Website Review of Travergence.com
We were recently asked to do a review of the website Travergence.com. Having never heard of the travel site before, we were curious to see what it’s all about. We spend a lot of time surfing the web, so we’re always interested in new travel websites.
Travergence helps travellers and adventure seekers find things to do while on vacation by linking them with over 500 activity providers and more than 2,000 activities in over 30 cities across the United States and Canada.
The site provides detailed information and photos about outdoor adventures and activities, and it allows users to connect directly with local tour operators.
The first thing we noticed was that Travergence has loads of detailed information about things to do in British Columbia. As residents of Vancouver, this was a HUGE plus for us. Our travel style has changed since the birth of Baby B, so we’ve made it a priority to explore more of our beautiful backyard.
The timing of this review was great because we’ve been thinking about taking a trip to Tofino this summer. We’ve been on many surfing trips in Tofino but we didn’t know what else to do while there (aside from enjoying a craft beer while watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean).
After a quick search on Travergence, we found at least 10 different activities to do in Tofino. We’ve been to Tofino countless times but we had no idea there are hot springs nearby – how did we not know this?!
The 3 Day Camping and Kayak Exploration trip caught our attention so we decided to look into the tour further. The site does a good job breaking down the trip and answering a lot of the typical questions that we had.
We like the availability calendar and the departure times, and seeing a variety of photos definitely helped us visualize being on the tour. It was also helpful to have information about the tour operator, which allowed us to do further research.
When we went to book the tour we had to leave our name and email address because it’s actually a third party website that does not deal with transactions. Instead, it connects interested adventure seekers with the local tour operator.
We don’t know why, but we felt more comfortable knowing that we’d be contacted by the actual tour company rather than a travel brand like the ones referenced in our recent post How to Find the Best Travel Deals Online.
We didn’t end up submitting a request because we aren’t ready to book the trip, but the process seems pretty easy and straight forward.
Here are 6 things we like about Travergence.com
- The website is clean and easy to navigate. It’s easy to find activities for each destination (within 2-3 clicks) since its categorizes activities into Air Activities, Cultural Activities, Food, Beverages & Nightlife, Land Activities, Nature & Wildlife, etc. You can also easily search by destination or keyword.
- Local tour operators and businesses can list tour and activity offerings for free. We prefer to work with the little guy. In our opinion, it’s the lesser known tour companies that typically offer the best customer experience. Knowing that local tour operators are getting noticed is a big plus for us.
- It offers activities and information for smaller towns like Osoyoos and Golden BC. When we went on our Canadian Rockies road trip two years ago, we drove right through these towns because we didn’t think there was much to do. This site would have been helpful with our road trip planning.
- Lots of British Columbia content. We have a goal to visit at least one new place in British Columbia each year. This website is not only a great resource, it has opened our eyes to new adventures that we didn’t know existed.
- It shows availability and departure schedules. We really like this feature for activities like Whale Watching. We often take weekend trips to Vancouver Island, which means we have to plan around the BC Ferries schedule. By knowing exact departure times for the tours, we can plan accordingly (this makes Nicole happy!).
- There are a lot of activities for under $100 (at least there was for Tofino). We rarely book with major travel brokers because we feel like the middle man is making all the money. We didn’t get that vibe with Travergence and feel comfortable knowing that we are connected directly with the tour operator BEFORE a purchase is made.
Some areas for improvement:
- The site does not have a “Special Offers” or “Last Minute Deals” section. Everyone likes to feel like they’re getting a deal, so we would like to see a section dedicated to special offers or seasonal specials. The site offers pricing, but we have no way to tell if the prices are competitive.
- Currently the site has about 30 destinations, so it’s limited on selection. That said, we couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or bad thing. We’ll let you decide.
After being introduced to Travergence.com, we will definitely return when we plan our next trip in British Columbia. In fact, we’re now considering a kayaking adventure on Quadra Island and an ATV and Helicopter tour in Osoyoos!
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Disclosure – we were compensated to spend time reviewing this website, however the expressed opinions are entirely our own. The photos used in this post are the property of Travergence.com
Nice looking site. It would be great if they could extend their coverage to Europe. Thanks for the review.
Thanks for checking it out Alex – cheers!
Would love to go on Orca tour to see something like in the first picture.
Isn’t that photo incredible?! Now THAT’s timing!
Thanks for the review guys!
One of the first things tour operators and activity providers ask us on the phone is, “You’re not some kind of Groupon thing are you?”
Part of the reason we haven’t offered flash sales is because we feel most of the businesses we work with are strongly opposed to them. That being said, we may consider the idea of providers being able to offer coupons on our site–we just DO NOT want a deals system that would deeply discount tours to the point where operators aren’t making any money.
@Alex: We want to be worldwide! We are currently working on extending our coverage to Europe. Bike tours through Rome is one of the activities you could soon be seeing on Travergence!
I can appreciate that local operators don’t want to discount their offerings (no business wins the price war!).
That said, I think there’s a big opportunity to highlight specific adventures or tours that are already departing but have a few extra seats remaining. It’s just about positioning and marketing (nobody has to lose money on the offering).
There may be an opportunity, but there is still a scheduling issue that remains with last minute tour/activity booking.
RE: “We didn’t end up submitting a request because we aren’t ready to book the trip . . .”
We will be changing the language of our request form to make it clearer that sending a request does not equal saying, “I want to book.” You can send a request if you’re not ready to book, but would like to talk to the tour operator/guide to get additional information about an activity.