Built a travel planning MVP connecting travellers with experts and friends

RoamingDuck is an Australian travel startup with a mission to simplify the end-to-end trip planning process — from researching destinations and distributing budgets to booking accommodation and managing travel documents.

The platform connects travellers with experienced travel experts and their own friends, giving them guided support through every stage of a trip from a single place.

• No single platform existed where travellers could plan, collaborate, and get expert guidance in one place
• Travellers visiting unfamiliar destinations had no structured way to access reliable local knowledge
• Budget allocation, itinerary building, and document management ran across disconnected tools
• The platform needed to serve three distinct user types — travellers, travel experts, and admins — within a single interface
• The product needed to run seamlessly across both mobile and web without separate native builds

1. Recommended a responsive web app over native mobile

Rather than building separate iOS and Android apps, we proposed a responsive MERN stack web application — delivering cross-device compatibility with a single codebase and faster time to market for an MVP.

2. Designed a dual-view dashboard around how travellers actually plan

The core interface challenge was showing itinerary and chat simultaneously without friction. We built a two-view dashboard — itinerary on one side, chat on the other — so travellers could plan and communicate without switching contexts.

3. Built for three user types from the start

Travellers, travel experts, and admins each needed different access, workflows, and dashboards. We designed role-based flows for all three from the outset rather than retrofitting permissions after launch.

4. Kept the MVP focused on core value

The engagement was scoped as a budget-friendly MVP. We prioritised the features that delivered the most value — itinerary building, expert chat, budget management, and document storage — keeping scope tight without sacrificing usability.

Travel Planning Platform

• Responsive web application running across desktop, tablet, and mobile without native builds
• Dual-view dashboard showing itinerary and chat simultaneously for travellers
• Itinerary builder for researching, planning, and scheduling trip activities
• Budget allocation and calculation tools for managing trip costs

Collaboration & Expert Access

• Real-time chat between travellers, friends, and travel experts
• Friend invitation system for collaborative trip planning
• Travel expert profiles with booking and guidance capability
• Three-role architecture — traveller, travel expert, and admin — with separate dashboards

Document & Trip Management

• Document management portal for storing tickets, bookings, and travel documents
• Accommodation and ticket booking support within the platform
• Admin dashboard for platform management and user oversight

RoamingDuck launched a fully functional travel planning MVP connecting travellers with experts and friends in a single responsive platform — covering itinerary building, real-time chat, budget management, and document storage across web and mobile from a single codebase.

Business Impact

• MVP delivered on a budget-friendly timeline for an early-stage startup
• Three user types — traveller, travel expert, admin — supported within one platform
• Full trip lifecycle covered from research and planning through to document management
• Responsive web app eliminated the need for separate native mobile builds
• Platform established a scalable foundation for adding new travel features and markets