Heading off on a whim: Travel platform shows us a brave new world

Whimsy gives curious and adventurous travellers the opportunity to choose from a list of curated, off-the-beaten-track, destinations. ‘The idea was essentially to create a platform that solved the common question: ‘where should I go on holiday?’,’ co-founder Adriano Galardi tells LS:N Global.

The platform uses an algorithm to search for flights to unique destinations that cost about £500 (€650, $755) or less. It also features a weather filter, designed to ensure that travellers visit locations at the right time of the year, avoiding monsoon season, for instance.

Whimsy’s manifesto claims travel should be thrilling and spontaneous, and says we are only truly living when we go beyond our comfort zones. In the future the app will include contributed content from users, creating a platform for adventurous travellers to share their stories. Whimsy’s clean aesthetic and vibrant travel photography belie its main purpose, which is to make adventurous foreign travel more affordable. The app is a good example of how budget products and services don’t necessarily mean budget, cheap-looking design.

For more on how technology is transforming how we travel, read our market report on The Future of Travel.