WHO ARE WE?

Philipp’s travels:

Countries visited: 84
Travel style: solo backpacking, adventures, cultural exchange
Favourite place: Patagonia
Favourite thing to do: Hiking, trying new food

I started traveling solo in 2013, before university, backpacking through parts of Central America and Asia with nothing but curiosity and a backpack. What began as a trip quickly became a way of life.
Throughout university and later during my career, I spent every free moment exploring new places, cultures, and the unforgettable human connections that make travel so meaningful. After leaving my day job, I spent two years traveling the world full-time — experiences that completely changed my perspective on life.
What has always inspired me most is the spirit of the backpacking community: the kindness of strangers, spontaneous friendships, and authentic experiences far beyond tourist hotspots. Now, I want to give back by helping make travel smarter, deeper, and more authentic again.

Nikolai’s travels:

Countries visited: 42
Travel style: backpacking, hidden gems, hammocks & local conversations
Favourite place: small island in Mexico
Favourite thing to do: discovering places through people

After finishing school, I did the classic gap-year move and went to New Zealand for six months of Work & Travel. That was where I really fell in love with backpacking, solo travel and the feeling of arriving somewhere new with no fixed plan, just a backpack and curiosity.
Since then, travelling has always been more to me than checking places off a list. During my studies, I tried to use every free week for shorter and longer trips across Europe and North Africa, spent an exchange semester in Budapest, travelled through Central and Latin America after my Bachelor’s degree and later explored places like India, China and Southeast Asia.
What I enjoy most is slowly building a feeling for a place beyond the obvious tourist highlights.
Almost all of my most special travel memories started with a personal recommendation — from friends, locals or other travellers I met along the way. I believe travel becomes better when recommendations are based on trust, shared experiences and real people instead of anonymous rankings or paid visibility. For me, TravRec is not just a travel app. It is a way to make travelling more personal, more social and more authentic again.

Elias’s travels:

Countries visited: 10
Travel style: Backpacking
Favourite place: Tokushima – Japan
Favourite thing to do: Snorkeling

As the youngest member of the team I also have the least amount of countries visited. This doesn’t mean I didn’t spend much time abroad, however, as for me it’s quality over quantity. I would rather stay longer at one place at a time, to truly experience life there, than hastily trying to see as much as possible. I love local dishes, spending time with locals & sharing stories and experiences and getting accustomed to life there. I believe this is all part of travelling and if you don’t take your time, you are missing out. After 1 1/2 years in Japan I can confidently say, I truly love it there and miss it with all of my heart. Therefore I can only recommend anyone reading this, if you have the chance, please go there and experience it for yourself! And don’t just stick to the big 3, the smaller more rural areas have so so much to offer, it’s better than the cities in my opinion. Right now, as the CTO of TeavRec, I use my knowledge gained to build a better travel experience for like-minded individuals out there. Spending most of my time as the sole developer of the app, I am looking forward to what we can create together as a community in the future. Therefore, if there are any problems, questions, or feedback please reach out to us!