Thailand (14^th Edition), Vietnam (11^th Edition), Singapore (9^th Edition) and Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand (3^rd Edition) are all published in Lonely Planet’s new-look, easier-to-read format, featuring more colour photos, clearer maps, and expanded planning tools.

As with all Lonely Planet guides, these new editions are authored by independent experts who visit the places they write about, never accept freebies, and aren’t afraid to tell it like it is.

Thailand (14^th Edition)
AU$44.99 / NZ$55

This 30^th Anniversary Edition of the “number one best-selling guide to Thailand*” (*source: Nielsen BookScan, Australia, UK and USA, Jan-Oct 2011) features: 37 weeks of in-depth research, 150+ temples, 245 bowls of noodles consumed and 3,219 km of coastline.

“Friendly and fun-loving, exotic and tropical, cultured and historic, Thailand beams with a lustrous hue from its gaudy temples and golden beaches to the ever-comforting Thai smile.” – China Williams, Coordinating Author

Vietnam (11th Edition)
AU$39.99 / NZ$50

Featuring: 3,444 km of spectacular coastline, 24 weeks of in-depth research, 504 bottles of bia hoi consumed and 168 bowls of noodles eaten.

“Blessed with a ravishing coastline, emerald-green mountains, breathtaking national parks, dynamic cities, outstanding cultural interest and one of the world’s best cuisines, Vietnam has it all.” – Iain Stewart, Coordinating Author

Singapore (9^th Edition)
AU$34.99 / NZ$45

Featuring: Two expert authors, 77 days on-the-ground research, 200 eating and nightlife reviews, 90 shopping reviews and 45 durians consumed.

“This perennial stopover city is constantly reinventing itself as a destination in its own right, jostling for the position of top dog among Asia’s – even the world’s – best cities.” – Shawn Low, Coordinating Author

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand (3^rd Edition)
AU$41.99 / NZ$55

Featuring: 11 expert authors, 4,909 km of winding river, 180+ temples and 56 weeks of in-depth research.

“The Mekong. It’s an exotic name guaranteed to fire up the imagination. Riding high on the global hotlist, the region is home to such iconic sights as Angkor Wat, Halong Bay and Luang Prabang.” – Nick Ray, Coordinating Author

Thailand (14^th Edition), Vietnam (11^th Edition), Singapore (9^th Edition) and Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand (3^rd Edition) are available now from all good bookstores and lonelyplanet.com.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Review copies available on request
• Free extracts available with permission

Media Contact
Adam Bennett
Lonely Planet
+61 (0) 3 8379 8000
adam.bennett@lonelyplanet.com.au

The 48-page chapter was researched by author Brett Atkinson in December 2011, making it the first Christchurch guidebook content to be released since last February’s earthquake.  It is scheduled to be published in print form as part of the 16^th edition of Lonely Planet New Zealand, which is due to hit bookstores in September 2012. 

“Since the quake of February last year, central Christchurch has changed drastically,” says Lonely Planet’s Associate Guidebook Publisher Errol Hunt. “And in the year since, as Brett Atkinson wrote in his article on lonelyplanet.com earlier this month, Christchurch has become NZ’s fastest-changing city.”

“That’s why we wanted to make this chapter available as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the complete guide is published in September.”

“Lonely Planet is committed to providing up-to-date, quality information for travellers,” Errol says, “and we believe this new chapter will be able to help visitors to Christchurch in ways that the pre-quake content cannot.”

The “Christchurch & Canterbury” chapter will remain available as a free PDF download from lonelyplanet.com until the new edition of Lonely Planet New Zealand is released in September 2012.  The chapter is supplied free, without finalised editing or full mapping, to provide travellers with quality post-quake information.

About Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel content provider. Established in 1973, Lonely Planet enables curious travellers to experience the world and get to the heart of a place via guidebooks and ebooks to almost every destination on the planet, an award-winning website, a suite of mobile travel products, television programming, and a dedicated traveller community. Visit us at www.lonelyplanet.com.

Media Contact

Adam Bennett

Lonely Planet

+61 (0) 3 8379 8000

adam.bennett@lonelyplanet.com.au

Britain’s natural landscape and cultural heritage comes out top of respondents’ favourite things about living here. David Else, author of Lonely Planet’s Great Britain guide said, ‘It is not surprising that pride in Britain is on a high, 2012 is going to be a great year across the country. The Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympics will make 2012 a particularly exciting year to be British, riding on the buzz of the Royal wedding last year.”

The survey reveals our least favourite aspect of British culture is our celebrities, who came bottom of the poll with just 1% of the votes.

