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, Dublin, 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

Alexis Averbuck

Alexis Averbuck has travelled and lived all over the world, from Sri Lanka to Ecuador, Zanzibar and Antarctica. In recent years she’s lived on the Greek island of Hydra, in the wilds of NYC, and on the California coast. For Lonely Planet she explores the cobbled lanes of Rome and the azure seas of Sardinia, samples oysters in Brittany and careens through hill-top villages in Provence; and adventures along Iceland’s surreal lava fields, sparkling fjords and glacier tongues. A travel writer for over two decades, Alexis has lived in Antarctica for a year, crossed the Pacific by sailboat and written books on her journeys through Asia, Europe and the Americas. She’s also a painter – visit www.alexisaverbuck.com – and promotes travel and adventure on video and television.

Anthony Ham

Anthony is a freelance writer and photographer who specialises in Spain, East and Southern Africa, the Arctic and the Middle East. When he’s not writing for Lonely Planet, Anthony writes about and photographs Spain, Africa and the Middle East for newspapers and magazines in Australia, the UK and US. In 2001, after years of wandering the world, Anthony finally found his spiritual home when he fell irretrievably in love with Madrid on his first visit to the city. Less than a year later, he arrived there on a one-way ticket, with not a word of Spanish and not knowing a single person in the city. When he finally left Madrid ten years later, Anthony spoke Spanish with a Madrid accent, was married to a local and Madrid had become his second home. Now back in Australia, Anthony continues to travel the world in search of stories.

Catherine Le Nevez

Catherine’s wanderlust kicked in when she roadtripped across Europe from her Parisian base aged four, and she’s been hitting the road at every opportunity since, travelling to some 60 countries and completing her Doctorate of Creative Arts in Writing, Masters in Professional Writing, and postgrad qualifications in Editing and Publishing along the way. Over the past decade-and-a-half she’s written scores of Lonely Planet guides and articles covering Paris, France, Europe and far beyond. Her work has also appeared in numerous online and print publications. Topping Catherine’s list of travel tips is to travel without any expectations.

Andy Symington

Andy has written or worked on over a hundred books and other updates for Lonely Planet (especially in Europe and Latin America) and other publishing companies, and has published articles on numerous subjects for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. He part-owns and operates a rock bar, has written a novel and is currently working on several fiction and non-fiction writing projects. Andy, from Australia, moved to northern Spain many years ago. When he’s not off with a backpack in some far-flung corner of the world, he can probably be found watching the tragically poor local football side or tasting local wines after a long walk in the nearby mountains.

Nicola Williams

Border-hopping is way of life for British writer, runner, foodie, art aficionado and mum-of-three Nicola Williams who has lived in a French village on the southern side of Lake Geneva for more than a decade. Nicola has authored more than 50 guidebooks on Paris, Provence, Rome, Tuscany, France, Italy and Switzerland for Lonely Planet and covers France as a destination expert for the Telegraph. She also writes for the Independent, Guardian, lonelyplanet.com, Lonely Planet Magazine, French Magazine, Cool Camping France and others. Catch her on the road on Twitter and Instagram @tripalong.

Mark Baker

Mark Baker is a freelance travel writer with a penchant for offbeat stories and forgotten places. He’s originally from the United States, but now makes his home in the Czech capital, Prague. He writes mainly on eastern and central Europe for Lonely Planet as well as other leading travel publishers, but finds real satisfaction in digging up stories in places that are too remote or quirky for the guides. Prior to becoming an author, he worked as a journalist for the Economist, Bloomberg News and Radio Free Europe, among other organisations. Follow Mark on Instagram and Twitter @markbakerprague, and at his blog: www.markbakerprague.com.

Oliver Berry

Oliver Berry is a writer and photographer from Cornwall. He has worked for Lonely Planet for more than a decade, covering destinations from Cornwall to the Cook Islands, and has worked on more than 30 guidebooks. He is also a regular contributor to many newspapers and magazines, including Lonely Planet Traveller. His writing has won several awards, including The Guardian Young Travel Writer of the Year and the TNT Magazine People’s Choice Award. His latest work is published at www.oliverberry.com.

Cristian Bonetto

Cristian has contributed to over 30 Lonely Planet guides to date, including New York City, Italy, Venice & the Veneto, Naples & the Amalfi Coast, Denmark, Copenhagen, Sweden and Singapore. Lonely Planet work aside, his musings on travel, food, culture and design appear in numerous publications around the world, including the Telegraph (UK) and Corriere del Mezzogiorno (Italy). When not on the road, you’ll find the reformed playwright and TV scriptwriter slurping espresso in his beloved hometown, Melbourne. Instagram: @rexcat75

Kerry Christiani

Kerry is an award-winning travel writer, photographer and Lonely Planet author, specialising in central and southern Europe. Based in Wales, she has authored and co-authored more than a dozen Lonely Planet titles. An adventure addict, she loves mountains, cold places and true wilderness. She features her latest work at https://its-a-small-world.com and tweets @kerrychristiani.

