LightUpDiscover a city with someone who lives there: audios and tours with local guides
A city’s best stories aren’t on the signs: the guides who live there know them. On LightUp you’ll find them in gems, short audio guides you can listen to whenever you like: some in the guide’s own voice, others with an AI voice. And if the guide also runs in-person tours, you can book one and go for a walk with them. Here’s how, with no small print.
A guide for travellers on LightUp
What gems and in-person tours are, how to book, when you’re charged and what happens if the guide doesn’t show up.
Topics
Two ways to discover a place
Listen at your own pace with gems. They’re short audios about a specific place, by a local guide: some recorded in their own voice, others narrated with an AI voice. Listen right there as you walk past, or from your sofa before you travel. Many are free and the rest cost very little.
Walk with the guide on an in-person tour. If you like the way they tell things, open their profile: their tours are there, with the price and the “Book” button.
You listen for free, you like the guide and you head off on a tour with them. It’s that simple.
How to book, step by step
Find a guide with the magnifying glass in the menu or discover their gems on the map or in the list of gems for each city. If you like the way they tell things, open their profile.
Their profile shows what they offer: some guides have in-person tours, others only audio guides (gems), and others both. If they run tours, you’ll see them below their name: pick one and tap “Book”.
Choose the day, the time, how many of you are going and the language. You’ll only see the days and times when the guide runs that tour, so there’s no way to get it wrong.
Pay by card, Apple Pay or PayPal. Don’t worry: at this point the amount is only held on your card; you haven’t been charged yet.
Wait for the guide’s reply: they have 24 hours and we’ll let you know by email and in the app. All your bookings are in Settings → My bookings.
Your money is protected
If the guide accepts, you’re charged and your tour is confirmed.
If they can’t make that day or don’t reply, you pay nothing: the amount is released automatically.
While you wait for a reply, you can cancel free of charge.
What if the guide doesn’t show up? Let us know from “My booking” with the “The guide didn’t show up” button, starting 15 minutes after the start time. The guide doesn’t get paid and we refund all your money. Guides are only paid one hour after the tour ends, if nobody has filed a complaint.
One thing: once confirmed, the booking can no longer be cancelled, because the guide has kept that slot just for you.
After booking
Once the guide accepts, in “My booking” you’ll find the meeting point on the map and a button to message them on WhatsApp and sort out the details. On the day of the tour, the app reminds you. All your bookings are in Settings → My bookings.
Why a local guide is worth it
A guide doesn’t just show you the way: they change how you experience the trip. Studies with tourists in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Egypt confirm it: with a good guide, travellers leave happier and keener to come back (Çetinkaya and Öter, 2016; International Hospitality Review, 2023; El-Sharkawy, 2015). And at a historic site in Canada, visitors who toured with an in-person guide ended up less mentally tired than those who only listened to audio.
That’s why LightUp gives you both: the audio to discover a place and the guide to live it.
Why book with LightUp?
Booking with someone you don’t know can feel scary: what if I pay and the guide doesn’t show up? On LightUp, that’s taken care of. Your money doesn’t go straight to the guide: we pay them one hour after the tour ends, and if the guide doesn’t show up, you get everything back. Either you get what you paid for, or you don’t pay.
And we’re not afraid of technology: we use it to make travelling easier. The map, the audio stories, bookings and payments are all in one place, on your phone.
We bring the technology and the peace of mind. The guide brings what no app has: they know their city inside out and tell you about it in person.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account to book?
Yes, so you receive the confirmation and the guide’s details.
When am I charged?
Only when the guide accepts your booking.
What if the guide doesn’t reply?
After 24 hours the request expires and you aren’t charged anything.
What if the guide doesn’t show up?
Tap “The guide didn’t show up” in your booking and we’ll refund everything.
Can I cancel?
Yes, as long as the guide hasn’t replied. Once it’s confirmed, no.
What language is the tour in?
The one you choose when booking, from those the guide offers.
Are the gems narrated by a person?
Some are recorded by the guide in their own voice and others are uploaded narrated with an AI voice.
Sources
- Çetinkaya and Öter (2016): the role of tour guides in tourist satisfaction (Istanbul). European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation
- International Hospitality Review (2023): guide quality, satisfaction and intention to return (Cappadocia)
- El-Sharkawy (2015): tour guides and tourist satisfaction (Egypt). Tourismos
- Van Winkle (2012): audio guide versus guided tour at a historic site in Canada. Journal of Interpretation Research
Audio-guided places
Stories by local guides, in their own voice or an AI voice
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Take LightUp with you
Self-guided audio tours, offline-ready. Download the app and start exploring.