About Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet digital

There's a lot of uncharted territory out there in cyberspace, but Lonely Planet have built a nice little universe dedicated entirely to travel and travellers. Our ever-expanding digital team look after this travel cosmos, pooling independent advice and information from our staff and the global travel community.

Each month over five million travellers visit LonelyPlanet.com. So why do they come here? To get hardcore about travel. To dream about it, plan it, book it and talk about it. They come to shop, to read features, to enter competitions, to watch videos. They come to find a job, share advice, read reviews…

Think of LonelyPlanet.com as someone to bounce ideas off during every stage of your travel experience. Can't decide where you want to go? Our Destinations pages cover thousands of cities and countries that will fire your imagination. Our photo galleries can whet your appetite even further. Then it's off to the online Shop, where you'll find all the guidebooks, downloads and other juicy bargains to help firm up your plans.

Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree… [is] one of the best places to seek out advice on a wide range of travelling issues The Guardian (UK)

If you want to get down to the real nitty-gritty, Thorn Tree, our online bulletin board, is the forum for exchanging travel advice and opinion with other travellers. Comet, our e-newsletter, is where it's at for travel gossip and discounts.

Now your plans are really gathering steam and you're thinking about where to stay. Enter Lonely Planet's Hotels & Hostels. This is our innovative, online accommodation booking system, with author-reviewed accommodation that is second to none in both depth of coverage and range of options. Then you need to lock in some flights, insurance and get a brand spanking new backpack - and you'll find all of these in our Travel Services section.

LonelyPlanet.com is a network of connections between travellers. It's also a connection between travellers and Lonely Planet; we're all bound by a passion for hitting the road.

It's a big world, but we try to cover it all at LonelyPlanet.com.

Our editorial independence

At Lonely Planet we tell it like it is, without fear or favour.

There's a whole world of amazing sights, hotels, travel companies and gear manufacturers out there - and we want to tell you which ones we think are best. But we never compromise our opinions for commercial gain. If you read something written by a Lonely Planet author, you can guarantee they've been there, had a look for themselves and are telling you what they really think. It's trusted advice from a trusted source.