Whilst the general consensus is that scenery and culture are the best things about living in Britain, for 18-24 year olds it is our music scene that came top.

The survey also reveals a split among men and women, with three times as many men rating the pub as one of their top things about living in Britain. Meanwhile, shopping was the top pick for over twice as many women as men.

Brits love their nation so much that a quarter of us will holiday in the UK in the coming year. Whilst, economic factors influence this decision for 1 in 5 respondents, it is actually the UK’s stunning coastline and countryside, coupled with our history and culture that will attract over two thirds of Brits to spend their tourist pennies in Blighty. It turns out that there’s still a lot to see too, as three quarters of respondents felt that they had visited less than half of the UK. We haven’t lost our pricey reputation however, as the UK is still recognised as an expensive destination according to 44% of respondents.

It may come as a surprise that the majority of Brits wouldn’t pack up and leave for warmer climes. In fact, less than 1 in 10 would emigrate at the first opportunity. 18-24 year olds were the age group that were most likely to emigrate given the opportunity.

Regionally, Brighton and Sheffield’s residents are the most content, with over 70% of respondents asserting that they are happy. Brighton is one of the most uplifting places to be as less than 1 in 10 of residents state they are unhappy, compared to the national average of over 15%. Cardiff comes out as the unhappiest with 23%, closely followed by Bristol with a fifth of all residents being down in the dumps.

The happiness of countries around the world is celebrated in Lonely Planet’s new book, Happy which reveals inspirational practices, festivals and traditions from across the world that people can adopt in order to be happier. Examples include Thailand’s Loy Krathong festival which encourages us to let go of little worries, India’s Hasya yoga which teaches us to laugh more in our lives and Italy’s Festa del Cornuto, a festival which inspires us to move on from a broken heart.       
Notes to editors

The survey was conducted with 1980 respondents by Opinion Matters between December 2011 and January 2012.

Full results are available on request.

______________________________________________________________________________________

About Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel content provider. Started in 1973, Lonely Planet enables curious travellers to experience the world and get to the heart of a place via guidebooks and ebooks to almost every destination on the planet, an award-winning website, a suite of mobile travel products, television programming, Lonely Planet Magazine and a dedicated traveller community. Visit us at www.lonelyplanet.com

Contact

Laura Lindsay, Media & Communications Executive

laura.lindsay@lonelyplanet.co.uk Tel: +44 207 106 2148

The newly updated guide, which is published today, states; “While the old cliché that Ireland is too well used to hard times to let them knock it out of its stride is ridiculously crude and simplistic, there is some truth in it. The Irish – fatalistic and pessimistic to the core – will shrug their shoulders and just get on with their lives.” (page 693)

The book continues, “While Ireland’s economic woes may be depressingly familiar to the older generation and forced many of the country’s younger people to try their luck elsewhere, this is not the Ireland of yesteryear. The two decades since 1990 have transformed the country immeasurably, with prosperity, modernity and multiculturalism helping shift traditional attitudes and social mores.” (page 709)

The guide also identified a newfound confidence in the population; “For the first time, the Irish, particularly the under-30s, have no problem relaying their achievements and successes, in contrast to the older generation who were brought up in the belief that telling anyone they were doing well was unseemly and boastful.” (page 708)

Away from the pressures of work, the love of a good drink, “remains the country’s most popular social pastime, with no sign of letting up” (page 709).

In fact, the guide’s authors rated the pub as the greatest experience in Ireland, heading the list of the 21 top things to see and do in the country. Dublin, Connemara, traditional music, Glendalough, Dingle, Galway City, hiking, Brú na Bóinne and the Rock of Cashel also make the top 10.

Coordinating Author Fionn Davenport said; “Times are tough but the Irish are adaptable people and cope well with whatever comes their way. The new guide shows just how much the nation has going for it in terms of fantastic scenery and buzzing towns and villages. The reputation of the warm and friendly people also draws in visitors from across the world.”

The 10th edition of Lonely Planet’s Ireland guide is written by Coordinating Author Fionn Davenport and a team of writers who personally visited thousands of hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, galleries, museums and more. They take pride in getting all the details right and telling it how it is. Lonely Planet authors do not take freebies.

