Pub Crawl is a real-time, user-oriented app designed to help you explore your surroundings and discover exciting places, whether you're new to an area, looking for something to do, or just trying to find a place to relax. With a central map feature at its core, much like popular AR games such as Ingress or Pokémon Go, Pub Crawl lets you scan your area to find nearby restaurants, bars, pubs, cultural venues, and ongoing events - all in real time.
The app serves as a personal guide, featuring:
Restaurants and eateries for those in search of a meal.
Bars, pubs, and cafés where you can meet friends, grab coffee, or unwind with a drink.
Cultural hotspots like museums, cinemas, theaters, or sports venues for entertainment.
Local events such as concerts, promotions, or expos where you can actively participate.
Whether you're a local, a tourist, or someone simply looking for something new, Pub Crawl helps you navigate your social life seamlessly.
Unique Points
User-Driven Focus: Unlike many apps that allow businesses to manipulate their visibility through marketing or SEO tactics, Pub Crawl puts the power in the hands of the users. Ratings, reviews, and suggestions are all based on authentic user input, ensuring that content is genuine and unbiased.
No Business Bias: Pub Crawl isn’t motivated by selling ad space or marketing packages. Businesses cannot pay for increased visibility, ensuring the app remains transparent and user-centric.
Customizable Experience: Users can curate their own experience within the app by creating wish lists of places they'd like to visit, keeping track of venues they’ve been to, or organizing events themselves. The app even allows users to broadcast their availability to meet others, with built-in privacy controls.
In-App Rewards and Items: Pub Crawl offers in-app items for users who wish to enhance their experience—such as hosting events or making themselves more visible on the map—but it remains free from ad-driven interference. Users, not businesses, drive interaction.
Inclusive Design: The app is suited for everyone, but it’s especially useful for tourists, locals looking for new experiences, and younger people eager to find something fun to do. Whether you're searching for an impromptu coffee meet-up or a local concert, Pub Crawl helps you discover the best of what’s around.
Inspiration
Pub Crawl was born out of necessity. After moving to a new city, I found myself frequently in need of places to go—sometimes in the middle of the night—and neither I nor even my local friends knew where to look. Realizing how frustrating it was to navigate an unfamiliar city, I saw the opportunity to create something useful for people like me: an app that could tell you what was open, where to go, and what to expect—all in real time.
Initially launched as a website in 2012, Pub Crawl attracted nearly 1 million visits in just two years - despite zero marketing budget. Though the original business model aimed to sell premium packages to businesses, I quickly realized that the real value was in serving the user base. That’s when I decided to completely reimagine the project, focusing entirely on the needs of everyday users. Pub Crawl is now a people-first platform designed to help users discover and explore with ease.