peek of this week's episode.
No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our firsthand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on earth. In this week's episode, we wanted to address a common concern that we hear from our listeners. They are concerned about renting a car and driving in a foreign country. As you know, we have rented cars all over the world, and I think this is a magnificent way to see and interact with the local cultures. That's where Tripiamo comes in. Their goal is to help others travel safely, confidently, and further than ever before. They provide online driving guides for travelers considering driving in a foreign country. Today, we will hear from their CEO and founder, how all of you Sunshine Travelers can get expert guidance that helps you prepare and be confident in your ability to drive in a foreign country. So grab your driver's license and let's get started.
most favorite memories and experiences have come from road trips. You can hear more about these in episode 18, where we road trip through Southern Ireland, episode 21, driving through Scotland, and our experience is renting a car in Mexico in episode 29. But what I don't know that we have ever talked about is our experience arguing about where to get off on a roundabout and the bus lane tickets that I've gotten in the UK. These things could have been prevented if we had viewed the Trippiamo guide on driving in the UK ahead of time. So that everyone will know what Trippiamo is, let's introduce John, the founder and CEO. We're joined tonight by John Cortes, and he is the CEO and founder of a company called Trippiamo. Well,
you say that, I do want to say like the way that I found you guys is through another travel person who does kind of like what we do. Right. They just shared something on an Instagram story that said, hey, you know, go take a look. This is kind of what they offer. Just go take a look at their, you know, their Instagram page, their website, that kind of thing. So just how powerful just sharing knowledge and sharing services that you value, just like word of mouth. And so I followed you guys. And then I think just, you know, through interacting through Instagram and stuff like that, just then you guys reached out so that we could, yeah, have a conversation. And we're super excited. We've, to preface that, we've been through one of your programs that we're in the second for an upcoming trip. So we're super excited to share this with our listeners. Let's welcome John. Okay.
welcome John. Okay. Glad to have you, John. Welcome,
John. Thank you
so much. It's so exciting to be here, Scott and Melissa. Really so happy to be here.
So start off, just tell us a little bit about what is Trippiamo? I mean, we've kind of teased it a little bit, but what is it? Yeah. Yeah.
So Trippiamo is the first online guide that's solely focused on teaching people how to drive specifically in other countries. There are a lot of challenges with driving in other countries, different road signs, different road markings, different cultural etiquette, different rules, laws, and all these things cause a lot of challenges for people when they drive abroad. So we wanted to create a virtual guide that you take before you go to any country that really gets you fully understanding and really basically fully understanding everything you need to know before you go. So we created these guides in conjunction with local driving schools that have verified each of them to make sure we have accurate information and really to give someone, again, the most comprehensive view that really gets them feeling like they're actually prepared to drive in another country before they
get there. That's great. I mean, we're headed to Germany in just a few weeks from now. And so we actually took the Germany course from Trippiamo and we were both sitting there because we've driven in Germany before. And we were like, oh, I didn't know that. And we learned a whole lot, even though we've been there and have driven in that country before. We learned so much from just watching this video and the course that's associated with it. Awesome. I know. I'm so happy to hear
that, guys. There's really, we think about the Trippiamo Guides and how we've created them is not just for someone that's never been to another country or never driven in another country. It's absolutely meant for those folks that are doing it for the first time and they're a little concerned and on the edge. But it's also as much for those that have traveled very frequently to that same country or to just other countries as well. There's always something new to learn. And I'm sure we'll talk a little bit about how this idea came, right, and all these things. And I can kind of talk a little bit more about basically how we came to design these guides in a particular manner, too.
So why don't you just start by telling us a little bit, because you're very well traveled yourself, right? And how did that influence your desire to start this company? Yeah. So I guess
just travel from a young age has been something that's running through my blood. I grew up in an Italian-American family. My grandparents lived in Sicily, so I would go visit them probably every five or so years growing up. That and growing up near the Atlantic Ocean, I always remember looking out into the ocean and thinking about what was past there. What were people doing on the other side of the globe, right? That kind of just quickly led into where I really started traveling really frequently. I went to Northeastern University in Boston and took advantage of pretty much every program they offered for travel since the school was so, so focused on international studies. So just to start off, one of my first years, I did a program with 10 students and one professor, and we did a backpacking trip meeting businesses across Asia. So that was the first thing. Then there was an opportunity to go on a trip during spring break to Saudi Arabia, sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government government for students to learn more about their country. So I made sure I raised my hand and I was the first one to send an email back to the professor. And even, you know, even on a budget, I remember actually crazily winning a prize in Boston for the most cans and bottles collected and recycled in a certain timeframe for a college student. And that funded my Euro trip over a summer. So all of these things, right, all these travel experiences continue to grow. I started a career in payments, but for a very big global company, as you guys probably know, Visa. And I eventually wound up in a team where I led the travel and tourism economic data trend, basically looking at macro trends and spending around the world and helping large hotel chains, airlines and other major cities understand the nuances and how people move around the world. So all these things, plus all my travels across the globe, having driven in many of these places, but not all of them, I knew and I just felt so many challenges. And I felt like there was nothing out there online or in a guidebook that really prepared you, that made you feel like you actually have done it before you've already gotten there. So all these things led to my kind of founding of Trippiamo and that background. Yeah,
Yeah, I totally agree with you. I mean, I was a big guidebook person before the internet and blogs and things like that. And that's just not ever something that I think is, you know, talked about or really goes into in-depth, you know, my head, a little information about how to use public transportation, how to rent a car, nothing in detail. And even now, I guess that's not almost the glamorous side of travel, right? So you don't like see a lot of information, but oh my goodness, it makes such a big impact. And it makes such a big impact on your travels if you get outside, if you can rent a car and get outside of a city or a place where just the public transportation. I mean, you can have such broader experience. So it just bridges the gaps so well.
