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We try to live in line with our values. One of them is keeping our footprint as light as possible – at home and on the road. That’s why we stopped giving (and receiving) physical gifts years ago. Instead, we share our time and skills or gift memorable experiences.
We first heard of Tinggly when they sponsored a voucher in one of our community giveaways. Recently, the tables turned: WE were gifted a Tinggly voucher. To see how it really works, we redeemed it on a trip to England’s Lake District, joining the Eight Lakes in a Morning Tour. Here’s what we liked and what we didn’t, helping you decide if Tinggly fits the way you give.
Why gift experiences rather than physical things?
Gifting has evolved beyond giving material goods. Today, especially in the global north, where many of us have all we (really) need, more and more people prefer experiences over things. Experiences enable us (the giver and recipient) to build meaningful connections and create lasting memories, especially if they’re enjoyed together or if the experiences gifted do good – from supporting loved ones and local communities to helping preserve our natural heritage.
And speaking of doing good… There’s a practical upside, too: far less waste. No more well-meant gadgets gathering dust in attics and garages, no return queues, and less headed for landfill. An experience ends with a memory, not clutter.
Gifting experiences minimises waste: No more unwanted gifts gathering dust on shelves or ending up in landfills | Image courtesy of Jessica Kessler on Unsplash
What is Tinggly (and why is it called Tinggly)?
Founded in 2014, Tinggly is an experience-based gifting platform. Whether the experience is a gift for a loved one or yourself, Tinggly has revolutionised gift-giving by shifting the focus from physical gifts to creating cherished memories. Tinggly’s emphasis on sustainability, though, goes beyond promoting a shift away from physical gifts (we’ll talk about this in more detail below).
Hearing the name Tinggly for the first time, we associated it with the tingling sensation on your tongue when you drink a fizzy drink. Maybe the founders called it Tinggly because of the excitement you feel when you gift something meaningful to a special someone or when you’re embarking on an experience you’ve never done before (with someone you love) – and the second underscores the gift-giving reference?
Turns out, we were pretty spot on with our explanation, as this is what Tinggly came back with when we asked them:
The name Tinggly […] reflects the idea that giving a […] gift […], sends a tingle of excitement and anticipation through the giver. Similarly, recipients experience a tingle of joy and adventure as they dive into the activities offered. The name “Tinggly” brings to mind this mutual feeling of delight and surprise, [demonstrating] the emotional impact these experiences bring.
Gift stories not stuff - Founded in 2014, Tinggly is an experience-based gifting platform | Image courtesy of Tinggly
Tinggly‘s experiences are available in over 100 countries, making it a truly global platform that offers a ton of choices – from adventure activities and culinary tours to wellness retreats and everything in between.
The platform allows users to gift experiences in two ways:
- through gift vouchers of a specific value, or for particular occasions, or
- by (pre-)selecting an experience for the recipient;
Thereby catering to both those who prefer to let the recipient choose and those who want to surprise a special someone with a hand-picked experience.
On Tinggly, you can buy gift vouchers/boxes or (pre-)select a specific experience for a special someone (including yourself) | Image courtesy of Tinggly
What is it like using Tinggly? Here is our detailed review
Navigating the Tinggly platform is straightforward. The well-designed website allows users to easily search for experiences based on location, activity type and/or budget.
If you’re new to Tinggly, you must create an account before buying or redeeming a voucher. Basic account holder information and standard email verification are required to ensure you receive all necessary notifications.
Buying an experience voucher, gift box or gift card
Tinggly offers gift-givers the choice between a gift box (with hundreds of experience options to choose from), a gift card voucher (of a value determined by the giver) and a voucher for an experience the giver pre-selects for the recipient. Don’t worry: if the recipient disagrees with your choice, they can change it (we’ll discuss this further below).
With Tinggly, you can choose between a gift box/voucher and a voucher for a pre-selected experience
Upon checkout, you can select your preferred presentation format. Tinggly offers both
- digital vouchers, which are emailed to the recipient with a personal message (instantly or on a specified date), and
- physical gift boxes made from sustainable materials with a personal message (sent to the giver or directly to the recipient).