Belinda Dixon

Only happy when her feet are suitably sandy, Belinda has been (gleefully) travelling, researching and writing for Lonely Planet since 2006. This has seen her navigating mountain passes and soaking in hot-pots in Iceland’s Westfjords, marvelling at Stonehenge at sunrise, scrambling up Italian mountain paths, horse riding across Donegal’s golden sands, gazing at Verona’s frescoes and fossil hunting on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Belinda is also a podcaster and adventure writer and helps lead wilderness expeditions. See her blog posts at https://belindadixon.com

Peter Dragicevich

After a successful career in niche newspaper and magazine publishing, both in his native New Zealand and in Australia, Peter finally gave into Kiwi wanderlust, giving up staff jobs to chase his diverse roots around much of Europe. Over the last decade he’s written literally dozens of guidebooks for Lonely Planet on an oddly disparate collection of countries, all of which he’s come to love. He once again calls Auckland, New Zealand his home – although his current nomadic existence means he’s often elsewhere.

Steve Fallon

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Steve graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in modern languages. After working for several years for an American daily newspaper and earning a master’s degree in journalism, his fascination with the ‘new’ Asia led him to Hong Kong, where he lived for over a dozen years, working for a variety of media and running his own travel bookshop. Steve lived in Budapest for three years before moving to London in 1994. He has written or contributed to more than 100 Lonely Planet titles. Steve is a qualified London Blue Badge Tourist Guide. Visit his website at www.steveslondon.com.

Emilie Filou

Emilie is a freelance journalist specialising in business and development issues, with a particular interest in Africa. Born in France, Emilie is now based in London, UK, from where she makes regular trips to Africa. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Economist, the Guardian, the BBC, the Africa Report and the Christian Science Monitor. She has contributed to some 20 Lonely Planet guides, including France, Provence, London, West Africa, Madagascar and Tunisia. You can find out more at www.emiliefilou.com.

Damian Harper

Damian has been writing for Lonely Planet for over two decades, contributing to titles for destinations as diverse as China, Vietnam, Thailand, Ireland, Mallorca, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the UK. A seasoned guidebook writer, Damian has penned articles for numerous newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, and currently makes Surrey, England, his home. A self-taught trumpet novice, his other hobbies include photography, taekwondo and collecting modern first editions. Follow Damian on Instagram @damian.harper.

Virginia Maxwell

Although based in Australia, Virginia spends at least half of her year updating Lonely Planet destination coverage across the globe. The Mediterranean is her major area of interest – she has covered Spain, Italy, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia – but she also covers Finland, Bali, Armenia, the Netherlands, the US and Australia. Follow her @maxwellvirginia on Instagram and Twitter.

Christopher Pitts

Born in the year of the Tiger, Chris’ first expedition in life ended in failure when he tried to dig from Pennsylvania to China at the age of six. Hardened by reality but still infinitely curious about the other side of the world, he went on to study Chinese in university, living for several years in Kunming, Taiwan and Shanghai. A chance encounter in an elevator led to a Paris relocation, where he lived with his wife and two children for over a decade before the lure of Colorado’s sunny skies and outdoor adventure proved too great to resist.

Kevin Raub

Atlanta native Kevin Raub started his career as a music journalist in New York, working for Men’s Journal and Rolling Stone magazines. He ditched the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle for travel writing and has written for over 95 Lonely Planet guides, focused mainly on Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the USA, India, the Caribbean and Portugal. Raub also contributes to a variety of travel magazines in both the USA and the UK. Along the way, the self-confessed hophead is in constant search of wildly high IBUs in local beers. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @RaubOnTheRoad.

Brendan Sainsbury

Born and raised in the UK in a town that never merits a mention in any guidebook (Andover, Hampshire), Brendan spent the holidays of his youth caravanning in the English Lake District and didn’t leave Blighty until he was 19. Making up for lost time, he’s since squeezed 70 countries into a sometimes precarious existence as a writer and professional vagabond. In the last 11 years, he has written over 40 books for Lonely Planet. When not scribbling research notes, Brendan likes partaking in ridiculous ‘endurance’ races, strumming old Clash songs on the guitar, and experiencing the pain and occasional pleasures of following Southampton Football Club.

Andrea Schulte-Peevers

Born and raised in Germany and educated in London and at UCLA, Andrea has travelled the distance to the moon and back in her visits to some 75 countries. She has earned her living as a professional travel writer for over two decades and authored or contributed to nearly 100 Lonely Planet titles as well as to newspapers, magazines and websites around the world. She also works as a travel consultant, translator and editor. Andrea’s destination expertise is especially strong when it comes to Germany, the UAE, Crete and the Caribbean Islands. She makes her home in Berlin.

Neil Wilson

Neil was born in Scotland and has lived there most of his life. Based in Perthshire, he has been a full-time writer since 1988, working on more than 80 guidebooks for various publishers, including the Lonely Planet guides to Scotland, England, Ireland and Prague. An outdoors enthusiast since childhood, Neil is an active hill-walker, mountain-biker, sailor, snowboarder and rock-climber, and a qualified fly-fishing guide and instructor. He has climbed and tramped in four continents, including ascents of Jebel Toubkal in Morocco, Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, the Old Man of Hoy in Scotland’s Orkney Islands and the northwest face of Half Dome in California’s Yosemite Valley.

Contributing Writers

Kate Armstrong, James Bainbridge, Jade Bremner, Fionn Davenport, Marc Di Duca, Duncan Garwood, Gemma Graham, Paula Hardy, Craig McLachlan, Isabella Noble, John Noble, Simon Richmond

Stay IN TOUCH

lonelyplanet.com/contact

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Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

ABN 36 005 607 983

November 2019

ISBN 9781788686662

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