At a recent travel film festival by Nomading Films, Robert Reid of Lonely Planet emphasized that no matter where you travel, it is the people you end up remembering. Here at iGottaGuide, we believe in connecting you to that great local tour guide who you will always remember.

If you have ever traveled with a local, you understand how different your experience is from any other tourist. It is that truly authentic travel experience that makes your visit more memorable. At iGottaGuide, we allow you to connect with a local who you can relate to and then go share an experience together.

While traveling in Italy, iGottaGuide Co-Founder and CEO, Keith Petri was able to connect with a local—from that experience the mission of iGottaGuide was born.

When Keith was a junior in college, he spent some time studying in Ireland and traveling around Europe. While in Rome, Keith toured the Coliseum and felt like he was back home in Times Square—full of tourists. Then Keith arrived in Florence and began to see what it was like to travel like a local. He was introduced to a local by a mutual friend and was able to see Florence in a whole new way—a way in which the guidebooks could have never done.

“One night at 3AM we were winding up when the local friend said there was one more place we had to go. We protested, but he asked us to trust him. Soon he was knocking on a garage door, a secret bakery only open from 3:30 to 5:30AM that serves all the local stores. Only locals know you can go there at those hours and buy bread and pastries. That experience was the first of many on my travels that sold me on the idea: the best way to travel is to connect with someone who knows the city inside and out.”

Those hidden gems of each destination would normally go undiscovered by tourists, however local travel enables tourists to get a deeper understanding of wherever they may be.