Oh, yeah. And I mean, just not even seeing more places or seeing places off the beaten path. It's also more, right, during a trip. Let's say the average American, what gets two weeks, maybe a little bit more on vacation. And if you wanted to see more of a country, it's hard to do that unless you have that flexibility of a car. You can see hotspots, right? But also see off the beaten path places. I'm so totally agree with you.
I mean, part of our podcast is to be able to travel more and better. And then, you know, even out on cruises, we're saying, go get outside the cruise port because you're not going to experience the real authentic culture right there in those ports. And so I think that's really cool. And then you guys, we talked a little bit about that. You talk about if you're renting a car and are driving in another country, but then you also have some of your programs, which include doing public transportation as well. Yeah, we absolutely do.
Particularly for the United Kingdom, we have public transportation. I am ironically running a company to help people drive, yet I don't actually own a car since I live in Manhattan, which is kind of funny. But I do. I've driven plenty. So trust me, we're all in good hands just with the guides. But yeah, no, we do have that because we also think about it as going off the beaten path doesn't necessarily have to be going to a small town or countryside. town or a countryside. It could be getting off at a different stop in London that's outside of where most tourists go to go just walk around and feel what locals do, where they eat, where they go get a coffee, right? All of those things are really resonating with me and our customers. And that's why we also have guides for public transportation as well.
Melissa has a story about catching public transportation in the UK where she watched the bus go by her three or four times and finally was like, how do you get on this bus, right? And having
go back in and ask the hotel and they were like, oh yeah, we forgot. They told me what bus to get on where I was going, but they were like, oh yeah, we forgot to mention. You have to like raise your hand out, you know, and let them know. And so I will say like some of our fondest travel memories is when we have rented a car and gotten out in places like Ireland and Scotland. And of course, you know, the Cotswolds in the UK, in Mexico, you know, in places like that. So tell us a little bit for our listeners, like go through the nuts and bolts. How does this, how does one of these courses work?
all that good stuff?
guide, we really try to focus on what do you really need to know and what has a lot, what have a lot of other travelers, whether they're expats that are moving to those countries, they're travelers going for a week, they're people that have been frequently traveling, they're business travelers. We look at all the different perspectives and think about, okay, boiling it down, what are the most important critical things? So really, I'd say there's three key areas of every guide that we provide. Number one is we have a section called expert instructional videos. So these are short micro videos that are pretty much anywhere from three to five or so minutes that really focus on the key topics that are different about driving in that country compared to your home country. So just to give some examples, we could be looking at road signs and road markings as one. We could be looking at parking, which is something that we'll get into, but many Americans and other travelers wind up getting a lot of tickets and fines because they just can't read what's going on and what the road signs or the parking signs mean. Excuse me. Roundabouts, particularly how they're different in other countries and how to navigate through them. Talking about cultural etiquette and what it's like to drive in those places. Safety and communication with other locals so that if something happens to you, what do you do or where do you go or what number do you call? Simple things like that, but a lot of things that many people don't realize they should know before they actually drive. So that's kind of the first part, which is get yourself equated with what it's like. Then we also thought about it as I was designing this too, is, you know, it's great to have information given to you, but I also really, the way I like to learn, and I believe a lot of other people do as well, is actually feel like they've experienced it, that experiential learning aspect. So we actually, our team goes and films in each country across all different parts of that country and urban areas, rural, suburban, and kind of everything else in between. And we actually make sure we find footage and create footage that represents the many different types of situations that foreigners get tripped up in so that you not only have maybe one or two experiences actually seeing it happen, but you can actually almost feel like you're behind the wheel yourself and experiencing it as if you're there so that when you actually get to that country, you're not kind of thrown off, right? You don't have any of that anxiety of what's going to happen as soon as you pull off the rental lot, right? All those things are kind of eliminated. So that's kind of a big piece that we have. And then the last piece is we have a printout that you can keep on your phone or bring in the car. That's actually a really handy reference for, OMG, I forgot something that was in the guide that I don't remember and I don't have internet service anymore. Let me refer. What does that road sign look like? I have to speak to someone at the gas station and I don't know what the main terminology or phrasing is. Things of that nature. We cover all those things. hundreds, if not more than that, as we've gone through building these guides outside of working with driving schools and reading local driving manuals to really give you everything that you actually need to go and drive in these
So as Scott mentioned, we actually, we got the Germany one, we did the Germany one. And what I like the most about it is as you went through those modules, like it was, it was like you were in the car driving, right? It was like, as even though information was being given to you in an informative and sometimes funny way, you know, some of the comments were just funny and, you know, it kind of kept you engaged. I feel like you were driving along in the car. So then you saw the road signs or you saw where it talked about, like you're saying the parking and knowing, you know, when you can park there and when the parking begins or the one way ends and begins and you know, how you how you navigate the stopping procedure in Germany, but you're watching it as you go. And I think that's fantastic, right? Because you really are then engaging, you know, you're listening and you're watching it and you feel like you've already driven. And then like you said, you've got some other little videos that you can watch. But yeah, I thought that was really great part about it.
