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
Abigail Blasi
A freelance travel writer, Abigail has lived and worked in London, Rome, Hong Kong, and Copenhagen. Lonely Planet have sent her to India, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania, Mali, Italy, Portugal, Malta and around Britain. She writes regularly for newspapers and magazines, such as the Independent, the Telegraph, and Lonely Planet Traveller. She has three children and they often come along for the ride. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @abiwhere
Lindsay Brown
Lindsay started travelling as young bushwalker exploring the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Then as a marine biologist he dived the coastal and island waters of southeastern Australia. He continued travelling whenever he could while employed at Lonely Planet as an editor and publishing manager. On becoming a freelance writer and photographer he has co-authored over 30 Lonely Planet guides to Australia, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.
Anirban Mahapatra
Ever since he gave up his journalist’s day job in 2009, Anirban Mahapatra has been travelling across the farthest extents of India on professional assignments as a travel writer and documentary filmmaker. A Lonely Planet writer since 2007, he has so far worked on five consecutive editions of the India guidebook, mostly specialising on destinations in East and Northeast India. When not socialising with tribal chiefs over rice beer in Meghalaya or hiking along jungle trails in primeval Arunachal Pradesh, he cools his heels at his studio in Kolkata, conveniently located near some of the city’s choicest pubs and restaurants.
Isabella Noble
English-Australian on paper but Spanish at heart, Isabella has been wandering the globe since her first round-the-world trip as a one-year-old. Having grown up in a whitewashed Andalucian village, she is a Spain specialist travel journalist, but also writes extensively about India, Thailand, the UK and beyond for Lonely Planet, the Daily Telegraph and others. Isabella has co-written Lonely Planet guides to Spain and Andalucía, and contributed to India, South India, Thailand, Thailand’s Islands & Beaches, Southeast Asia on a Shoestring and Great Britain, and authored Pocket Phuket. Find Isabella on Twitter and Instagram (@isabellamnoble).
John Noble
John has been travelling since his teens and doing so as a Lonely Planet writer since the 1980s. The number of LP titles he's written or co-written is well into three figures, covering a somewhat random selection of countries scattered across the globe, predominantly ones where Spanish, Russian or English are spoken (usually alongside numerous local languages). He still gets as excited as ever about heading out on the road to unfamiliar experiences, people and destinations, especially remote, off-the-beaten-track ones. Above all, he loves mountains, from the English Lake District to the Himalaya. See his pics on Instagram: @johnnoble11.
Kevin Raub
Kevin Raub grew up in Atlanta and started his career as a music journalist in New York, working for Men's Journal and Rolling Stone magazines. Being a pursuer of hops himself, he was all too happy to put Kingfisher in his rearview drinking mirror and immerse himself in Mumbai's exploding craft beer scene for this edition of the India guide. This is Kevin’s 40th Lonely Planet guide. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram (@RaubOnTheRoad). To learn more about Kevin, check out www.lonelyplanet.com/members/kraub.
Michael Benanav
When Michael was young, his father made the mistake of handing him a biography of Lawrence of Arabia, along with adventure novels like Around the World in 80 Days. Something was sparked as this bookwormish boy over-identified with the main characters in these tales. Today, he is a veteran traveller, writer, and photographer, who loves exploring places far from beaten tourist trails. He’s authored three non-fiction books (set on three different continents) and writes and shoots for major publications. He also founded Traditional Cultures Project, which documents indigenous cultures around the world. To see some of his work, visit www.michaelbenanav.com.
Mark Elliott
British born travel writer Mark Elliott has lived and worked on five continents, authoring or contributing to over 60 books. He has been visiting the subcontinent since a 1982 trip which lined his stomach for all eventualities. While delighting in India’s full rainbow of cultures, he’s especially drawn to the cool air, magnificent mountains and spiritual warmth of the Himalayan regions whether sharing sufi secrets in Srinagar, mumbling mantras in Ladakh or being dazzled by Sikkim’s larger than life mega-temples/statues.
Paul Harding
As a writer and photographer, Paul has been travelling the globe for the best part of two decades, with an interest in remote and offbeat places and cultures. He's an author and contributor to more than 50 Lonely Planet guides to countries and regions as diverse as India, Iceland, Belize, Vanuatu, Iran, Indonesia, New Zealand, Finland and – his home patch – Australia.
Anna Kaminski
For as long as Anna has been travelling in India, she’s been enchanted and exasperated by the country in equal measure, and never ever bored. This trip was no exception. Cons? The demonetisation crisis. Pros? Exploring two vastly different corners of the country. Highlights included the ancient architecture of Ahmedabad, spending time in traditional villages in Odisha’s tribal country, lion-spotting in Sasan Gir National Park and witnessing first-hand the centuries-old craft kept alive in the villages of Kachchh.
Bradley Mayhew
Bradley has been writing guidebooks for 20 years now. He started travelling while studying Chinese at Oxford University, and has since focused his expertise on China, Tibet, the Himalaya and Central Asia. He is the co-author of Lonely Planet guides to Tibet, Nepal, Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya, Bhutan, Central Asia and many others. Bradley has also fronted two TV series for Arte and SWR, one retracing the route of Marco Polo via Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and China, and the other trekking Europe's ten most scenic long-distance trails.
Sarina Singh
After finishing a business degree in her hometown of Melbourne, Sarina went to India to pursue a corporate traineeship before working as a journalist. After five years she returned to Australia and completed postgraduate journalism qualifications before authoring Lonely Planet’s first edition of Rajasthan. Apart from numerous Lonely Planet books she has written for a raft of other publications and has been a scriptwriter and expert commentator. Sarina is also the author of Polo in India as well as India: Essential Encounters. Her award-nominated documentary premiered at the prestigious Melbourne International Film Festival before screening internationally.
Iain Stewart
Iain’s trained as journalist and worked as reporter and restaurant critic in London in the 1990s. He started writing guidebooks in 1997 and has penned over 60 titles for destinations as diverse as Ibiza and Cambodia. For Lonely Planet, Iain's worked on books including Mexico, Indonesia, Croatia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka and Central America. Other passions include tennis, scuba and freediving. He'll consider working anywhere there's a palm tree or two and a beach of a generally sandy persuasion. Home is Brighton, UK, within firing range of the city's south-facing horizon. He tweets at @iaintravel.
Stay in Touch
Australia
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Ireland
Unit E, Digital Court, Rainsford St, Dublin 8, Ireland
USA
124 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607 %510 250 6400, toll free 800 275 8555, fax 510 893 8572
UK
240 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NW %020 3771 5100, fax 020 3771 5101
Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
ABN 36 005 607 983
17 edition - Oct 2017
ISBN 9781787011991
© Lonely Planet 2017 Photographs © as indicated 2017
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