WHAT LONELY PLANET’S IRELAND GUIDE SAYS ABOUT…

ARMAGH CITY: Despite having a number of attractive Georgian buildings, the town has a bit of a dreary, rundown feel to it, with gap sites, wasteland and boarded-up windows spoiling the streetscape, but it’s still worth a visit for the fascinating Armagh Public Library and nearby Navan Fort. (page 629)

ATHLONE: one of Ireland’s most vibrant towns, (p524)

BELFAST has pulled off a remarkable transformation from bombs-and-bullets pariah to a hip hotels–and-hedonism party town. (p568)

COUNTY CORK: Everything good about Ireland can be found in County Cork (p221)

CORK: chock full of great restaurants fed by arguably the best foodie scene in the country. (p223)

DERRY Northern Ireland’s second city comes as a pleasant surprise to many visitors. Derry may not be the prettiest of cities, and it certainly lags behind Belfast in terms of investment and redevelopment, but it has a great riverside setting, several fascinating historical sights and a determined air of can-do optimism that has made it the powerhouse of the North’s cultural revival. (p635)

DUBLIN has always known how to have fun and does it with deadly seriousness. As you’ll soon find out. There are world-class museums, superb restaurants and the best collection of entertainment in the country. (p54)

GALWAY CITY is a swirl of enticing old pubs that hum with trad music sessions throughout the year. More importantly, it has an overlaying vibe of fun and frolic that’s addictive. (p382)

KILKEE’S wide beach has the kind of white, powdery sand that’s made the Caribbean, well, the Caribbean. (p362)

KILKENNY is the Ireland of many visitors’ imaginations (p203)

LARNE: poor old Larne is a little lacking in the charm department. (p667)

LETTERKENNY: Ruined by the excesses of the Celtic Tiger era, Letterkenny is a market town run amok. Mindless development has resulted in numerous faceless retail parks lining the roads, traffic problems and a complete lack of soul. However, as Donegal’s largest town, it’s buzzing with students and young professionals, and there’s a good choice of restaurants and accommodation. (p486)

LIMERICK has an intriguing castle, a lively art museum and contemporary cafe culture to go with its uncompromised pubs, as well as locals who go out of their way to welcome you. (p322)

______________________________________________________________________________________
About Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel content provider. Started in 1973, Lonely Planet enables curious travellers to experience the world and get to the heart of a place via guidebooks and ebooks to almost every destination on the planet, an award-winning website, a suite of mobile travel products, television programming, Lonely Planet Magazine and a dedicated traveller community. Visit us at www.lonelyplanet.com

Contact
Heather Carswell, Media & Communications Manager (EMEA)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7106 2151

Lonely Planet launches Wenzani • New edition of Myanmar released • Dream Trips from Lonely Planet  • Coming Soon: our new Ireland guide •

Lonely Planet launches Wenzani

Lonely Planet has launched Wenzani, a free app for the iPhone and iPod touch that brings together recommendations from Lonely Planet and other top travel publishers along with local experts and users’ social networks.

Users can customize the app by choosing who they want to ‘follow’ including Lonely Planet, Frommer’s Travel and DK Eyewitness, BBC Travel, Time Out and Hearst. Wenzani also allows users to connect with their friends and other travellers in order to share their own personal experiences and recommendations. Users can even ask a question to the community to get immediate answers pushed onto their mobile device.

Check it out for yourself! You can download Wenzani for free here.

Our new Myanmar guide

The 11th edition of Lonely Planet’s Myanmar (Burma) guide is released this month.

Travel to Myanmar has been a subject of much debate. Now the tourism boycott that persuaded many to stay clear of the country for over a decade has been lifted, it looks set to emerge as one of the must-see destinations for the coming year. Myanmar is untouched by the modern world and has some incredible sights, such as the 4000 sacred stupas scattered across the plains of Bagan. The country has also been listed 2nd in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2012 top 10 country list.

Please contact Heather for further information heather.carswell@lonelyplanet.co.uk

Dream Trips from Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet Magazine has created an inspirational bookazine of the world’s “ultimate dream trips,” including walking the immense dunes of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast and sailing the South Pacific islands.

Featuring nine far-flung destinations: Southwest USA, New Zealand, Botswana, Bali, Morocco, Australia, Cook Islands, Namibia and the Canadian Rockies, Dream Trips contains stunning photography and absorbing travelogues.

Please contact Neelam Rhodes for further information Neelam.Rhodes@radiotimes.com

Coming Soon: Ireland

Next month sees the release of our brand new Ireland guide. Heralded for its no holds barred commentary of the nation, the guide will reveal which towns and cities we give the thumbs up and which sights don’t make the grade.

The 10th edition of Lonely Planet’s Ireland guidebook is published on Thursday 5th January. 