These options cater to last-minute gifters, those who live far away from the recipient, and those who can and want to hand over the gift in person.
Tinggly gifts can be delivered as a (sustainably made) physical gift box or as an eVoucher | Image courtesy of Tinggly
Payment options and security
Tinggly offers a range of secure payment methods, including major credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Stripe and PayPal. The platform employs standard security protocols (such as encryption) to protect users’ financial data, but (at the time of writing) Tinggly does not offer two-factor authentication.
While browsing experiences on the Tinggly website, USD prices are shown with just the $ sign (which is confusing if your currency of choice is AUD or CAD). You can switch between five different currencies (AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, USD) using the drop-down currency option menu in the website footer.
Redeeming a voucher
Recipients can redeem their gift/experience vouchers through the Tinggly platform by entering the code provided in the voucher.
Having received a Tinggly gift voucher and with a planned trip to the Lake District a few weeks later, we looked for tours within a specific timeframe and on a set budget. Tinggly’s search filters were intuitive and effective, helping quickly narrow down the options. The only thing we didn’t like was that customer review ratings (and the number of customer reviews) were shown at the top right of the experience page, but we could not click through to any actual reviews (we’ll cover that topic in more detail below).
As the Lake District is a popular destination, we chose the date and experience as early as possible to avoid missing out. A few minutes after booking, the tour operator responded with a confirmation email. The tickets for the experience were attached as a PDF, making them easy to download or print.
Recipients redeem their gift/experience vouchers by entering the code provided in the voucher
If the recipient of an experience voucher wishes to choose a different experience than the one gifted initially, Tinggly allows them to redeem the voucher and select an alternative experience (by clicking the Exchange experience option). Should the recipient choose an experience that costs less than the one gifted, the difference would be credited to their Tinggly account and be available for future use in other experiences.
Gifts can also be refunded if not used. In this case, Tinggly must be contacted within 30 days of the purchase date.
If a recipient didn't like the pre-selected experience, they can easily exchange it on the Tinggly website
Customer support and service experience
Tinggly offers assistance primarily via email and chatbot. While its Customer Support team can also be contacted by telephone (US and UK telephone numbers are provided on the website), the team operates on GMT-based hours and is not available 24/7.
The tour we had initially booked was cancelled by the operator 36 hours before it was scheduled the start. While we were offered to join the Eight Lakes in a Morning Tour instead, the process of cancelling and rebooking proved to be more complicated than anticipated, as it had to be done offline (by Tinggly’s Customer Support team) and at the latest 24 hours before the tour (in our case, overnight) – as per the tour operator’s terms and conditions.
Having experienced a (not unusual) situation firsthand, we found the Tinggly Customer Support team responsive and helpful. As we were in the UK, the GMT-based support hours worked in our favour. After contacting the chatbot about the change request, we received an email response early the following morning, and the issue was resolved in time.
While it all worked out in the end for us, it did leave us wondering at one point whether we’d be able to join a tour at all. The lack of 24/7 live chat or telephone support might be a drawback for users in different time zones or those who need more immediate assistance, especially outside Tinggly’s regular business hours. We reached out to Tinggly for advice in those circumstances, and this is what they said:
[There is] a nightly Call Center, which takes […] customer requests so that [the] customer support team can respond to them as soon as the shift starts, [with] a dedicated person who covers the inquiries during the evening shifts as well as the weekends. During the holidays, [the] team prioritises urgent emails.
Always read the terms and conditions before buying a gift/experience - both Tinggly's and the specific terms of the experience selected
What are Tinggly’s Terms and Conditions?
Before purchasing a gift on Tinggly, it’s crucial to familiarise yourself with their terms and conditions to ensure a smooth gifting process and prevent potential frustrations for both the gift-giver and the recipient.
As these can change without notice, we’ll only mention a few important ones here:
- Tinggly vouchers do not expire, which is a significant advantage over other platforms that impose strict expiration dates.
