Ever been on vacation or taking a weekend trip and you want to maximize your time while enjoying the best local food spots and visiting some of the best underground attractions??!! Absofreakinglutely is almost always the answer! Whether you’re a weekend warrior like myself or you do the 1-2 weeks of travel a year, most people want to get the most bang for the buck and not waste their time on lame things to do or less than scrumptious meals on-the-go. This is where Yelp comes in!!
While on vacation in Miami Beach, Florida a little over two years ago, we found ourselves in this predicament. I hadn’t been to Miami Beach in almost 9 years and while a few things stuck out to me, it was primarily the beach and a few of the attractions in the area. We stopped at this little oceanfront restaurant, we were a little blinded by the view of the beach. Needless to say, the two-for-one drink specials were ridiculously expensive and horrendous in taste, the food was way overpriced for what we received and the service was a joke. We spent over $100 for a horrible experience. I wasn’t a huge fan of Trip Advisor but found an app called Yelp that quickly became a favorite of mine. The restaurant we had the horrible experience at mentioned above had horrible reviews and of course I went on and added mine to the mix. But to think, all of that maybe could have been avoided..thanks to Yelp.
- Food, hotels, attractions, even gas stations could be found on there. Unsure of where to stay in an area, they’ve got you covered. Unsure of attractions in the area, they’ve got you covered. Want to try some local favorites while you’re away from home, they’ve got you covered. Not a fan of unknown restaurants and enjoy sticking to national chains, they’ve got you covered. Literally everything you can think of is on Yelp, right at your fingertips. Reviews are packed with information on the places you’re looking for, pictures and tips to give you all the information you’re looking for.
- You can bookmark your favorites. I have at the very least 6-7 boards jam-packed with my personal favorites based on the locations we visit most. I have a Lexington one for local places, Nashville, Chicago, and Las Vegas, just to name a few. No more trying to remember where you’ve been when the app can save that information for you without taking up unwanted data on your phone.
- Looking for a new restaurant to try… type hot and new restaurants in the search based on the location you’re looking for. Tired of the same ole’ date night go-to spots, simply do the above and the restaurants that have been reviewed, checked into, pictured, etc will generate for you in a flash. This is always helpful to us when we’re trying to figure out a new place to go.
- All the freebies. Yes there’s freebies and lots of them, you just have to know where to look. Restaurants in particularly are always looking for new customers. Often restaurants will offer a free coffee or drink, appetizer or dessert simply by checking in on your Yelp app. You simply mark the offer as used once shown to your server or they get a manager to check it.
- My personal favorite….the Yelp Events. All you have to do is rsvp and you get an email that you’re in or on the waiting list. We have a kick ass community leader that keeps us in the loop! The events are free and often times your community leader will introduce the manager and/or owner of the establishment and they will have a great tasting menu of items for you and others to try. These are great events filled with stellar folks that you’ll have the opportunity to socialize with while you Yelp your experience.
Interested in joining?! Download the app and get to Yelping! It’s also available on desktop for those that don’t prefer top have/use the app.
Feel free to connect with me at the link below and I’ll see you on Yelp!
The Southern Egyptian 