What's the best booking site for outdoor activities?

At Manawa, our number 1 priority is to enable as many new customers as possible to discover the best outdoor and adventure activities. We firmly believe that the current challenge for all players (activity professionals) and sellers (tourism players, booking sites, agencies, etc.) is to attract more people to outdoor activities so that together we can all contribute to the evolution of the sector.

The aim of this article is not to criticise other booking sites, but rather to encourage you to learn more about them so that you can find the best acquisition channels to promote your activities in the best possible way. We've also written an article on theimportance of not granting exclusivity and another on why sell your outdoor and adventure activities on booking sites?

In addition, Manawa is writing this comparison, based on feedback from many outdoor professionals, whether partners or not, as well as feedback from several booking software programs, and our own experience in the sector. Chances are you'll find that Manawa is the best website for promoting your outdoor and adventure activities worldwide 😉.

Comparison of the best activity booking sites

So we're going to compare our website to the best other professionals in the business. We have deliberately chosen not to discuss gift voucher sellers such as Smartbox, Wonderbox or even RedBalloon and Sport Découverte (digital equivalents) in this article. We are less keen on the way they operate for outdoor and adventure professionals. Their business model differs considerably from online booking, as it relies mainly on customers who buy to give, with a remuneration model based on no-shows (customers who never take part in the activity).

Find out more about activity booking websites

In order to avoid any bias, we've taken a playful approach by asking ChatGPT to write a brief introduction to the five booking sites we'll be looking at here. After all, each of us considers ourselves to be the leader when we talk about our websites! 😁

Manawa: Founded in France in 2015, Manawa.com is an online booking site specialising in outdoor and adventure activities. Despite its medium size, Manawa aims to become a major player in the field, offering booking and promotional solutions for outdoor professionals. Its aim is to simplify the booking of outdoor activities and boost their visibility.

GetYourGuide: Launched in Berlin, Germany, in 2009, GetYourGuide is a global booking site for tourist activities and experiences. With an international presence and a large team, GetYourGuide has established itself as one of the market leaders. Its main objective is to offer a variety of high-quality activities to travellers from all over the world.

Viator: Founded in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1995, Viator is a site that offers excursions, guided tours and activities in many popular tourist destinations. As one of the industry's pioneers, Viator enjoys a high profile and a broad customer base. Its aim is to provide unforgettable tourism experiences for travellers from all over the world.

Civitatis: Founded in Madrid, Spain, in 2008, Civitatis is an online booking site offering a wide range of tourist activities, excursions and experiences in many destinations around the world. With a user-friendly platform and a diversified offer, Civitatis strives to offer unforgettable travel experiences to travellers from all over the world.

Funbooker: Created in France in 2016, Funbooker is a website for booking leisure and entertainment activities. Despite its smaller size, Funbooker focuses on offering varied and original activities for all ages. Its aim is to become a benchmark for booking leisure and entertainment activities in France.

If you have any feedback, don't hesitate to write to us at [email protected] to help us improve this article.

Worldwide presence

Manawa: With a presence mainly in France, Spain, Norway and Greece, Manawa is gradually expanding its development in Europe and beyond, offering its services in new countries and regions. The aim is to become the world's leading site for booking outdoor and adventure activities.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a global booking site, offering activities in many countries around the world. Its services are available in many European countries, North America, Asia, Oceania and other regions.

Viator: Viator offers activities in many countries around the world, covering Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, Africa and other regions.

Civitatis: Civitatis operates in many countries around the world, with a strong presence in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania.

Funbooker: Funbooker focuses mainly on the French market and is therefore available locally in France.

Specialities

Manawa: Specialising in outdoor and adventure activities, Manawa offers a wide range of options for lovers of outdoor experiences, such as hiking, water sports, mountain excursions, etc. However, it is also suitable for people wishing to discover new activities, thanks to its wide range of offers to suit all levels of experience. However, it is also suitable for those wishing to discover new activities, thanks to its wide range of offers suited to all levels of experience.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide specialises in tourist activities and experiences, offering a wide range of options from visits to monuments and museums to adventure activities and boat trips.

Viator: Viator specialises in excursions, guided tours and tourist activities in major destinations around the world, offering a variety of experiences tailored to different types of traveller.

Civitatis: Civitatis focuses on tourist activities and excursions in many destinations, offering a wide range of options from guided tours to unique cultural experiences.

Funbooker: Funbooker specialises in leisure and entertainment activities in France, offering a variety of options for families, friends and groups, from theme parks to escape games and cookery courses.

Customer origin

Manawa: Manawa's clientele is international, coming from various countries around the world. Customers come mainly from regions where outdoor and adventure activities are popular, but also from other countries interested in these unique experiences.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide attracts customers from all over the world, with a strong presence in Europe, North America and Asia. Travellers from all walks of life use GetYourGuide to book travel experiences.

