Exclusive Explorations

Twelve years into working in Salzburg tourism, I’ve seen every version of a guided tour: the clipboard marches, the headset herds, the one-size-fits-all routines. I’ve given walking tours, rickshaw rides, free tours, group tours, and hosted couchsurfers who just needed a tip on where to go next.

I’ve also built systems, from tour companies and booking platforms to language learning brands and digital content projects. But in all that time, one idea kept tugging:

What if we offered something quieter, slower, more intentional?
What if private tours weren’t about price tiers, vehicle types, or “luxury,” but about clarity, human connection, and good planning?

That question became the seed for Exclusive Explorations, a platform for privately guided experiences in Salzburg, built not for status, but for meaning.

Why It Started

The idea began during a summer of saturation.

We were running multiple public walking tours a day through Free Walking Tour Salzburg. The model worked, guests were happy, guides had freedom, reviews came in, but behind the scenes, we started seeing a different kind of request emerge.

Not “What’s the cheapest tour?”

But:

• “Can we take a walk as a family, at our own pace?”
• “Can we talk more about culture and history, not just sights?”
• “Can we do something outdoors instead of just the Old Town?”
• “Can we just ask someone who knows this place to guide us right?”

These weren’t luxury requests. They were clarity requests. People didn’t want more, they wanted better. Less noise, more insight. Less marketing, more trust. Less show, more sense.

And we had no platform for that. Free tours had their place. Our other brand, Rikschatours, was too casual. Exclusive Explorations was the missing piece.

What It’s Built To Be

Exclusive Explorations is a platform for privately guided experiences in and around Salzburg. Not big tours, not luxury vehicles, not inflated promises, just carefully designed private walks and excursions led by licensed guides who care about what they do.

The brand is minimalist on purpose. It’s not a personality brand. It’s not about “Gerhard as a guide.” In fact, I don’t lead these tours anymore.

It’s about building a platform where the guest experience, and the guide’s professionalism, are what matters most.

Here’s what sets it apart:

• Small scale, high quality. No overbooking. No marketplace chaos. Just real tours designed and delivered with care.
• Clear categories, clean structure. Guests choose from four types of experiences: Culture, Nature, Culinary, and Custom. Each category sets expectations.
• No pushy upsells. Pricing is simple. Booking is clear. No commission games, no referral tricks.
• Built from Salzburg, for Salzburg. Not a franchise. Not imported. Not algorithm-driven. Everything is written, filmed, and structured locally.

Four Experience Types

The structure is simple on the surface, but carefully thought through:

Culture

A deep dive into the stories, history, and meaning of Salzburg. Walks that connect architecture, art, and local life.

Nature

Private walking or hiking experiences beyond the city center. Forests, lakes, viewpoints. Quiet corners you wouldn’t find on your own.

Culinary

A guided tasting experience focused on local flavor without the tourist-trap menus. Not a food tour in the Instagram sense, a real conversation about food as culture.

Photography

A custom experience for families, creators, or anyone who wants beautiful images without staging or stress. We help you enjoy the city, and capture it, without turning it into a photoshoot. Real moments, real Salzburg, with a bit of creative guidance.

Each experience is led by a licensed, professional guide. No actors. No outsourced freelancers. And no fake storytelling. Just people who know Salzburg and want to help others experience it with depth.

The Difference Is in the Delivery

We didn’t start with a booking system.

We started with a wireframe. Then wrote the copy. Then designed the pages.

Even now, in this early phase, Exclusive Explorations runs with a minimalist approach: no marketplace, no flashy sales funnel, no popups asking for your email before you even know what you’re looking at.

The first guests who come through this system won’t come through ads. They’ll come because the platform feels grounded. They’ll find it because it’s been linked from real places, other projects we run, hotels we trust, blogs we write.

The platform is the delivery system. But the difference comes from how it’s built:

• The content is honest, helpful, and SEO-aware, not manipulative.
• The guides are professionals, not side-hustlers or hobbyists.
• The tours are real experiences, not resold packages.

Built with the Future in Mind

We’re building this slow. On purpose.

There’s no launch hype. No social media campaign. No TikTok tour reel. Just clarity, slowly growing:

• The website is lean, built with Bricks Builder and Metabox.
• The categories are fixed, so the content can scale cleanly.
• The experiences live as custom post types, not blog posts or product pages.
• The booking system, when we introduce it, will be Trafft or something similar, simple, integrated, not overbuilt.

Eventually, we’ll add video walk-throughs. Clean guide bios. Optional upgrades like transportation or extended time. But only once the base works beautifully.

Who It’s For

• Guests who care about clarity, not just cost.
• Travelers who value meaning, not just movement.
• Families who want to go at their own pace, with someone they trust.
• Couples who want a tour that’s not just a script.
• Hotel partners who want to recommend something honest, not flashy.

But most importantly, it’s for us, Markus and me, to build something we’d actually use ourselves.

We’re tired of overpromising. Of fake-luxury tours that feel hollow. Of marketplaces that strip all the identity out of guiding.

This project is a response to that.

The Role of Markus

Even though I’m writing this, I’m not building this alone.

Exclusive Explorations is a shared project with Markus, a licensed guide and trusted collaborator whose approach to guiding is grounded, clear, and human, like the project itself.

Markus designs the experiences, trains the guides and leads the core Culture experiences. He shapes the way the tours are structured. He brings years of local knowledge and calm, intelligent guidance to the table.

This isn’t a solo venture. It’s not just “my next brand.” It’s something we’re shaping together, and that will grow with both of us.

Why It Matters

In a world of tours that shout, this one speaks quietly.

Not because we’re shy. But because we’ve learned that the best experiences — the ones that stay with you, are the ones that were structured well, paced right, and guided with presence.

Exclusive Explorations won’t be for everyone. That’s the point.

It’s not the cheapest.
It’s not the biggest.
It’s not “next-level luxury.”

It’s thoughtful. Quietly professional. Built for people who care more about the experience than the label.