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Bram Kanstein (@bramk)

BYG - Before You Go travel guides to 130+ countries

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BYG is a first-stop, time saver for travelers as you plan and enjoy adventures around the world.

Get the 4-1-1 on visa fees, best wireless carrier, plug adapters, driving rules, vaccinations and more. Saving you time, money, headaches & drama!

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Sasha
Maker
Hi all, I'm excited to share The Notorious BYG with you today — a first-stop, time saver for worldly travelers. Thanks @bramk for the hunt! Like many of you, I love to travel afar. Whether I was headed to the Great Wall, Great Pyramid or Great Barrier Reef, there were certain things I always researched beforehand: visa requirements, exchange rate, plug adapters, immunizations, safety alerts, et al. Doing so, however, entailed visiting multiple websites to find all the accurate answers I needed. A super inefficient process. So I created BYG. A collection of 'Before You Go' dossiers for over 130 countries (and counting!), where you can view all the key travel info you need to know about a country. Saving you time 🕓, money 💰 and international headaches 🤕. BYG data is collected and updated from official government and NGO sources, using journalistic and academic research methods. I invite you to check it out, and bookmark it for your next globe-trotting adventure. Thoughts, feedback and questions are most welcome. Thanks and Bon voYaGe! Sasha
Susannah Skyer Gupta

Lots to add still in the Caribbean, including Montserrat (go!), Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis

Pros:

Just had a quick scan of Croatia, where I am heading next month. The plug adapter presentation is clear and (assuming it's correct) helpful.

Cons:

It would be nice to have some links to touristy ideas and maybe more specifics by city/region, but this can obviously all be Googled.

Sasha
Maker
Hi @suzgupta, thanks for your review and feedback! You're good to go on the adapters! That data comes straight from the NGO that oversees international 'electro' standards. We've got a lot more countries to add to BYG, and the ones you listed are definitely on the roadmap. Stay tuned and follow @lovehaiqu. Finally, here's a travel essay on Croatia’s Green Istria region, which you may find inspiring. Especially if you love food and medieval architecture. https://theyologuide.com/travel-... I wish you Bon voYaGe on your Croatian adventure next month!
Pedro Freitas
Love the design and the way the information is displayed. I can't think of anything else that I needed to know if I went abroad. The only thing that is mildly infuriating is the amount of popups that are presented. Every page you open you'll get a popup to share with a friend or with yourself.
Sasha
Maker
@instapeter - Thanks for the feedback! Duly noted on the Send to a Friend modals. They mainly appear on country pages when a user truly engages with the content. But if, like you, most users visit multiple country pages in a session, it's something I'll definitely refine. Happy Travels!
Pedro Freitas
@sashatobago That’s one thing that more people might do. I am still choosing the destination of my next vacation as such I’ll see various countries in the page. That’s how I came across the problem with the popups, a simple checkbox in the popup ti not show again would fix the issue. 😄
Sasha
Maker
@instapeter - Great idea :-) I'm glad BYG can be a resource for you as you hone in on where to go next. If you haven't already, check out these Best For collections of countries that are perfect for different types of travel styles: https://byg.haiqu.io/best Thx again and Bon voYaGe!
Ghost Kitty
Comment Deleted
Sasha
Maker
@instapeter @jebarjonet - Thx for the feedback, Jean-Elie! I've just removed them from country pages and will add a more subtle / not annoying alternative instead. Happy Travels 😺
Kiura
Seems to be a useful product, but I would recommend to include info for large countries (e.g. Russia is so different in different parts of the country, there are more than 200 nationalities/languages for crying out loud 😆 and they have their own culture and in terms of safety the differ drastically (and I believe the same is true for other large countries)). It would be nice to have a map showing the levels of safety for example by state, e.g. you select a state and it shows stats for this particular part of the country. Also, I am curious about the sources, where do you get the info? in my experience, most of them have been badly inaccurate.
Sasha
Maker
@kura955 - Hi Kura, thanks for the feedback! BYG's country data is collected and human-verified direct from primary governmental and NGO sources; the data is incredibly accurate. Yet, because to err is human, no human creation is perfect, so if you find an error in a country guide, you can suggest an edit by tapping the pencil icon on the bottom right of the page (view sample). Happy Travels!
Petr Šulc
I just quickly went through Czech Republic in Europe and it’s alright but it’s not quite precise. Example: 112 is universal emergency number but when you KNOW you need a doctor, it is advised (by emergency services themselves) to call 155 directly. And 150 being the direct number to Fire dept. and 158 for police (+156 for local police in selected areas). The electrical sockets are 220, not 230, but I don’t know if that’s a big deal or not. I don’t know how exactly you evalute “Core religion” and Safety for Women, but the safety section says “:(“ while I don’t think our country is any particularly dangerous for women. :) Anyway, good luck with the website. Just maybe I would only show facts based on reliable source. Otherwise I won’t rather show it at all.
Sasha
Maker
@petr_sulc - Hi Petr, thanks for the feedback and the luck! For emergency #s, when there are multiple options, BYG shows the phone # where a tourist has the best chance of speaking to someone in English or another foreign language (hence 112 for CR). Our primary NGO source gives 230v for sockets. If you have an alternate, official source, let me know by suggesting an edit (tap the pencil icon on the bottom right of a country guide page). Core religion is the faith(s) a clear majority of the population says they observe. As per an official government source, most Czechs don't practice a religion. As to Women Safety, there are, unfortunately, common occurrences of women being drugged with date rape drugs and sexually assaulted while in CR (data from official govt sources). Hence the Caution rating. I take data integrity VERY seriously. The data on BYG is collected and human-verified from official government and NGO sources. However, as I said in a previous comment, to err is human, and BYG is a human creation. So, to achieve a 'more perfect BYG' 😺, I invite you and others to Suggest an Edit on the site. Every edit is read, cross-checked (against valid sources), and info is updated accordingly. Thx and Happy Travels!