Viator: Viator has a global customer base, with a strong concentration of customers in North America, Europe and Australia. Viator's customers come from all over the world to book tours, excursions and tourist activities in many popular destinations.

Civitatis: Civitatis attracts customers from all over the world, with a strong base in Europe, North America and Latin America. Civitatis customers come from all over the world to book activities and excursions in a wide range of tourist destinations.

Funbooker: Funbooker mainly targets local customers in France, although international tourists can also use it when visiting France. The majority of Funbooker's customers are based in France or travel to France on holiday or business.

Types of customer

Manawa: Manawa mainly attracts adventure-seekers and thrill-seekers. Its clientele is made up of travellers eager to discover unique and different experiences in natural environments.

GetYourGuide: Its clientele includes travellers from all walks of life, from families on holiday to solo adventurers and groups of friends looking for local adventure and sightseeing.

Viator: Its customers are mainly international travellers looking for cultural and historical experiences when they travel.

Civitatis: Its customers include travellers from all over the world, looking for authentic experiences and local discoveries when they travel.

Funbooker: Its customers include families, groups of friends and companies looking for group activities and team-building events.

Business model and commission costs

Manawa: Manawa operates on a commission model, receiving 25% of the amount of each booking made via their online booking platform, an average rate in the ecosystem of internet activity sellers.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide also adopts a commission model, set at 30%, which puts it in the upper bracket compared with other booking sites. In the event of cancellation by the professional of the activity, including for weather reasons, GetYourGuide invoices a commission to the professionals.

Viator: Viator applies a similar business model based on a 30% commission. They also offer additional visibility options for a commission increase of up to 47%.

Civitatis: Civitatis also operates on a commission model, although they do not disclose the specific amount. We estimate it to be between 25% and 30%.

Funbooker: Funbooker, with a commission of 20%, has one of the lowest rates among the platforms mentioned. This commission can be explained in part by their main concentration on the French market.

Customer service

Manawa: Manawa's customer service is available 7 days a week by telephone and e-mail. The Manawa teams offer direct assistance to both customers and professionals.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide offers customer support solely via a ticket system available on their website or mobile application.

Viator: Viator's customer service is available by telephone and e-mail, mainly through dedicated call centres.

Civitatis: Civitatis offers a customer service accessible by telephone and e-mail, as well as via dedicated call centres.

Funbooker: Funbooker customer service is available by phone and e-mail to help users with their bookings and queries.

Partner Account Manager

Manawa: For Manawa, a dedicated account manager is available to partners. This manager can be contacted by telephone and e-mail to improve and develop the partnership.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide communicates mainly with its partners via an e-mail ticket system.

Viator: Viator also communicates mainly with its partners via an e-mail ticket system.

Civitatis: Civitatis can be contacted by telephone and e-mail for their partners.

Funbooker: Funbooker can also be contacted by telephone and e-mail.

Connectivity with booking software

Manawa: Manawa is connected to 10 reservation software packages, including popular names such as FareHarbor and Bokun, as well as solutions more specific to outdoor activities. Manawa regularly connects new software to adapt to the needs of their partners. Discover the list of reservation systems connected via API with Manawa.

GetYourGuide, Viator and Civitatis: These booking sites are connected to a large number of reservation software packages in the tourism sector.

Funbooker: Funbooker is currently connected to Guidap, but they plan to develop connectivity with other booking systems in the future.

Booking management

Manawa: Manawa offers four ways of managing bookings. Firstly, there is the instant method where there is no stock management and bookings are confirmed immediately. Then there is the manual mode where the service provider has to accept the booking. Semi-automatic mode involves Manawa's customer service department manually entering the booking with the partner. Finally, there is the automatic mode where bookings are confirmed automatically.

GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide only offers instant bookings via an API. However, one drawback is that if the partner does not take the customer, cancellation fees may be charged.

Viator: Viator only offers instant bookings via an API.

Civitatis: Civitatis also only offers instant bookings via an API.

Funbooker: Funbooker offers similar options to Manawa, but with limited automatic confirmations due to poor API connectivity.

Conclusion: Why choose Manawa for your outdoor activities?

Manawa stands out for its commitment to outdoor and adventure activities. Manawa offers a competitive business model for professionals in the sector. In addition, its availability of 7 day a week customer service, accessible by phone and email, as well as offering four booking management methods, make Manawa an easy-to-use player for partners wishing to develop their outdoor activities. The commitment to provide a dedicated account manager to help develop partnerships also reinforces its position as an attractive option for outdoor professionals.

If you are already a partner, pleasewrite directly to your regional manager. If you are not yet a partner and would like to find out more about Manawa, you can also request a contact: Become a partner.