Stop driving past hidden gems.
Detourist is an app I've been building to help people find offbeat, lesser-known spots for weekend trips and day getaways — the kind of places that never show up on Google Maps or Instagram, like a quiet waterfall, a secret swimming hole, or a scenic pitstop on a highway drive.
What it does today
- Search for places by how much driving time you're up for (say, "under 2 hours from home") and see them all on a map.
- Planning a road trip from one city to another? Detourist can show you interesting spots that are actually on the way, not miles off your path.
- Looking for something dog-friendly, a quiet trail, a family-friendly weekend spot, or somewhere with zero cell signal to really disconnect? Filter by the kind of experience you want.
- Every place has real practical details: can you get there in a regular car or do you need an SUV/4x4, is there parking, restrooms, drinking water, how's the phone signal (Jio/Airtel/Vi), how far is the nearest railway station or highway — the stuff that actually matters when you're planning a trip to somewhere off the beaten path.
- Real photos and last-mile directions ("turn left after the petrol pump...") for each place.
- Detourist works as a Progressive Web App, so you can add it to your phone's home screen and open it like any other app, no app store needed.
Find getaways near you
Find stops along your route
Filter by vibe
Know before you go
Photos and directions
Install it like an app
Where the places come from
Right now, a small group of trusted local scouts and I are adding places directly, based on real visits. The goal over time is to open this up so more people can contribute and vouch for places they've actually been to — keeping the data trustworthy without turning it into another crowded, ad-choked listings site.