- It is also worth noting that some experiences may have specific terms (such as cancellation policies or age restrictions) that would override Tinggly’s general terms. Review these details carefully to avoid surprises.
If you want more details, read the Terms and Conditions and for specific questions, check out Tinggly’s Frequently Asked Questions.
Access to and ease of leaving a review
Customer reviews as a pre-purchase decision-making tool
Most people booking an experience will want to read reviews from people who’ve had the experience before. After all, no one wants to waste their time and money on something they don’t enjoy. Only showing a review rating and the number of reviews without the ability to access the actual customer reviews for an experience gift is a significant shortcoming, which impacts not only the user experience but (we would argue) Tinggly‘s bottom line. We have flagged the issue with Tinggly and hope it will be addressed.
In the interim, we used this workaround: Copy into Viator the exact name of the experience from the Tinggly landing page and see if you can find the equivalent Viator experience in the search results (using the customer rating, number of reviews and images as reference).
Leaving a customer review after the experience
Likewise, there is no direct option to leave a review on the Tinggly website after the experience. Instead, Tinggly directs users to share their feedback on TrustPilot. When asked about it, Tinggly responded:
As we are not a direct provider of the experiences offered, the reviews we collect are directed towards Tinggly […] as a gifting service, not an experience provider. There is usually an option to leave a review about the specific experience on the website of the experience provider.
Collecting reviews for the Tinggly platform experience and the actual gifted experience separately makes sense, but there are better ways to do it. For example, Tinggly could provide a review form to complete in a follow-up email after the experience and then upload the Tinggly platform review component to the Tinggly website/TrustPilot and the experience-related review component to the experience’s landing page.
Access to and ease of leaving customer reviews are an area Tinggly needs to improve on | Image courtesy of Gerd Altmann on Pixabay
How sustainable and ethical are Tinggly and the experiences on its platform?
Tinggly‘s motto, “Give stories, not stuff,” perfectly aligns with our minimalist life philosophy and our efforts to promote responsible consumption. As a certified Business Partner of 1% for the Planet, we know that Tinggly cares about the environment and offers experiences supporting those values – from marine conservation and eco-tourism activities to farm-to-table culinary experiences highlighting sustainable farming practices and supporting small local businesses.Â
Furthermore, Tinggly
- uses eco-friendly materials for physical gift vouchers/boxes,
- plants trees for every gift sold,
- (more than) offsets the carbon footprint of the gift-giving process (including its operational emissions and those released from the experiences themselves), and
- contributes to river clean-ups;
which is a real standout and way more than any other platform does. You can read all about Tinggly’s sustainability policy here.
Tinggly's sustainability efforts are a standout and way more than many other platforms are doing
While Tinggly’s efforts are commendable, they can only be the beginning. Offsetting is not zero carbon, no matter how many trees we plant.
And (at the time of writing), the platform still offers experiences involving close interactions with wild animals (even though animal welfare organisations have widely criticised these activities for years). When asked about their product acceptance criteria and/or animal welfare policy, Tinggly responded:
We carefully select the experiences we offer to our users, ensuring none exploit people or animals. However, with over 100,000 experiences available, it’s possible that a few may not fully align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As we partner with experience providers rather than directly offering the experiences ourselves, some discrepancies may occur due to the sheer volume of options. We value our users’ feedback on such matters and always ensure to remove any non-compliant experiences from our website.
So, while Tinggly states on its website “We can guarantee that every interaction you have with Tinggly is not just having a neutral impact on the planet but a POSITIVE one“, there is clearly room for improvement.
UN Sustainable Development Goals | Image courtesy of the UN Tourism
Ethical Standards of Online Travel Agencies
The standards and policies of the online platforms we use every day are (sadly) not (always) in line with (y)our expectations around ethical and responsible tourism. This is especially true for online marketplaces/OTAs focused on experiences.