Further details will be revealed on Thursday 5th January, please drop Heather a line if you would like further information on heather.carswell@lonelyplanet.co.uk

New Releases

Myanmar
(11th edition)
£15.99

Happy
(1st edition)
£9.99

Tokyo Encounter
(3rd edition)
£7.99

Discover Europe
(2nd edition)
£16.99

New Year Travel

With Christmas shopping nearly over and everyone looking ahead to 2012′s travel plans, look no further than Tajikistan for a budget break with a difference. Hot springs, 2000-year-old stone structures, cartoon-style forts and stunning scenery – all at a fraction of the cost of better-known destinations.

If city breaks scream expensive to you, consider San Francisco. With accomodation a fraction of the cost of the likes of New York and Paris, numerous free galleries and fantastic food under $5 – they should call it the Budget Bay Area.

These recommendations are taken from Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2012, please contact Laura if you would like further information (laura.lindsay@lonelyplanet.co.uk).

Lonely Planet Magazine January

This month’s Lonely Planet Magazine features the best of 2012 including the year’s greatest musical festivals

Find out more from the Lonely Planet Magazine team >

Get in touch…

Our spokesperson Tom Hall and our authors are available for comment on a wide range of travel issues, destinations and travel advice. We can also provide copies of our guides and our digital products for review. Please contact pressenq@lonelyplanet.co.uk for review copies, interview requests, extracts and general enquiries.

Lonely Planet’s new ebooks: 48 Hours series • Ultimate Sights series • Our first ever children’s books series • Readers’ Choice Awards •

Lonely Planet launches 48 Hours in… ebook series.

This month, we have launched 48 hour city guides to 12 US cities. These bite-sized guides are designed for travellers who are short of time so need to get to the heart of the city quickly. Priced at 99p on Apple and £1.14 on Amazon, the guides include activities for a variety of interests, food and drink, hotel recommendations and an easy to use map. Taken from Lonely Planet’s popular USA Trips series, Miami, Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego, St Louis, Denver, New Orleans, Seattle and Manhattan are all now available on the iBookstore and the Kindle Store.

Ultimate Sights ebook series

Following the popular 1000 Ultimate Sights book, we have launched a miniseries of Ultimate Sights ebooks. 200 Ultimate Natural Sights, 200 Ultimate Man-made Sights, 200 Ultimate Weird Sights, 200 Ultimate Historical Sights and 200 Ultimate Cultural Sights are available on the iBookstore and priced at £1.99. The books feature everything from the world’s craziest buildings to the greatest wildlife spectacles. The sights are presented in easily digestible top ten formats.

Please contact Laura for further information laura.lindsay@lonelyplanet.co.uk

Lonely Planet’s Not for Parents series now in ebook format

Lonely Planet’s new Not For Parents series is also available on the iBookstore. Created specifically for the iPad, the range includes Not For Parents – The Travel Book as well as the Rome, London, New York City and Paris city books. A free eBook sample is also available on the iBookstore which includes a selection of content from each product in the series.

Please contact Heather for further information heather.carswell@lonelyplanet.co.uk

Iceland is our readers’ choice

Iceland was on top as we asked our readers for their thoughts on where to visit in the coming year. We asked the thousands of www.lonelyplanet.com users for their views on their top countries and cities for 2012. After hundreds of nominations and over 3000 votes for the finalists, Iceland was a clear winner. Reykjavik was voted top city alongside Iceland’s win as top country. With Easyjet’s new route to Reykjavik, 2012 is the perfect year to visit this stunning destination.

Click here for further information on the Readers’ Choice Awards

New releases:

Australia
(16th edition)
£18.99

Discover India
(1st edition)
£20.99

Caribbean Islands
(6th edition)
£16.99

Bangkok Encounter
(3rd edition)
£7.99

Discover Japan
(2nd edition)
£17.99

Melbourne Encounter
(2nd edition)
£7.99

Coming Soon

Lonely Planet’s brand new title, Happy, reveals the secrets of happiness from cultures across the globe. Released in January, the book features 55 easy-to-adopt cultural practices, exploring the premise that there are millions of different definitions of happiness and that we can learn from others’ cultural practices to improve our own lifestyles.

Exploring happiness through mind, body and spirit, Happy takes the reader through a journey of the world’s inspirational practices, festivals and traditions.

Please contact Laura if you would like further information, review copies, images or extracts (laura.lindsay@lonelyplanet.co.uk)

Lonely Planet Magazine December

This month’s Lonely Planet Magazine features Europe’s best winter city breaks and a free Lonely Planet 2012 Calendar.

Find out more from the Lonely Planet Magazine team >

Get in touch…

Our spokesperson Tom Hall and our authors are available for comment on a wide range of travel issues, destinations and travel advice. We can also provide copies of our guides and our digital products for review. Please contact pressenq@lonelyplanet.co.uk for review copies, interview requests, extracts and general enquiries.

