Out with the old and in with the new – gone are the days where people would plan for their holidays through tour groups and agencies. Now, Singaporeans are far more spontaneous with their travels – opting to plan their itineraries on their own with the help of their trusty ol’ friend, Google.
So you rifle through endless Trip Advisor reviews on the best attractions and download maps of the city to find the best ways to get around. But is there an easier way to do all of this without the hassle?
Meet Packdat.
What Is Packdat?
Packdat saves you from the struggle of having to plan an extensive yet enjoyable itinerary by doing all the work for you.
At Packdat, founders Lee Zheng De and Lee Zheng Dao believe in creating a world that inspires you to travel. How?
By simplifying the experience of planning a trip with friends. How it works is pretty straightforward – you key in your travel dates and destination, then invite your friends to plan with you and you are right on your way.
Once you have entered your travel dates and chosen destinations, Packdat smartly arranges your itinerary by recommended route, ensuring that it is the best and most convenient way for you and your friends to travel to and fro.
No more looking through maps and calculating which way would take the shortest time – Packdat saves you from all of the trouble. All that is left for you to do is book that trip.
How Packdat Came About
The Lee brothers were curious as to how travellers were travelling and were preparing for their trips, which was how Packdat was born. They figured that the problem did not lie in the booking of flights and accommodations – but rather in the planning that goes behind it all.
“It soon came to our realization that booking of flights and accommodations were easy.”
“Yet, an average traveller researches up to 40 different sources and spends over 36 hours in planning their trip itinerary.”
The Lee brothers found themselves facing the same problem whilst travelling as well. That is when they decided to take it upon themselves to create a solution to a problem that will not only help them, but benefit fellow travellers too.
The people behind Packdat also believe in engaging the community and allowing them to contribute to the platform. “We opened up to our community to let them contribute their own contents that they see outside of Packdat,” said Co-founder Lee Zheng De.
If you come from any of the 9 countries that are listed on the Packdat site or have recently visited a particular place in any of the participating countries, you can submit your own entries and reviews. Include pictures and a short description of the place to give Packdat users a glimpse of what to expect.
If you are worried about how much it would cost to be able to use this great service, fret not – Packdat is completely free-of-charge. Passpod, an Indonesian Travel Group Holding, has invested in Packdat and is now working with the team closely to make it easily available to anyone and everyone.
Packdat is currently only available in 9 countries – Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia. But, they have major plans in expanding their service by including more countries in Asia and hopefully, the rest of the world.
To find out more, click here.