As they are notoriously difficult to find, we include here the key policies of the experience-focused online platforms featured in our articles (for your reference):
- GetYourGuide - Safety, Ethical, and Legal Standards | Animal Welfare Policy
- Klook - Animal Welfare Policy
- Nomades - UN Global Compact Report (PBM Turismo SpA Parent Company)
- Viator - Product Standards | Animal Welfare Policy.
Pros
- Intuitive UI and UX
- Tons of options: 150,000+ experiences in 100+ countries – as a gift box, gift card or pre-selected experience (delivered as a physical gift voucher/box or in digital form)
- Gifts can be freely exchanged, and the gift (value) never expires
- Passionate Customer Support team
- Strong sustainability focus
Cons
- No access to customer reviews – Experience landing pages only display the customer rating and number of reviews received (without details of prior users’ experiences)
- Refund only to gift purchaser and only within 30 days of purchase – otherwise as store credit (Tinggly value) to recipient
- Limited (GMT-based) customer support hours
FAQs: Got more questions?
Is Tinggly legitimate?
Yes, it is. The company has been around since 2014 (it was co-founded by Lithuanian Linas Ceikus). While it lists 150,000+ experiences in 100+ countries, it is not an experience provider but an online marketplace that enables the gifting of experiences.
How long are Tinggly vouchers valid for?
Tinggly gifts don’t expire. If you were gifted a single experience voucher, and it wasn’t used within a year, the voucher value converts into store credit (called Tinggly value) that can be used at a later stage. The same happens BTW when a gifted experience is no longer offered.
I don’t like the Tinggly gift I received. Can I exchange it (even if the one I prefer is in a different country)?
You sure can. Tinggly offers experiences worldwide, and you can exchange the one gifted to you for any other one, anywhere. If the new one chosen is more expensive, you pay the difference (if it’s cheaper, you keep the value as a credit in your Tinggly account).
Can a recipient choose their own experience?
They sure can – as long as it’s an experience listed in Tinggly. If you’ve got a special someone who’s hard to please, choose a gift box. This gives them literally hundreds of options to choose from. You can also opt for a gift card (at a value chosen by you). Even if you’ve chosen a specific experience, but it’s unavailable on the dates the recipient wants to redeem it, they can exchange it for another experience.
How quickly can physical gift boxes be delivered?
Delivery of Tinggly gift boxes can take anywhere from 2-4 business days in Europe and 3-5 business days in the US to 7 business days in other regions. If you need the gift faster, select the evoucher instead.
Tinggly gift boxes take 2 to 7 business days to be delivered | Image courtesy of Tinggly
I want to gift an experience to more than two people. How many does Tinggly allow?
The maximum number per experience is not dictated by Tinggly but by the actual experience provider. Tinggly gift boxes contain experiences that can be booked for up to 4 people. Individual experiences may have larger maximum group sizes – just check the details of the specific experience before you buy.
Who is Tinggly (not) for?
If you want to gift a very specific physical thing – from microwave to Mercedes – Tinggly won’t be able to help. It is also worth noting that Tinggly doesn’t provide refunds (unless it’s within the initial 30-day purchase period – and then only to the buyer, not the recipient). Instead of a refund, the gift-recipient will get store credit called Tinggly value, which doesn’t expire and can be used for experiences at a later date.
If your special someone likes exploring new places or learn new things (and seriously, who doesn’t), give Tinggly a try. Even if you’re blessed with an artistic gift (pun intended) and prefer to hand-make your gifts, you might want to consider Tinggly if/when you run out of (meaningful and appreciated) gift ideas.
Can I gift my Tinggly value to someone else?
Yes, you can – as long as you’re logged into your Tinggly account. Once you selected a gift box, experience or gift card, select “Use Personal Wallet Balance” to (part)pay with your Tinggly value.
Got any other question we haven’t addressed? Please get in touch. We’ll add the question and our response to these FAQs.
Looking for the Perfect Gift?
Give the gift of unforgettable experiences with Tinggly! Use our exclusive discount code, MINJOURNEYS, to save 10% on your purchase.
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