Oh, I'm glad. I'm glad that's the case. Just on that note, on those virtual, what we call 360 driving tours, one of the pieces of feedback we keep getting is that it's not just helpful to be behind the wheel, but particularly when you're going to a country that drives on the opposite side of the road, like the UK or Ireland, which we should be soon launching as well. But just having the chance to fully acquaint yourself for X number of minutes, or we have about 40 or so minutes on average in each guide for the driving tours. And you can watch as much as you want, but really feeling like you actually just watch and get acquainted and understand what it's like to make turns, not turn into the wrong lane because you're on the opposite side of the road. And so, yeah, I just wanted to mention that as well.
that's absolutely true. We've been there, done that. When
you come to the UK, right? And you come to a three-way intersection, I call it, or a T, Yeah, that's absolutely true.. And that's just so backwards. And so seeing that before you go in having that familiarity actually kind of helps. Now you got to remember it while you're there, but you know.
but it does help. It helps that you're on the opposite side of the, you know, you're on the opposite side of the car. And so you're a little more aware of that as well. And so I would say, you tell me about the other ones. We spent, like you're saying, about 45 minutes to an hour, I think, and we were able to go through the entire guide. So it's not something that you need a whole lot of time. I mean, I wouldn't wait till like the night before, you know, but you don't have to, you know, it's not going to be like you're spending hours and hours and hours. And in that time, you get enough information or the rest of them.
But if you want it's You to, go back good. and watch it again or watch some of the other videos as And in that well. you get enough time, information or the rest of But if you want them. it's good. to, You
it again or watch some of the other videos as And in that well. you get enough time, information or the rest of But if you want them. it's good. to, You go back and watch it again or watch some of the other videos as well. So is that about the typical length of everything? Yeah,
absolutely. Yeah. You can go in and watch as many times as you'd like. And generally, we see on average, our customers are using it for about an hour. So that's about how much time it takes that most people feel prepared.
Yeah. And I do like the, I told Melissa, I like the idea of the printout guide, especially just for some of those signs, because you were nice and talking about that some people get tickets. But we've said it on our podcast that I've gotten multiple tickets in foreign countries when driving. And I'm pretty certain there was probably a sign that I missed along the way. And so having that, you know, handed to Melissa and she could be watching for some of these signs and stuff like that as well as we're driving along.
Yeah. And, you know, yes, there are a lot of cases where people come home with unnecessary fines and tickets. Right. But I think both of you can attest as well that driving in another country isn't as intimidating as a lot of people think it is. It's actually like from a team that's really been like designing these guides and again, looking at driving manuals in each country, driving in the U.S. compared to most of these places is 90, 95% the same. It's just, you just need to know that extra 5% or 10% difference, and you'll be fine. That's the way to avoid a lot of these anxieties or annoyances or stresses when you're abroad.
I know as a kid growing up, I'd never seen a roundabout before, right? It just didn't exist where I grew up. But nowadays, in those same areas, you go back and they have roundabouts everywhere. So, you know, I think we're starting to get used to some concepts that have been used in foreign countries for a long time. So I think you're right. I mean, just got to make sure you're going the right way in the roundabout when you're traveling, but it's the same concept. Oh, totally. Absolutely. So tell us a I don't think little, we even what does Trippiamo said, mean? Where'd the name come
from? I Yeah, might well, have given a hint before about my heritage and my background. So there's a word in it's called Italian, which Andiamo, essentially means, translates to we but essentially it means let's go. go, Like as a group, let's go. So I thought about, what's right, the purpose here to help people? Our mission, is to right, help people adventure travel safely, confidently, and roam right? further, All about going places. So I added trip and Andiamo in one. Nice.
Let's go. So it's trip-yam. Is that right? one. Nice. Let's So go. it's Trippiamo. Is that
Yeah. Yeah. You'll catch that in some of the videos and stuff. But yeah. And then when did you start Trippiamo? So you guys are, you have a number of different guides out there already. Like you said, you got a lot more that are underway and will be coming soon. So like, how long have you guys been doing this? Yeah. So I guess,
it's okay, I can kind of give a background on like, when, how it initiated and then kind of how long we've been doing it. So it kind of started, like I said, where I had a lot of travel experiences and challenges driving abroad. where I had a lot of travel experiences and challenges driving abroad. Always, I actually felt there were a lot of places that I didn't even think I could drive just because I never thought it was like something that could be a reality because I thought it was just too hard. It was too different. But again, I was learning all these things and also hearing this from a lot of other people that I was talking to. But I started Trippiamo in about during right a few months after the pandemic actually hit. And a big reason of that was I wasn't really traveling a lot. I actually wasn't commuting to my office, my corporate office anymore. So I had a few extra hours in each day. I had been exploring a lot more of the New York City area instead of staying in kind of the center city and realize there's just so many incredible historic places, cultural places, unique places around that area. And it's the same across the country in every major metro area. And I just was using the car more. I was using my parents' car because I wasn't commuting and not taking the subway every day. So kind of like there's so many incredible things to see here. It's the same way in other countries. I picked up my iPhone, I used my parents' car, and I just started figuring out and thinking about what could be helpful for people. So it's kind of grown significantly from there. I eventually learned some basic video editing. Then we've hired some folks and we've grown to a team now that's all working on, you know, building more and more of these countries, working with driving schools and partnering with them in each country. We officially launched outside of our prototype last January. So we've been officially right since January, 2023.
