Easy to use and very efficient travel Guide, Sunset Bld has been around for more than 10 years now. Every traveller wishing to go on a road trip or a trip to the American West must go through this site to inquire and take all the necessary information before leaving! Jean-Christophe, the creator of the site, is in interview with Planet Ride…
Jean-Christophe, creator of Sunset Boulevard
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Jean-Christophe, I am the founder and head of Sunset Boulevard since 2005. I am also a regular traveler in the USA, especially in the American West.
What kind of traveler are you?
Passionate and curious. I like to take the time of discovery, to discuss with the Americans, to go out of the classic tourist itineraries, to scrape a little polish and to see what is behind. America has this uniqueness to offer strong and unforgettable experiences, it is emerging from this country an energy that I love to capture!
Sunset Boulevard, a guide to the road trips in the USA
How did you come up with the idea of creating sunsetbld.com?
After long evenings preparing for my first real road trip. Hours and hours of research to peel off an improbable amount of websites, fishing for news, tips, tricks and good plans. This phase of preparation has finally proved to be tedious! I started dreaming of a site that would centralize all the information necessary to organize a trip in the American West…
How does the site work? What does it bring to users?
Sunset revolves around 3 axes:
-The Sunset Guides, which present the best tourist spots with practical sheets that bring all the practical information to organize its journey (from the ESTA form to the passage of immigration passing by the insurances to contract when one Rent a car, regulation on luggage, jet lag…).
-The discussion forum, the meeting point of our community. New members present their travel plans, ask questions and get answers from travelers sharing their experiences, tips, tricks and good plans. Travel diaries and accommodation reviews are a real gold mine for the original candidates!
-The blog, which we symbolically launched on July 4th that allows us to go even further in our passion of the USA. When you love America, you also like it for its tourist news, its films, its books, its flavors, its meetings…
What is the innovation compared to the other sites on the USA?
On the web, the presentation of tourist sites often stops explaining what you can do and see. Sunset goes further. Our guides make a place for history, geology, films on the spot. Nothing like this to better understand and appreciate his visit once there. This is what I call “Making sense”. I take the only example of our guide on Los Angeles, we took more than 6 months to realize it, there is so much to say… When I read other than the architecture of L.A. Presents little interest, I’m bubbling!
Our second strong point is undoubtedly the quality of the exchanges on the forum. There is a rather exceptional conviviality! This is also what leads us to organize very regularly Sunset evenings around a good burger! Our site also lists more than 700 accommodations tested in the USA, the opinions are posted by the members of the Forum, it is a very relevant way to pass the witness to the future travelers. Finally, we have developed a lexicon rich of more than 5500 words and phrases to revise his English before departure or get out of a tricky situation once there.
Who’s behind sunsetbld.com?
Our team currently has 31 US backgrounds, travellers in love with the United States who have become editors by their desire to share their experiences and experience. It is a real collaborative work and we make a point of honor to keep our independence.
What advice would you give to a future Planet Rider in the US?
Taking the time to prepare your trip is a very exciting phase! Then, to think that we will not be able to see everything in one trip. Make choices so even though it may sound frustrating. But to say also that it will be the opportunity to return… there is so much to discover there!
To follow Sunset Boulevard, feel free to visit their website and/or their Facebook page!
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