I sat down with Mark Watkins and Mujde Pumuk, co-founders of Goby, three weeks ago.

Your first question: What the heck is Goby?

Goby is an “adventure search engine” startup based in Boston. On Goby’s homepage there are three search boxes: “What would you like to do?” followed by “Where?” and “When?”

Second question: why did it take me so long to write this post? I wanted to test Goby out and make sure I was getting the full experience. For the past three weeks, whenever I found myself looking for something to do, I skipped Google and went straight to Goby. I loved it. Here’s why:

“Goby is a search engine for people who want to do stuff,” CEO and co-founder Mark Watkins explained to me. Goby has four hundred-plus categories that range from beaches to skydiving. After you enter what you want to do, Goby crawls the web and organizes your search results with pictures, maps, dates, and links. What sets Goby apart from Google is that you never have to navigate away from Goby. While Google is filled with hyperlinks and block text, Goby provides pictures,  interactive maps, a “what’s nearby feature,” and the Facebook Share option.

Instead of trying to tell you how Goby works, watch what happened when I searched for “Pad Thai” in Boston:

One search for “pad thai” on Goby gave me twenty-eight restaurants to choose from. I chose the first result and checked out the reviews and photos. After clicking “what’s nearby,” and changing my location on the interactive map, I quickly found a sweet Martial Arts of Drumming performance. Since I am all about social networking, I shared the Martial Arts performance on my Facebook.

Yes, I did all of these things without ever having to leave the site. Goby took an interest (pad thai) and kept me engaged enough to stumble on others.

Now, I’ve spent three weeks on Goby; exploring, sharing, and trying to find some holes. My searches have ranged from Yoga in Somerville to hiking in New Hampshire. (Cool fact about hiking: Goby tells you how long the trails are).

I’d grade my experience on Goby an A; it’s one of the best Boston startup websites I’ve had the pleasure of testing out. Here’s why:

• The interface made it ridiculously easy to navigate Goby’s search results
• Instead of planning one activity, I planned a whole weekend.
• The interactive map let me manipulate my search results based on my location.
• Goby understands time; I organized search results using terms like tomorrow or next 7 days.
• The Flickr and Google pictures helped me decide if it was a place worth checking out.

Goby is tapping into the billion-dollar online travel industry, CEO, Mark Watkins considers Goby “the Kayak for everything else.” You can book a flight, rental car, and hotel online, and with Goby, you are your own travel agent now too, free to plan the rest of your entire itinerary. Essentially, if Kayak is for getting you there, Goby is a virtual concierge, pointing out all the awesome stuff you should be doing once you’ve arrived.

How are they making a profit? Goby is partnering with companies like CBS digital, who own media-properties like mix1041.com and wbz.com. Goby embeds and customizes their search engine to fit these websites’ needs. For example, wbz.com has the “weekend fun finder,” which is powered by Goby.

Goby is also looking to partner with hotel chains looking to help their guest find things to do during their trips. To make it even easier for travelers and people on the go, Goby is releasing an iPhone application in the near future.

Are you bored? Do you seek adventure? Did school get cancelled because of the snow? Goby can help you. Hop on Goby, dig around, and let me know what you think. Will you use Goby instead of Google to plan your trip itineraries and weekends?

Be sure to check out Goby’s site, www.goby.com. You can also find them on Twitter @TheRealGoby and Facebook.