really cool. Yeah,
that is really cool. Yeah, that's awesome.
So many people started things during the pandemic that I don't think they would have done, you know, otherwise. And so you guys, you came up with a great idea that now is, you know, something that really is unique for the market. And I've never seen anything else like it out there before. And
you said, we'll help people, you know, go further and be able to see more and all those things. So tell us where all you have guides for right now and then what you have coming.
currently we have the United Kingdom. So every place within the UK, we have Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland should be coming out soon. And then we'll be continuing to build out guides for other countries across Europe and then other places around the world. We have some ideas. We're not ready to share exactly where those places are yet, but hopefully people will be excited about where we're going next.
Yes, I think so. Because anywhere you go, there's just so many places that if you get off the beaten path, you can just experience so many cool things. Well, that's awesome. And that's great because we have podcasts and blog posts and itineraries for a lot of the places that you talk about. And so we're going to be sure to go back and link all those things up so that when people find that they can just say, okay, you know, here it is. Including road trips.
it is. Including road trips.
Yes.
Yeah. Yes. Including
trips. Cause that's what we talk about in Scotland and Ireland when that one comes. And by
way, I have to say, I did take a look at your Ireland guide before we, we joined here. Awesome. I love it. Totally. It's so organized and gives so much insight into not just places to see, but like how, how you should go about it. Totally. It's so organized and gives so much insight into not just places to see, but like how you should go about Right. it. So thank you. I really appreciate it.
You're welcome. Good.
And so tell us a little bit. How do you access Trippiamo? Is it a website? Well, I know the answer, but website is an app for your phone? What is Trippiamo? So currently
we're a website that you can access from either your desktop, your tablet, your phone. You basically come to the site, you select the country of your choice, or we have an option for those avid travelers that are always looking for another adventure that you can do multi-country. And then you can come access it kind of anywhere that you It's basically want. just have an internet adventure that you can do multi-country. And then you can come access it kind of anywhere that you want. It's basically just have an internet connection and you can access all the materials. Hopefully our goal would be to have an app as well so that when you're on the plane on the way over, you can actually watch the guide as well, but that's still in progress, but we're, we're in the process of that. Yeah. Crawl, walk, run. Crawl, walk, drive.
There you go.
you go. We use that. So feel free to take it. It's yours. So what are some of the trends that you see about people driving when they're traveling internationally?
just my work that I do now, but also from my background in data analytics that car rentals and vehicle rentals across the globe, particularly not just for, let's say, you guys are renting a car and you're going to L.A. and you're driving in California, but for international, you're seeing significant growth in the number of people that are renting cars in another country. It's actually almost by 2030, it's almost expected to double the number of people that are renting cars internationally. And that's coming from, I would say, a couple of perspectives. So it is definitely consumer leisure travel, but it's also really interestingly, particularly since we've been speaking about the but after pandemic, the it's also pandemic, really particularly interestingly, since we've been speaking about the pandemic, but after the pandemic, it's becoming more business as well. And so from both a business travel perspective and also from a leisure travel perspective, yes, we, I think everyone, or you guys know this too, that just every year, regardless of car rentals, just there are more people traveling abroad every single year. It keeps going up. But what's also interesting is that there's a higher percentage of people traveling abroad that are renting cars. So, yes, there are more people traveling and driving, but a higher percentage of them, both from business and consumer perspectives. So I think that's really interesting in what we're seeing, particularly from both of those instances. And where I come back into it as well is, even though this is happening, I'm still not seeing any real, true, verified guidance out there for wherever you're traveling, right? So that's, again, why we're doing what we're doing.
So Melissa, I don't think we've ever rented a car in Italy, France, or Spain.
have not. Those
are opportunities for us. Road trips. I see them in our future.
I see them in our future. Yes, in Greece. And I will say, like, for example, you think of, you know, Greece and even going to some of these small islands, but we would have been so limited if we had not rented a car. And we didn't prepare for that. So thankfully they had, you know, they had that. But every little island that we ended up going to, we're like, oh, we got to go. We got to, somebody's brother rented a car, you know, and so we could, it was easy to do. But I mean, that was just necessary, even on these small islands to just get from beach to beach and things like that. But yes, we have not been to Rindikar in those countries. So it needs to be on the list.
