If you've ever searched for "things to do in [city]" and stumbled across both geocaching and HUNTA, you might wonder: aren't these basically the same thing? You use your phone, you go outside, you find things. Close — but the differences matter a lot more than you'd think.
Let's break down what makes HUNTA different from geocaching, and why that difference is opening up a whole new way to explore the world.
First, credit where it's due. Geocaching has been around since 2000 and has built an incredible global community. Millions of people have discovered hidden spots in their own neighborhoods and while traveling, all thanks to a network of physical containers hidden by other enthusiasts. It's a hobby, a community, and a genuinely fun way to spend an afternoon.
But geocaching has limitations — and if you've tried it while traveling, you've probably hit them.
Geocaching is built around finding physical containers — small boxes, tubes, or magnetic tins hidden in trees, under benches, or wedged behind walls. Sometimes they're there. Sometimes they've gone missing, been muggled (geocaching slang for stolen or destroyed), or been moved. You can walk 2km to a cache only to find it's not there.
HUNTA is entirely digital. Every clue, every answer, every piece of the experience lives on your phone. Nothing is hidden physically, nothing can go missing, and nothing needs maintenance from a community of volunteers. You're hunting for knowledge, observations, and discoveries — not a plastic box under a rock.
Geocaching gives you coordinates and sends you to a point. What happens when you get there is up to you. There might be a logbook to sign. There might be a small trinket to trade. The experience is minimal.
HUNTA gives you a structured walking tour through a town or area, with 15+ clues, interesting facts about each location, historical context, and a clear route that takes you through the most interesting parts of a place. It's not "go to this random spot in the woods" — it's "walk through the old town, discover why this street is named that, find the date on this 12th-century church, and learn about the people who shaped this place."
Geocaching is a hobby. You hide caches for free, for fun, and for the community. There's no way to earn money from it.
HUNTA is a marketplace. Anyone with local knowledge — a tour guide, an Airbnb host, a history buff, a parent who knows their town inside out — can create a self-guided treasure hunt, publish it, and earn 60% of every sale. Not just from their own guests or customers, but from anyone in the world who plays their hunt.
It's the Airbnb model applied to treasure hunts. You create it once, it goes live, and it keeps earning every time someone plays — whether that's a tourist visiting from the other side of the world or a local family looking for a weekend activity.
Geocaching is a sport. Some caches are in remote forests, up mountains, or underwater. That's amazing for enthusiasts — but if you're a family visiting Olney for the weekend, or a couple on holiday in Stromboli, you don't want to trek through the woods looking for a micro-cache. You want a curated, accessible experience that shows you the best of a place in about an hour.
HUNTA hunts are designed for real tourists. They start in accessible locations, follow logical walking routes, loop back to where you started, and take roughly 60 minutes. They're priced at €7–9 — less than a museum ticket, more than a coffee — and they're built for families, couples, and groups who want to explore a new place without booking a guided tour.
Geocaching requires a community to maintain physical caches. When a cache goes missing, it relies on a volunteer owner checking reports and replacing it. Many caches have been abandoned — their owners moved on, lost interest, or stopped maintaining them.
HUNTA hunts live on the platform forever. No container to replace. No logbook to maintain. No weather damage. Once a self-guided treasure hunt is published, it's always there, always working, always ready for the next player.
Geocaching originally required a dedicated GPS device. Today it works on smartphones, but many experienced geocachers still recommend a handheld GPS for reliability in remote areas.
HUNTA needs nothing but your phone and a sense of curiosity. It works in cities, towns, parks, and even cruise ships (yes, you can turn GPS off and play anywhere). No equipment, no subscriptions, no membership tiers.
Not at all! If you love geocaching, keep going. It's a fantastic hobby with a wonderful community. But if you've ever found yourself thinking:
...then HUNTA is what you've been looking for.
Geocaching proved that millions of people want to explore the world through their phones. HUNTA takes that proven concept and turns it into something more: a way for locals to monetize their knowledge, a better experience for tourists, and a platform that scales to cover the whole world — one creator at a time.
Whether you're a geocacher looking for something new, a tour guide wanting to reach a global audience, or an Airbnb host who knows their city inside out, there's a place for you on HUNTA.
Ready to explore? Browse our hunts across the world and find one near you.
Think you could create a better hunt? Get started here — it's free to create, and you keep 60% of every sale.
HUNTA is the Airbnb of treasure hunts — a marketplace where creators build self-guided treasure hunts, players buy and play them on their phones, and creators earn 60% of every sale. Learn more at hunta.online.