Lonely Planet blog Category: Traveller Tips

Expect the unexpected: 5 tips to protect your travel plans when disaster strikes

Robert Reid Lonely Planet author

Hurricane Sandy made a mess of my hometown in New York City. But I wasn’t there. I was researching in Ecuador, ones of the destinations featured on our Top 10 countries for 2013 list in Best in Travel 2013 when the storm hit. Like many travelers, I found myself stranded for several days, trying to…

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10 underrated US cities

Andy Murdock Lonely Planet author

Which US cities are underrated as travel destinations and deserve more attention? Suggestions from the Lonely Planet online community.

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Chile open for business

Venessa Paech Lonely Planet author

Thorn Tree member and Chilean resident vnrose is well known in our community for providing helpful advice to travellers.  We asked vnrose how Chile is faring post-earthquake, from a local viewpoint. It isn’t easy when your two claims to fame as a country are General Pinochet and a couple of the largest earthquakes on record. Although, on…

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Where to find romance around the world

Andy Murdock Lonely Planet author

In a series of articles this week leading up to Valentine’s Day, Lonely Planet authors covered multiple destinations where one might find romance around the world, including Iceland, the steamy jungles of Malaysian Borneo, the surprisingly romantic Detroit, Japanese love hotels, and, the old romantic standby, Paris. Do travelers today really find Paris to be…

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Is cold the new hot?

Andy Murdock Lonely Planet author

Everyone loves to go somewhere hot when they travel, right? Paris in the summer trumps Paris in the winter, and snorkeling on a tropical reef beats hiking across a frozen glacier every time. Or does it? After the 76-Second Travel Show‘s ode to cold weather travel and an article on the great winter festivals of…

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Unloved cities that rock

Venessa Paech Lonely Planet author

We recently asked our Facebook fans which cities they thought had an undeservingly bad reputation. The results are in and there’s a diverse bunch of unloved destinations out there that you felt travellers were unecessarily wary or critical of. Brian Herbert felt that “just about every city in Africa” offered pleasant surprises, “from Nairobi to Accra to…

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How to redesign the airplane for the modern traveler

Andy Murdock Lonely Planet author

63% of travelers polled prefer window seats, yet commercial airlines are fitted to have only 33-39% window seats, in direct opposition to consumer demand. How could the airplane be redesigned to allow more window seats?

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Handmade memories

Venessa Paech Lonely Planet author

The clothes may make the man, but making the clothes is a different matter. When we travel we’re often looking to bring something special home as a souvenir. There’s something captivating and intimate about having someone make something for you, and if it’s a local artisan in a strange and wonderful land, it can feel…

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Home for the holiday

Venessa Paech Lonely Planet author

It’s Thanksgiving in the United States and our Get Stuffed forum on Thorn Tree is overflowing with delicious threads about turkeys, table settings and twists on tradition. I had a chat to one of our resident US community experts, nutraxfornerves, about what Thanksgiving means to her and how it’s tied up with ideas of home…

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No photos here!

Venessa Paech Lonely Planet author

The portability and power of today’s cameras make it easy to snap a picture anywhere, anytime. The trouble is certain people and places have rules about what you can and can’t shoot. They can change at will and, as many travellers will have experienced firsthand, they’re not always well communicated. It’s a subject that crops…

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