Locals Insider is a free travel editorial site with a simple premise: ask the people who live somewhere where they actually go. Its best stories are long interviews with artists, founders, chefs and designers, each ending with that person’s own places in their city, published under their name. Some come as downloadable PDF city guides. Locals Insider is a sister publication of DailyStoke, published by the same team; we have reviewed it on the same terms as any other title.
It is not a glossy, and it does not try to be. Here is our Locals Insider review: what it publishes, what it costs, where it is strong and where it falls short.
Locals Insider access: free to read online
No subscription, no paywall; PDF city guides free to download
| Detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Access | Free to read online, with no registration |
| Price | Free |
| PDF guides | Free downloads on selected contributor stories, such as Budapest and Berlin |
| Languages | English, Danish, Polish and Russian |
| Promo Code | None needed to read. The site’s own partner offers are separate from its editorial |
Locals Insider at a glance
- What it is: a travel and lifestyle editorial site built around local contributors
- Run by: Alex and Martin, the two travellers behind it, who also publish DailyStoke
- Sections: Where to go, Stay, Eat, Health, Luxury, Design, Accessories, Digital, Nomads Hub, Insights, Apps, and eVisa & Visa
- Languages: English, Danish, Polish and Russian
- Contributors include: Marie Laurberg (Copenhagen Contemporary), Britt Kanja (Berlin), Vyacheslav Gnedchik (Hungarian National Ballet, Budapest), Joe Vuong (Softer Volumes, Sydney), Julien Fournié (Paris), Fredrik Robertsson (Stockholm)
- PDF guides: free, on selected stories
- Price: free
Our verdict
At its best, Locals Insider gives you something the big magazines rarely do: a city seen through one specific, named person, with their own cafés, galleries and bars attached. The Budapest piece by Vyacheslav Gnedchik of the Hungarian National Ballet and the Berlin interview with Britt Kanja are genuinely distinctive. The trade-offs are consistency and focus. Coverage varies widely from city to city, and the site carries a lot of commercial content, from eSIM and insurance reviews with promo codes to gambling guides, alongside the editorial.
Pros
- Named local contributors, linked to their own websites or Instagram
- Free to read, with free PDF city guides on selected stories
- Four languages, including Danish, Polish and Russian translations of some interviews
- Wide range of voices: artists, designers, chefs, founders
Cons
- Coverage is uneven: some cities have several deep guides, others very little
- Commercial pages with promo codes sit next to the editorial
- Contributors can promote their own businesses, so read recommendations with that in mind
- No app
What Locals Insider publishes
The heart of the site is the contributor story. Locals Insider invites people to tell their own story and share the places they love, from a café or gallery owner to an artist or journalist. Each piece is published under the contributor’s name with links to their website or Instagram. Recent examples include Marie Laurberg, director of Copenhagen Contemporary, on where to see art in Copenhagen; Joe Vuong on how Softer Volumes picks the world’s best-designed places, and his Sydney; and Julien Fournié on haute couture and the Paris he loves.
Around those interviews sit city travel guides by locals, covering cities such as Copenhagen, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon and London, plus country pages and state-by-state guides to the USA. The practical sections cover visas and eVisas, digital nomad life, travel apps, eSIMs and insurance.
Selected stories also come as downloadable PDF city guides laid out for a phone, such as Vyacheslav Gnedchik’s Budapest and Ashley Scott Müller’s Berlin.
Some articles are translated: the Joe Vuong interview, for example, also runs in Danish.
Price and access
Locals Insider is free to read in full, with no registration and no paywall. The PDF city guides are free to download from the relevant articles. The site is funded by advertising and partner links, and it has Advertise and Affiliates pages.
There is no promo code needed to read anything. The partner offers you will see in its eSIM, travel insurance and app reviews are separate, commercial content.
What we liked
The people. The contributor list reads like a good dinner party: a museum director in Copenhagen, a Mugler collector in Berlin, a florist on the Riviera, a ballet dancer in Budapest. You learn about them before you learn about their city, which makes their recommendations easier to weigh.
Named, accountable recommendations. Every story is published under the contributor’s name and linked to their work, so you can see who is telling you where to go.
The PDF guides. Short, visual and made for a phone, they are a neat way to carry one person’s city with you.
Languages. Few independent travel sites publish in Danish, Polish and Russian as well as English.
What we did not like
Uneven coverage. There is no guarantee the city you are visiting has a deep guide, and the quality varies between contributors.
Commercial content in the mix. eSIM, insurance, app and gambling pages with promo codes appear alongside the editorial, and they are not always visibly separated from it.
Self-promotion is part of the deal. Contributions are unpaid, and the site says contributors may promote their legitimate businesses as long as they share their personal story and favourite places. That is transparent, but it means some picks are close to home.
Locals Insider vs Spotted by Locals vs Condé Nast Traveller
| Locals Insider | Spotted by Locals | Condé Nast Traveller | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | €19.99 a year after a free 24-hour trial | Website free; digital edition £28.49 a year |
| Format | Website and PDF guides | App | Magazine, app and website |
| Voices | Named local contributors | Local “spotters” | Professional journalists |
| Best for | One person’s take on a city | No-chain tips on the go | Luxury hotels |
Pick Locals Insider when you want a city through a specific person’s eyes, for free.
Pick Spotted by Locals if you want a pocket app of local tips across 85+ cities. See our Spotted by Locals review.
Pick Condé Nast Traveller for professionally reviewed luxury hotels.
For the wider field, see our ranking of the best travel magazines.
Who Locals Insider suits
It suits curious travellers who enjoy a long interview, readers who want recommendations from a named person rather than an anonymous list, and Danish, Polish or Russian speakers who rarely get this kind of travel writing in their own language. It is less suited to anyone who wants a complete, professionally checked city guide, or who would rather not see commercial content on a travel site. For pure design curation, compare it with Softer Volumes.
Locals Insider FAQs
Is Locals Insider free?
Yes. Everything is free to read online with no registration, and the PDF city guides are free to download.
Who writes for Locals Insider?
Local contributors, including artists, founders, chefs and designers, whose stories are published under their own names, alongside the site’s own writers.
Can I contribute to Locals Insider?
Yes. The site has a Contribute page where you can pitch your story. Contributions are unpaid, and stories must meet its editorial guidelines.
What languages is Locals Insider in?
English, Danish, Polish and Russian, though not every article is translated.
Where can I find the PDF city guides?
On selected contributor stories, such as Vyacheslav Gnedchik’s Budapest and Ashley Scott Müller’s Berlin, where a download appears in the article.
More on DailyStoke
Best travel magazines · Softer Volumes review · Spotted by Locals review · Atlas Obscura review · Travel essentials
