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

Gregor Clark

Asturias, Cantabria, Huelva Province, Picos de Europa Gregor is a US-based writer whose love of languages and curiosity about what’s around the next bend have taken him to dozens of countries on five continents. Since 2000, Gregor has contributed to Lonely Planet guides, with a focus on Europe and the Americas. Titles include France, Portugal and Mexico, among many others. Gregor has lived in California, France, Spain and Italy prior to settling with his wife and two daughters in Vermont.

Sally Davies

Barcelona Sally landed in Seville in 1992 with a handful of pesetas and five words of Spanish, and, despite a complete inability to communicate, promptly snared a lucrative number handing out leaflets at Expo ’92. In 2001 she settled in Barcelona, where her daily grind involves nose-to-tail eating, getting lost in museums and finding ways to convey the beauty of this spectacular city.

Duncan Garwood

Almería Province, Granada Province, Seville From facing fast bowlers in Barbados to sidestepping hungry pigs in Goa, Duncan’s travels have thrown up many unique experiences. These days he largely dedicates himself to Spain and Italy, where he’s been living since 1997. He’s worked on more than 30 Lonely Planet titles, covering Rome, Sardinia, Sicily, Bilbao and San Sebastián, among others, and has contributed to books on food and epic drives.

Anthony Ham

Castilla y León, Extremadura, Madrid & Around Anthony is a writer and photographer who specialises in Spain, East and Southern Africa, the Arctic and the Middle East. In 2001, after years of wandering the world, Anthony fell irretrievably in love with Madrid. When he finally left ten years later, he was married to a local and Madrid had beocme his second home. Now back in Australia, he continues to travel in search of stories. Anthony also contributed to the Plan Your Trip and Survival Guide sections of this book.

Catherine Le Nevez

Barcelona 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 around 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. She’s written scores of Lonely Planet guides and articles covering Paris, France, Europe and beyond.

Isabella Noble

Andorra, Cádiz Province, Catalonia, Formentera, Gibraltar, Ibiza, Menorca 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. Find Isabella on Twitter and Instagram @isabellamnoble.

John Noble

Aragón, Córdoba Province, Galicia, Jaén Province John has been travelling for Lonely Planet since the 1980s. The number of LP titles he’s written is well into three figures, on numerous countries scattered across the globe. He’s still as excited as ever about unfamiliar destinations. Above all, he loves mountains, from the Pyrenees to the Himalaya. See his pics on Instagram: @johnnoble11. John also contributed to the Understand section of this book.

Josephine Quintero

Castilla-La Mancha Josephine launched her journalism degree at a wine and lifestyle magazine followed, ironically, with a move to ‘dry’ Kuwait where she worked as the Editor of the Kuwaiti Digest until the day Iraq invaded. After six weeks as a hostage, Josephine moved to the relaxed shores of Andalucía in southern Spain. Josephine has worked as a ghostwriter for crooks and minor celebrities, while also regulalry writing for in-flight magazines and Lonely Planet. She primarily covers Spain and Italy; other titles include Mexico City, Australia, Portugal and Mediterranean Europe.

Brendan Sainsbury

Málaga Province, Andalucía Born and raised in the UK, Brendan didn’t leave Blighty until he was 19. He’s since squeezed 70 countries into a sometimes precarious existence as a writer and professional vagabond. He has written over 40 books for Lonely Planet from Castro’s Cuba to the canyons of Peru. When not scribbling research notes, Brendan likes partaking in ridiculous ‘endurance’ races, strumming old Clash songs on the guitar, and experiencing the pleasure and pain of following Southampton Football Club.

Regis St Louis

Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarra Regis grew up in a small town in the American Midwest – the kind of place that fuels big dreams of travel – and he developed an early fascination with foreign dialects and world cultures. He spent his formative years learning Russian and a handful of Romance languages, which served him well on journeys across much of the globe. Regis has contributed to more than 50 Lonely Planet titles, covering destinations across six continents. His travels have taken him from the mountains of Kamchatka to remote island villages in Melanesia, and to many grand urban landscapes. When not on the road, he lives in New Orleans.

Andy Symington

Valencia & Murcia 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 local football side or tasting local wines after a long walk in the nearby mountains.

Contributing Writers

Esme Fox contributed to the Barcelona chapter.

Published by Lonely Planet Global Limited

CRN 554153

12th edition – November 2013

ISBN 978 1 78868 1 612

© Lonely Planet 2018 Photographs © as indicated 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher. Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trademarks of Lonely Planet and are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated by commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please let us know of any misuses: lonelyplanet.com/ip.

Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reasonable care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maximum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.