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Straight from the keyboards of the Lonely Planet team


  • 27 April 2012
  • 5:41am
  • Filed under
    news

When should you use a travel agent?

Robert Reid Lonely Planet author

That tiresome argument between what makes a ‘traveler’ different from a ‘tourist’ is sometimes split along the lines that the latter used a travel agent. A tourist goes where he or she’s led by an agent or package tour, the traveler does it all on your own. Yeah, well… While the number of travel agents…

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  • 25 April 2012
  • 8:39pm
  • Filed under
    Other

Does sharing make travel better? A guest post from Airbnb

admin Lonely Planet author

Do the joys of sharing enhance your travels? Photo by Judy Bellah This is a guest post from Vivek Wagle at social accommodation service Airbnb. The idea of sharing space is nothing new. From way back when grunting Neanderthals decided that being cavemates was preferable to clubbing each others’ brains out, we’ve been very sharing…

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  • 17 April 2012
  • 11:09am
  • Filed under
    news

US National Park Week 2012: where to go when the parks are free

Andy Murdock Lonely Planet author

It’s April, so it’s time once again for one of the most tempting deals in American travel: National Park Week. Each of the 397 parks in the National Park System is offering free admission to visitors from April 21-29. The US National Parks are a bargain at any price, and the $80 annual pass is…

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World Food: the winning picture

Javier Panero Lonely Planet author

Mountain of moroccan sweets

We have spent the holiday break reviewing all the submissions to our World Food Facebook picture competition and we are ready to announce the winner! We were very impressed with the array of foods and dishes that you have snapped in your travels – our stomachs were grumbling by the end of the day. Before…

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  • 5 April 2012
  • 9:17am
  • Filed under
    news

Google’s smart glasses: ‘Project Glass’ for travellers

Andy Murdock Lonely Planet author

For a few months the tech world has been buzzing about Google’s work on Terminator-style smart glasses. Today, Google released a video (see below) showing their vision of the potential of such a product, which they’re currently calling ‘Project Glass’: taking photos, getting directions, checking the weather and making a phone call all while having…

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World Food photos: our top 20 picks

Javier Panero Lonely Planet author

Grilling_food

To coincide with the launch of our new Street Food book, we asked you to send the most mouth-watering pictures of food you had encountered in your travels to our Facebook Travel Adventures Competition. The result was overwhelming, with nearly 900 submissions that made our stomach grumble hard with envy. We have now gone through…

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If Amsterdam’s hash bars closed, would you still go?

Robert Reid Lonely Planet author

Think quick: Amsterdam! What’s the first thing you think? Don’t lie. It’s the hash bars. The Netherlands’ infamously lax policy regarding small amounts of cannabis is so legendary that the whole national economy would fall flat without it (or at least it wouldn’t have attracted John Travolta’s character from Pulp Fiction, or prompted articles like…

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A Moroccan Adventure: the winner

Javier Panero Lonely Planet author

Camel riding in the Sahara

We asked you to tell us what had been your best travel adventure for a chance to win a trip to Morocco (courtesy of Intrepid) and we had an amazing response, with over 3,000 submissions. Your replies showed how some of you do not shy away from a great adventure, like Emma Wheatley, who told…

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  • 10 March 2012
  • 4:11am
  • Filed under
    Other

Travel Adventures: the winning picture

Javier Panero Lonely Planet author

Skiing in the Himalayas

After whittling down over 400 submissions to a selection of the 20 best entries for our Travel Adventures picture competition on Facebook, we can now reveal the winning entry and five runner ups. Our independent judge Callum faced a tough job, but he finally decided on the winning picture. But before we reveal who has…

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Travel Adventures: our top 20 picks

Javier Panero Lonely Planet author

Man over a hill in Norway

We asked you to send us your most daredevil pictures for our Facebook Travel Adventures Competition and you didn’t disappoint. We had over 500 submissions, ranging from rafting to roaring alongside tigers, but we have now managed to go through all of them and whittle them down to the last 20. From this selection, an…

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