Yodio Tours, a Seattle company has launched a new Android app featuring several digital tours of Alki. Created by West Seattleite, Jim Winquist, the self-paced tours combine the free #775 bus and the digital walking tour to experience the best of Alki. The company is owned by Clay Loges.

Even if you've lived in West Seattle for years it's likely you will enjoy the elements of this look at our part of the world.

“Many people visit Alki Beach, but few enjoy the true experience with the back stories about the buildings and open spaces,” said Winquist (using the stage name Jim West), a third generation West Seattle native and the author/guide for his Alki tour. “This digital tour is a new way to interact with smart-phone-carrying sightseers.”

The Android tour application uses GPS technology to locate nearby tours on a map, and all tours are free for tourists and sightseers alike. You can preview the free tours online at www.YodioTours.com or download the illustrated podcasts from iTunes for use on your iPod or iPhone.

Each Yodio Tour is created and narrated by a local fixture in the community, offering a unique way to check out a city with a local enthusiast -- and the tours can be taken at your own pace and at a time convenient for you.

Since parking can be scarce during peak times, one version of the Alki tour begins at Seacrest Park at 1660 Harbor Ave SW (near the dock for the Water Taxi) and uses the free bus to reach Alki Beach via its scenic route. The walking portion of the tour winds along the beach. The tour stops include:

• The historic landing site of Seattle’s first settlers
• A walk along the beach
• The best photo opportunity of Seattle’s skyline – Luna Park

“We want to use this combination of new technologies to get people outdoors, to connect people to the world around them, and to immerse them in a favorite Seattle experience,” said Loges. "This is a new way to travel -- to let your smart phone become your tour guide."

The Alki Beach tour can run several hours as it loops around Alki while the actual guide includes 15 minutes of narration by Winquist, whose own background includes time as a restaurant manger, hospitality expert, aspiring tour guide and self-professed "Seattle fan".

The walking portion of the tour starts at 63rd SW and Alki with an invitation to stand where Seattle’s first settlers landed on the beaches of Alki.

The Alki tour joins several dozen tours being offered for free by Yodio Tours. The new tour experiences include the following destinations: Pioneer Square, International District, Olympic Sculpture Park, and the Public Market. And for the fans of Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” there is a back story tour of Seattle’s crab fleet titled, “Deadliest Tour” by Captain Gary Covich, skipper of the crab boat, Cascade Mariner. All tours can be viewed online at www.YodioTours.com where there is the option to download for free.

There are several ways people can enjoy “Touring Alki Beach”:

View the tour on-line at www.YodioTours.com
Download it for free from iTunes for your iPod or iPhone
Install the free Android app by searching “yodio tours” on the Android Market

How It Works
The tour is as simple to use as an audio guide in a museum -- except you're walking the streets of the city with a friendly insider while using your Android phone (or iPod or iPhone). Each of the tours is free, the Android app is free, and the tours generally take less than an hour. You can preview the tours and get more information at www.YodioTours.com.