travel necessities on one site is a tremendous help in planning! Another wonderful feature is that you can get the help from your friends, online and real-life ones, thanks to the social aspect of it.

Here's a little background on GoGoBot:

Gogobot, a social travel site, was launched in 2010. Since then, the company has received several awards including being named one of Time’s Top Sites of 2011 and winner of the 2010 Crunchie Award for Best Design. Gogobot’s big win is that it allows you to connect with your friends to get their advice on where to visit, what to eat, and where to stay when you travel. You can use the service to plan things ahead of time, or you can poll your friends on the fly.

My experience using GoGoBot:

Simply put, I love this site! There is tons of information on it, but you don't need to jump through hoops or visit other sites to get more information on specific restaurants, attractions, etc. All the important aspects of travel are on one site, with lots of helpful reviews. I especially love that most of the photos on the site are user uploaded, meaning that they are real photos taken by normal people, not enhanced or staged photos from owners or management.

GoGoBot destination homepage. Everything you need to know at a glance!

I've done quite a bit of research using other resources, and I can report that GoGoBot is comparable with any of them with all the destinations and attractions listed on the site. It's good to know that I won't miss anything important or worthwhile using this site. I love that each attraction includes information regarding hours, phone number, official website, description and many user reviews.

You can easily create your entire trip using GoGoBot. With one click, you can add a restaurant or attraction to your trip. After you add all your must-see and must-go places, you can then start planning your itinerary since you have everything in one spot.

Earlier I mentioned that my trip is for 10 days. There's no way I could possibly write here my entire trip plans, but I can definitely let you know how I'll be spending my first day in Tokyo!

Of course, the first thing I needed to find was a place to stay. The most important things I looked for was location and price. I don't need to stay in a top-of-the-line hotel (in fact, I'd rather stay at a more traditional Japanese inn), and I need to be near a train station. Thanks to the wonderful reviews, I found out that the Citadines Tokyo Shinjuku is only a few minutes walk to the train station and you can get a room for as low as $165 a night, an awesome price for a Tokyo hotel! I enjoyed reading the long list of included amenities, including free hi-speed internet, a kitchen with microwave and blackout curtains.

Shinjuku Gyoen

I also found out that this hotel is conveniently located near the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Tokyo Imperial Palace (the home of the current emperor of Japan!) two places I will definitely visit on Day 1. Another attraction I'll be sure to visit is the Tokyo Tower. This tower is similar to the Eiffel Tower, except that it is even taller! After reading the reviews, I discovered that there are several levels to the tower. One costs money, while the other one is completely free. GoGoBot users suggest visiting the tower at night because it is fully illuminated and the Tokyo skyline at night is fabulous.

Tokyo Tower

During my sightseeing, we'll need to eat a few times. There are literally thousands of restaurants and eateries in Tokyo, but thanks to the "Restaurants Nearby" feature that every attraction has, it was easy to find close restaurants to wherever I may be within the city. One restaurant that is a must-eat for me is Gonpachi. Apparently, this restaurant has ties to the movie Kill Bill. Some users say it was just an inspiration for the black and white scene, while others say it really was filmed there. Either way, I love the movie and need to check this place out myself!

I still have a lot of planning to do, but I think Day 1 sounds pretty good so far. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time on GoGoBot. Luckily though, it's very user friendly and informative, so I don't mind!

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Gogobot allows you to tap into the knowledge of your friends when planning a trip anywhere. You can find like-minded travelers and inspiration for your next vacation, creating easy-to-use wishlists you can return to again and again.

And when you are not in vacation mode or planning a trip, you can discover hidden gems in your own neighborhood for entertaining guests or a weekend staycation.

The best part? Every page on Gogobot is personalized. You can see reviews from your friends and people you are following at the top, which allows you to weed out the noise and fraudulent reviews that become a problem on other review sites. Check out Gogobot today!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gogobot. The opinions and text are all mine.