I'd be happy to help if I can. So when you guys are ready for your trip. But no, it's absolutely true, Melissa. Like particularly, again, I know, let's talk about Italy since you mentioned it, an island that a lot of people have been going to, particularly because of a popular tv show in the last two years that was on hbo and now i can't remember the name the white lotus there we go yeah like everyone is going to sicily now and that is an incredible island it's the largest island in the mediterranean it takes about five hours to drive from one side to the other but there's so many incredible things that are outside of where most tourists stay. You actually have surprisingly, and I believe the Greek government has said this even, that one of the best preserved Greek temples in the world is in Italy, in Sicily. And it's about a two-hour drive from where most tourists go in Sicily. Incredible beaches, wineries, right? All these things that you can do on a road trip. So I'd be happy to give you, particularly since that's where I know a lot
where I know a lot of stuff. I'll give you my advice on that when
of stuff. I'll give you my advice on that when you guys are ready for your trip. I'm convinced. Let me ask you this question, John, are there any places that you wouldn't recommend people
that's a good question. I would say if I can answer that in a particular way, I don't want to say that there's a place, I don't want to recommend that people shouldn't travel to certain places. I think there are a lot of places in the world that may not be as safe and secure as maybe back home, right? Where we live. And so instead of me necessarily giving advice on where you shouldn't travel or where you should drive or not.
just thinking about driving where you would say that driving is just so difficult unless you are from there, right? That you wouldn't advise people to go and rent a car in these places. I mean, I can tell you I've been to India a number of times and I would not recommend that you rent a car in these places. I mean, I can tell I've you, been to India a number of times and I would not recommend that you rent a car in India. You're not a driver. It's the same price, basically.
Absolutely. And you know, if you didn't answer that, that's exactly the country I would have actually said from my own experience too. Like even taking, if you're driving across a major city, it's take a tuk-tuk or one of those little carts, right? But also to go, I remember this was just a few years ago. I rented a car. I did not rent a car. Sorry. We had hired a driver to go from New Delhi to Agra, which is where the Taj Mahal is. And I think for the day, it was like 50 US dollars with the driver, right? So that's probably less expensive than renting a car. But anyway, getting back on kind of where my head is, I think one of the things in regards to saying it's important for everyone to kind of look up and kind of see one particular site is the State Department. And they give rankings for not just by countries on levels of security and if you should travel or not, but particular regions within those countries. I'd also say even within any of the countries that are deemed safe. Right. And I would say every country that we've done so far is generally deemed safe to travel across. You should always take precaution of what neighborhoods you're in in a particular place. You should always take precaution of what neighborhoods you're in in a particular place. Do you have a trunk that has an open glass window or where you can see into where you park on the street it, right, and your luggage is showing all day? Just be aware of those things. Maybe not drive at night either, right, if you're not familiar with the roads, particularly in that region. So I don't know if that's a good answer, but hopefully it's a great answer.
Let's see this just real quick to piggyback on that. Are there some things like in the Italy guide, for example, Italy has a little bit more of a reputation for things getting stolen out of cars in some places and stuff like that. So are some of those precautions in that Italy guide or?
Absolutely. Yeah. Including some of the ones that I just mentioned. We'll talk a little bit about areas that may where a lot of Americans have reported that those things have happened more frequently than others.
If you were someone living in another country and you were headed let's San because to, it is a say, big problem Francisco, right now in San you might be scared of the Francisco, U.S. But the you're talking about a small little area of the that you have to be cautious in. U.S., like, wow, U.S. But the rest of the
I can attest to that as well because I used to live in San Francisco. I So, absolutely. yeah, can, But you go 20 minutes from and you're in Marin and you can park, there, County, absolutely, right? Yeah. I kind of follow San right? Francisco,
But yeah, go ahead. I kind of follow your thought process on that, right? Is everywhere you go, you need to use caution, but it shouldn't be the thing that keeps you from it. As a matter of fact, that's one of the reasons we were really excited about talking to you is because we've spoken to a number of people. They want to travel internationally, but they're afraid of renting a car. There's a real fear for them. And especially
especially people that I've talked to about like the UK and Ireland. And Scott and I are just like, oh no, it's awesome. You know, that's great. But they have just a little bit more hesitation toward that. And so that's why we're so excited to now be able to say, to be able to... Yeah,
here's a resource. Yeah, here's
Yeah, here's a great resource, right? Go get this guide and watch it. And I think you're going to feel so much more comfortable.
Yeah. You know, again, that's, that's really one of the foundational reasons I started it too, right? Is like I said, I had driven in several countries prior to starting this, but really not the majority that I had visited. And I just felt, I also felt like it was just too intimidating or like it just never even thought of it as a possibility because whether something may happen or any of the reasons you just mentioned, but like, I actually, one of the things I hadn't ever driven in the UK until a couple of years ago while I was creating this. And I was nervous for the first time to actually drive on the opposite side with the steering wheel on the opposite side. I was like, I'm totally going to make a wrong turn and go into the wrong lane in the wrong direction or go onto the highway in the wrong way. I have to say watching it. And I don't really mean to toot my own horn here, but I just watching it really just gets you mentally prepared. So whether it's in that type of place or country that speaks another language, that's, that's exactly why I started it because I had the same issue.
