What it does
Explorely is an AI Travel Guide that helps users:
- Discover nearby places based on interests and location
- Explore local events and experiences in real-time
- Plan routes and suggest time-based itineraries
- Unlock city quests or themed explorations (e.g. street food tour, historic trail)
How we built it
We built Explorely using a modular architecture:
Backend: Python (Flask), built with reusable microservices
Database: MongoDB with geo-indexing for places and personalised search
Integrations:
- Ticketmaster API for events
- Google Places API
AI Layer: OpenAI for conversational flows and smart itinerary generation
Frontend: Streamlit (for internal dashboards and route testing)
We also use aggregation pipelines and vector search (planned) for faster recommendations.
Challenges we ran into
- Getting clean, location-tagged event data for India
- Real-time, personalised route planning based on available time
- Maintaining conversational context in WhatsApp for dynamic flows
- Balancing between pre-defined logic and AI-generated answers
Accomplishments that we are proud of
- Delivered a fully working product that can suggest personalised itineraries
- Integrated real-time events and POIs with geolocation and interest filters
- Created a scalable backend ready for new cities and experiences
- 500+ downloads and added 300+ cities and 10000+ places
What we learned
- Curated experiences (like “quests” or “1-day chill routes”) are more engaging than generic lists
- AI + Rules-based routing gives the best of both worlds: trust and novelty
- Users love local flavor, so place descriptions and tone matter a lot
What's next for Explorely - Your AI Travel Guide
- Add memory + feedback loop: Remember traveler preferences
- Blockchain integration for rewards in token and digital passport
- Daily Quests to engage users
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