I’ve been wondering when someone would jump on the opportunity to gather travel videos with quality production and put them in one place. I just got wind of a site called Geobeats that looks promising.
They are producing these in house, from international contributors, and from people in the travel industry. That last one will tell you that you’re not too likely to see stump-armed beggars in New Delhi or dumpster-diving street kids in Manila – only the pretty face the place puts out in its PR materials. More like the fluffy side of the Travel Channel than the BBC.
So as eye candy, how do they stack up? Very well indeed. The player sits in your browser, so there’s nothing to load, yet the images are larger and crisper than what you’re probably used to with YouTube. The production is professional too, with narration and edits that keep things moving.
Most of these travel videos won’t give you a whole lot of in-depth info since they are rather short overview-type pieces, but they can give you a good sense of whether you want to visit that place or not. The site is still in beta, so some destinations (like Hungary, pictured here) only have a few entries. Other destinations already have loads of material. For Argentina there are 7 videos for Patagonia and 34 on Buenos Aires, including “street food” and “public transportation.” If I were sitting in an office in a dead-end job, counting down the days until my next international jaunt, I’d probably be watching Geobeats all day long.