I kind of got thrown in it by, what do they call it? It's got, I've been driving now, thankfully been driving in Ireland for days and days and he had gotten ill. And so it's like, okay, well, you have to drive because he's the driver, I'm the navigator. And so it was just like, okay. And it was a manual transmission on the opposite side. You know, I'm just like, okay, I've got this. I can do this.
I'll tell you, it's actually kind of fun to drive in countries like that. You know, a little bit of a challenge. And, you know, the first time you pull out onto the road, you're a little bit nervous. And that's good because when you're nervous, you're paying a little bit more attention as well. So you get a little bit of nerve, you know, behind you and then you get out there, travel for a little bit and say, this is no big deal. And then it becomes just second nature to you until you are having a conversation and you make that right turn when, you know, into the opposite lane and a car flashes their lights at you. You're
like, oops, sorry about that for Americans. And right. Like, it's also worth it right after that, that let's say hour or so as you're getting used to it. And then you're like, you know what? I got this. Then you're like, wow, I'm in another country. I'm driving essentially kind of a little bit more like a local. I'm going to be able to see these little towns and look at these incredible landscapes, right? It's all worth it. It's all worth
it. Yeah. And I tell you, when you go to some of these great historic sites or places to visit and you see all these people getting off of a tour bus, which has its own merit, but you're like, this is awesome because we're not with all of those people right now. We can kind of do our thing on our time, on our schedule. And so it's really, it's a great way to see different countries. And I'm so glad that, you know, you have, you have this passion for helping to educate people in a way to say, you can do this. Right. And, and that's awesome.
now. We can
of like, I love
your point because thinking about us as Americans, like our American pastime is a road trip, right? And you probably wouldn't really appreciate if you had to be on a bus with 50 other people doing a road trip from Jacksonville to the Grand Canyon. But imagine how many spots that you can hit more, right? And go 10 minutes or 20 minutes outside of the direction to try that incredible barbecue place or whatever along the
pull off, right? Where you can pull off and get an amazing picture or see this wonderful view but you know if you were on that bus you see it going 55 miles an hour well anything else john that we haven't covered about trippiamo um no i think hopefully for
whoever's listening this was this was helpful i I'm so appreciative to be on your podcast and speaking to you guys. I love your mission as well, right? To help people travel better and further and more. So it's just good to be in good company. Thank you so much.
I think one thing we didn't mention is let's mention real quick the cost of these guides. They're actually like compared to the cost
like compared
of renting a car. I mean, super affordable. So just tell us a little bit about the pricing structure as of, you know, published date here.
Yes, as of published date, $39.99 for one guide that's available for you for a full year. If you're interested in being kind of an avid traveler that has multi-country. It's an upfront price of $69.99, and then it renews every year. You can cancel anytime at $29.99. So you'll have access to every country we currently have and every country we continue to build. And we also have gift cards too, right? So if you have a friend or a family member traveling, little unique offering that you can provide them to.
wow. Oh, So I didn't realize that about the, I guess, the subscription. So if you're going to, you know, hit up several countries on a European trip, I mean, that would definitely be the way to go then. So you have the, yeah, I like this to everything. That's awesome.
So I didn't realize
But John, we like to end every episode of these interviews asking the same three questions. So the first one is what's the favorite place you've ever been? And do you have any great stories? Feel free to share those if you do.
is always a really hard question, but I think two really fun ones come to mind. So if I can use two, so one, depending on the type of trip I'm taking, I did a trip from like, I love history. So I went to Egypt several years ago and I was just completely blown away by the archeological sites, the history, the artifacts, the quantity and the quality of the artifacts all across the country, all, and even in the museums. But there's particularly one moment that I just remember was so profound for me. I was with my tour guide and we were at one of the oldest pyramids outside of Cairo. And there was like scratchings on one of the stones of the pyramids and there was like graffiti there. And the tour guide said, what do you think about this? And, you know, obviously I'm just like, oh, it's just like defacing, you know, heritage from human heritage. Right. And he said, well, those markings and those graffiti points were from ancient Romans that came and visited and came on vacation to ancient Egypt because it was that old. Even during that time, you're like, oh, my God. Right. You're just stunned and like mind blown for the rest of the week when you hear that. Another one too, I did study in China for quite a bit and I love the culture. Obviously, there's a lot going on politically right now, but from a culture standpoint, it's such an incredible place because it's so diverse across different regions. It's also this place that has in the last, I don't know, 50 or so years gone from like significant poverty to also bringing the largest quantity of people ever into like a middle class and out of poverty. So you have these drastic differences. And I remember the first time I went and I was in Shanghai, I was in a neighborhood where there were chickens roaming around the street, garbage everywhere. And then I went back two years later and there was a skyscraper and a Gucci store there. And then another time I went somewhere more in central China to an amusement park with my friend. with my friend and probably would say that we were the only, if not maybe one of few Westerners or people of my perplexion in the amusement park. And so, yes, you get lots of people looking and staring at you and all that. But we were on a queue line for one of the roller coasters and I had this, I don't know, maybe eight, nine-year-old kid came up up to us i was just talking to my friend he pulls out his flip phone and just starts putting the phone maybe three inches from my face and taking pictures of me didn't say anything a couple minutes later he comes back and he just bows down and he hands me a box of oreos and and then asks then like holds my hand and makes me ride the roller coaster with him and then like i had to leave me ride the roller coaster with him. And then I had to leave my friend for herself. But it's just moments like that that they're just so human,
so
But those are two of my favorite travel
Those are awesome stories. And then what's on your bucket list? So places you haven't been yet. Lots of, I have like
everywhere on my bucket list, but I particularly am really interested in going to Brazil. Mongolia is another one I'm really interested in. And also I've never been to Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. So I really want to go and kind of just start finishing and checking off the States at this point. want to go and kind of just start finishing and checking off the states at this point. That's another piece too for me.
