There are tons of travel apps that tell you where to go to see the highlights of a city or country. It’s quite difficult to find an app though that helps you experience destinations like a local.

Lately, a few very cool experiential travel apps were launched – I encourage you to check them out to experience destinations in a new way!

Wanderlust (pictured above) lets you emerge yourself in a “story” and experience a (preferably) city in a way you had never thought of. You can use it in almost any city in the world, as it works with Foursquare’s database of millions of locations. Most “stories” start in a bar, convention center, music venue or restaurant. Quite difficult to explain, check it out on the website! (also works on the web)

Dérive works similarly – it’s a very simple app that lets you explore destinations (once again, works better in cities) by letting you draw randomly selected task cards that tell you what to do. Check out the video to see how it works

If these apps are too experiental for you, but you do want to experience cities like a local, check out Spotted by Locals’ iPhone apps – apps with tips by handpicked locals in 38 European cities  (disclaimer, I’m the co-founder)