Lonely Planet Spain & Portugal’s Best Trips

Our Story

A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

OUR WRITERS

Josephine Quintero

Spain is Josephine’s favourite country on earth and she has lived in Málaga province on the Costa del Sol for over 20 years. As well as co-authoring four editions of the Lonely Planet Spain title, she has worked on the Andalucía regional guide, as well as numerous other LP titles. Highlights during this trip including gazing at evocative art at the brand new Pompidou museum in Málaga and discovering still more fine dining venues in the cobbled Marbella backstreets.

Andy Symington

Though he hails from Australia, Andy’s great-grandfather emigrated to Portugal in the 19th century and that side of his family still calls the country home. This connection means that he has been a frequent visitor to the country since birth, and now nips across the border very frequently from his home in Spain. Andy has authored and co-authored numerous Lonely Planet and other guidebooks.

Read more about Andy at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/andysymington

Brendan Sainsbury

Originally from Hampshire, England, Brendan first went to Spain on an Inter-rail ticket in the 1980s. He went back as a travel guide several years later and met his wife-to-be in a small village in rural Andalucía in 2003. He has been writing books for Lonely Planet for a decade, including four previous editions of the Spain/Andalucía guides. Brendan loves Granada, the writing of Federico Lorca, cycling along via verdes, and attending as many flamenco shows as his research allows.

Read more about Brendan at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/brendansainsbury

Kerry Christiani

Kerry’s love affair with Portugal began as a child clambering along the cliffs of the Algarve. She returned years later and fell for the rest of the country – its captivating landscapes, super-friendly locals, fresh seafood and photogenic light. For this guide, she road-tripped her way through vineyards, over mountains, deep into national parks and along the wave-lashed Atlantic coast. Kerry is the author of more than 20 guidebooks, including Lonely Planet Pocket Lisbon and Porto. She tweets @kerrychristiani.

Read more about Kerry at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/KerryChristiani

Isabella Noble

Isabella has always thought that learning to drive in central Málaga taught her to cope with roads absolutely anywhere. A London-based, English/Australian travel journalist, she grew up in a white Andalucian mountain village, and spent plenty of summers whizzing across to Cádiz’ Costa de la Luz – perfect training for this title. She has contributed to several Lonely Planet guides including Andalucía, Spain and India, and is a Spain expert for Telegraph Travel. She’s on Twitter/Instagram @isabellamnoble and blogs at www.isabellanoble.blogspot.com.

My Favourite Trip The Great Outdoors for the Costa de la Luz’ windswept beaches, Tarifa’s Moroccan flavour and Doñana’s wild beauty.

Read more about Isabella at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/IsabellaNoble

Anthony Ham

In 2001, Anthony (www.anthonyham.com) fell in love with Madrid on his first visit to the city. Less than a year later, he arrived on a one-way ticket, with not a word of Spanish and not knowing a single person. After ten years living in the city, he recently returned to Australia with his Spanish-born family, but he still adores his adopted country as much as the first day he arrived. When he’s not writing for Lonely Planet, Anthony writes about and photographs Spain, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa for newspapers and magazines around the world.

My Favourite Trip Castilla y León for the combination of unforgettable cities and timeworn villages.

Read more about Anthony at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/anthonyham

John Noble

Two decades of living in Spain and driving all over it have taught John that it’s a great country to drive in! (Outside the city centres, that is – they’re best negotiated by other means.) The main highways get better and better and it’s now possible to drive from any corner of the country to any other without leaving an autovía. The back roads are even better – low on traffic and usually high on long-distance views over Spain’s always dramatic scenery.

My Favourite Trip Coast of Galicia You can’t beat the ever-changing drama of Spain’s most spectacular coastline.

Read more about John at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/ewoodrover

Regis St Louis

Regis first fell in love with Spain and Portugal on a grand journey across Iberia in the late 1990s. Since then he has returned frequently to the peninsula, often splitting his time between his favourite cities of Lisbon and Barcelona. Memorable moments from his most recent trip include earning a few scars at a correfoc in Gràcia and watching fearless castellers build human towers at the Santa Eulàlia fest. Regis is also the author of Portugal and Barcelona, and he has contributed to dozens of other Lonely Planet titles.

My Favourite Trip The Costa Brava I love the combination of wild coastal scenery and great sea-food, with jaw-dropping works of Dalí waiting at the end.

Read more about Regis at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/regisstlouis

Stuart Butler

Stuart’s first childhood encounters with Spain came on a school trip to Parque Nacional de Doñana in the far south of Spain and family holidays along the north coast. Early encounters left lasting impressions and when he was older he spent every summer on the Basque beaches, until one day he found he was unable to tear himself away – he’s been in the region ever since. His travels for Lonely Planet, and a wide variety of magazines, have taken him beyond Spain, to the shores of the Arctic, the mountains of Asia and the savannahs of Africa. He’s currently writing a book about the Maasai peoples of East Africa. His website is www.stuartbutlerjournalist.com.

Read more about Stuart at: https://auth.lonelyplanet.com/profiles/stuartbutler

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

ABN 36 005 607 983

1st edition – Feb 2016

eISBN 978 1 76034 031 5

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