travel experience that you need to document. Absolutely. Maybe I'm going to make a guide for them right? soon, Three states. And then I guess finally, where are you headed next? What have you got planned?
Maybe I'm going to make a guide
So I just came back from driving in the Dominican Republic, which I totally recommend. And if anyone's going there and staying at a resort, I would totally recommend renting a car for at least a day or two and going to an area called Samana. Really incredible. Really incredible. But planning on going to, where are we going? To Ireland. That's my next place in a couple months. I'll be in Ireland. And so I'm going to be using a lot of your recommendations for the road trip. Yeah. Awesome. So make sure
Awesome. So make sure you book those bed and breakfast. And also, once you're there, our biggest thing is talk to the host. You know, like use some of our recommendations, but say, okay, where should we eat? Or I don't recall the name of it. Just off of my head. I'm sure it was in our guide, but because it was a nice day when we had to drive from one place to the other, the bed and breakfast host, the owner, she was just like, oh, drive over this mountain pass, right? And stop here. And it's a little hike and you have to do that. And that's just something that we would have missed, right? And get on my radar from reading i had planned an island trip from one of rick steve's books it just didn't get on my radar and that was that was a memorable experience so that that would be my tips for that is to stop and ask and if you
if you get a chance go go see those joyce country sheep dogs yes that was really neat they're over on the other side of the mountain across this lake and he's just whistling at them and they're over on the other side of the mountain across this lake. And he's just whistling at them. And they're moving the sheep based on his whistle. And that was a really unique experience.
And he ended up in the movie Marley and Me. So that was neat.
I should watch that before
I go as
you go. Well, John, thanks so much for joining us. We are so excited to work with you here. And we're going to be sharing this with everyone that we know, because this is part of what we want to do. We want to encourage people to travel more and better. And, you know, the courses that you've set up just really allow people to feel better about their capability and their ability to rent a car and drive in these places and go see, have the same experiences that we have when we travel. So look forward to hearing more about what you guys are doing in the future. forward to hearing more about what you guys are doing in the future. And maybe we'll have you on after you do some of these other countries to tell us what we need to see. Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you so much
again. And the links will be in the show notes here. And then also just in our different guides and itineraries blog posts, just to make it easy for our listeners to go find, you know, those resources so that they're easy to find your guides.
John. You and I recently completed the course on driving in Germany as we're going to rent a car and drive there in March. Although we have driven several times in Germany on previous trips, there were a lot of things that we learned going through this course that we didn't know before. As I've mentioned before, I've gotten a few speeding tickets on the Autobahn last time, which I didn't even really know was a thing. But if we had watched this guide ahead of time, we probably would have known that.
as we went through that, I was surprised at how many things we were like, oh, did you know this? Did you know that? Oh, look at that sign. Things that we had wondered when we were there. So it was really awesome to go through that and see that firsthand and then also watch as it gave us the information. Then we could watch the car drive and see and feel what it would feel like to drive in Germany if you hadn't done that before.
I think one of the things that stood out to me about the Germany driving course was the right before left. And while at a four-way stop in the U.S., I think that that's the case. You know, if you've got four cars come up at the same time, car on the right always has the right-of-way. But there was a lot of cases in this guide where it was talking about even coming up into like a T intersection, even the car going straight on a road would need to yield to the car on the right that's approaching the intersection that was pretty i didn't know that that's counterintuitive to the way that it is in the u.s but you got
watch it several times which was neat right and so they showed you different scenarios where you're seeing those cars do that so it's almost like i don't know you get more practice than you would like actually, you know, being there because it was going through that scenario. And then also just the signs, right? Knowing what the number in the circle with no other lettering on those signs. Now we know what those mean on the
Autobahn. Or the yellow signs
as well. Yes, that's true. So Scott, let's do a quick recap. So Trippiamo is a really inexpensive, really quick way at home that you can familiarize yourself with the laws and the etiquette of renting a car and driving in an international country so that you feel comfortable when you get there. I thought it was really cool that they work with the certified driving schools across the globe to build these, build this content, right? So then they get really the best information for the education and then just the nuances of driving in a different country. And what I loved was you get a really realistic behind the wheel experience when you're watching the videos. And as we went through they're this, giving yes, you the And information. when you're watching the And as we videos. went through yes, this, they're giving you the information. And sometimes you're watching diagrams, but literally a lot of the times it's actual footage of a car driving through a city or a town or a neighborhood or something like that. And so as you're hearing about just some of the rules, then you actually get to see it in practice. And so you feel like you've already done it, which is really cool.
John was saying there's somewhere like 30, 40 minutes of, you know, just footage of being behind the wheel. And they're going through each of these scenarios with the camera turned on so that you can see it first person, right? As if you were sitting behind the wheel driving. And in a lot of countries that use, you know, a lot of roundabouts and stuff like that, this is a really good example of learning how to utilize those roundabouts. You know, we see a few of them here in the US, and I think it's becoming more and more popular. But in Europe, those roundabouts can be pretty complicated initially. You know, once you figure it out, it's a little bit easier to follow. The challenge that you and I have always had is that we're moving faster than the guidance from the GPS. And so, you know, the GPS is saying exit, exit now, but you're already past it. And so, you know, but the good news on a roundabout is actually you can go back around
again. You just keep going around. Then in like in the UK ones, getting to watch that in the opposite direction and just getting to watch what it would feel like behind the wheel before you actually go do that. You know, it's unfamiliar at first, but then after we've done it. So then after you do it for a day or so, you're like, oh, this is not only this isn't hard, but it's also kind of fun, right? And kind of unique. But just feeling comfortable getting to just watch those things, I think was really neat. And then also getting to learn what the road signs look like and then what they mean. So as we went through the Germany one, we're like, oh, we wondered what that meant. I mean, and yes, I guess we probably could have Googled it, but that's a little hard, like, you know, Germany's, you know, blue sign that looks like, you know, whatever. And then also like the different signs with the number and the circle and the different colors. And I think that's kind of where we ran into some issues, you know, knowing what those meant. We're like, oh, okay, that's what it, that's what that meant. So just lots of good information that it wasn't overwhelming though. I didn't feel like, right. It just kind of the, when you watch these, it just kind of felt natural that you, you almost pick it up, right. They're, they're talking you through it. You're seeing it. You're kind of using all your senses to, to almost pick up some, some of those
things. Yeah, and it tells you things like the standard speed limit for entering into a city is 50 kilometers per hour, right? So when you see that yellow sign right outside the city announcing that you've entered into the city, you know that the speed limit is going to drop, even though you're on the Autobahn. And so no matter what anybody tells you, you can't go as fast as you want to along the whole Autobahn. There are places, though, where you can go really fast and it does happen. But, you know, those are things that they talk about. Trippiamo as well is about which lanes you should drive in. I know in the U.S. people believe that, you know, all the lanes are there for them to drive in at whatever speed they the people U.S., believe you that, all the know, lanes are there for them to drive in at whatever speed they want to. But you do that in Germany and you're going to end up in an accident. Well,
they made it very clear, like watch your rear view mirror. And if you know people, it's going to approach very, very quickly, especially in the Autobahn. So don't ride in that left hand lane, et cetera. And just things that you might not really think about being different. A couple of other things that I thought that were good that they didn't go in depth, but just almost mentioned that was good. A lot of more diesel cars in Germany, right? So then to look for when you get to the gas station and they might not have pay at the pump. And then also that the gas stations might close earlier than you're used to in the US. So make sure you're getting gas during the day and things like that. And it wasn't like a big deal, but just the fact that they kind of mentioned those things. So you're like, oh, you know, let's do some of those things. So I thought that, you know, really great tips that are almost just like there as extras as well. So right now they have currently have a number of guides for European countries, several new ones to be released soon. And then their goal is really to expand that in wherever you want to travel. And then this was really cool too. So each guide also includes a PDF document that you can print out and then take it with you or like save it as a PDF on your phone if you just want to reference that. So just, you know, to make you feel comfortable. Okay, let me just like look at these road signs one more time before I start driving or something like that. And I just thought that was a really great feature.
Or as you're going down the road, you know, your navigator sitting in the passenger seat can have this reference available as well. And so if they see some of these signs, they can help you keep an eye out for it. So that like in the UK, you don't accidentally turn into a bus lane, find yourself stuck there, and then they've got just cameras everywhere that are constantly taking your picture.
Right. So next time when we say, oh, I wonder what that's on. Oh, yeah, we can look at our Trippi on my PDF, you know, probably on my phone, but I can look at that and say, oh, yeah, hey, Scott, we need to be aware of this. So I think that's great.
I love to drive and this is a great resource that I plan on using as we continue to explore new countries and use rental cars to help us go further and deeper into our explorations. Do you have a funny story about driving in a foreign country that you'd like to share? Send me an email, scott at sunshinetravelers.com. I always look forward to hearing from you.
Rent a car and drive confidently when you travel the world with Trippiamo. Trippiamo is enabling more travelers to roam safely and confidently across the planet by changing the way people learn and prepare for global travel. Their comprehensive and interactive country-specific guides created by travel experts and local driving schools prepare you for driving abroad. Unlike a GPS, Trippiamo is specifically designed to teach travelers what they need to know to properly and confidently drive anywhere in another country. Trippiamo provides the most extensive knowledge available for international travelers. Visit sunshinetravelers.com slash trippiamo. That's T-R-I-P-I-A-M-O to learn more.
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