Packed full of travel facts, figures and ephemera, this book is illustrated entirely with ‘information graphics’ (‘infographics’) contributed by an array of designers from around the world.

Some of the information visualised in How to Land a Jumbo Jet includes:

* Where is the best place to experience a volcano?
* How do you eat an ackee (and not get sick)?
* Which edible bugs are really worth the calories?
* Which nation is the proudest in the world?
* Why does your luggage occasionally disappear?

 What is an ‘infographic’? How to Land a Jumbo Jet’s Editor, Nigel Holmes, explains:

 “’Infographic’ is a term that’s much younger that the thing it describes (A quick search suggests that it came into general usage in the 1970s.)  But information graphics themselves have been around for much longer – around 32,000 years, in fact.  That’s when the first known drawings were made, in the Chauvet Cave in France.  It is now generally agreed that the purpose of the paintings was to deliver information and to teach, rather than to be purely art for art’s sake.  They were the first information graphics.

 “In the world of infographics there is room and reason for many types, and in How to Land a Jumbo Jet you’ll find good examples of the different strands of current work in this fast developing field – some are largely pictorial, others are minimal and analytical.  Some are colourful, others use a very restricted palette, or no colour at all.  And as you’d expect from a book that’s about different aspects of travel, there are all sorts of exciting graphic adventures waiting for you.”

About the Editor
Nigel Holmes is a seasoned information designer and principal of Explanation Graphics, a design firm located just outside of New York City. www.nigelholmes.com

Lonely Planet’s
How To Land a Jumbo Jet
RRP: AU$19.99/NZ$20

Available November 2011 from all good bookstores and lonelyplanet.com

Note to Editors
Review copies are available on request

Adam Bennett | Media & Communications Manager, Australia & New Zealand
adam.bennett@lonelyplanet.com.au

Great Journeys assembles these experiences thematically, with chapters devoted to:

* Overland – The Hippy Trail; Cairo to Cape Town; The Khyber Pass; The Grand Tour; Istanbul to Cairo; North Cape to Gibraltar; La Ruta Maya (The Maya Route)

 * Rail – The Ghan; The Glacier Express; The Pride of Africa; The Eastern & Oriental Express; The Orient Express; The Palace on Wheels; California Zephyr; Toy Train to Darjeeling; The Royal Scotsman; The Blue Train of South Africa; The Copper Canyon Railway; The Trans-Siberian Railway; New Zealand’s TranzCoastal

 *  Explorers & Conquerors – Ibn Battuta in Africa; Marco Polo’s Exploration Route; Burke & Wills; Ferdinand Magellan; Captain Cook in the Pacific; Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight; Vasco da Gama Discovers the Sea Route to India; Alexander the Great: from Greece to Egypt; The Vikings: Scandinavia to the Mediterranean

 *  Rivers & Seas – The Nile; Northwest Passage; Norway’s Fjords; Down the Mississippi to New Orleans; The River Ganges; The Amazon River; Mekong River; The River Road (Río Grande); The Yangtze by Slow Boat (Three Gorges)

 *  Ancient Trade Routes – Silk Road; Salt Train in the Sahara; Spice Route; The Incense Road of Antiquity; The Baltic Amber Road

 *  Literary Journeys – Theroux in the Pacific; Homer’s The Odyssey; Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries; Around the World in 80 Days; Italy’s Literary Landmarks; Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness; Mark Twain’s USA; Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey

 *  Road – Argentina’s Patagonian Highway; Route 66; The Dakar Rally; Karakoram Highway; Iceland’s Ring Road; Tour de France – the Original Route; The Pan-American Highway ; East Coast of Australia; The Amalfi Coast Road; Ring of Kerry; Icefields Parkway; Great Ocean Road; Milford Road; South Africa’s Cape Route

 *  Walks & Pilgrimages – Inca Trail to Machu Picchu; In the Footsteps of Buddha; Coast to Coast Walk; The Holy Land; Camino de Santiago; The Great Wall of China; The Haj; Haute Pyrenean Route; Shikoku Pilgrimage.

 With expert content, stunning images, practical planning tips and inspirational background material, Lonely Planet’s Great Journeys conveys what it feels like to take each trip, and shares the information travellers need to bring their dreams to life.

Lonely Planet’s
Great Journeys
Published November 2011
RRP: AU$24.99 / NZ$60

Note to Editors
• A selection of extracts & images from the book are available with permission.
• Review copies are available upon request.

 - ends-

Adam Bennett | Media & Communications Manager, Australia & New Zealand
Lonely Planet
adam.bennett@lonelyplanet.com.au

This is Lonely Planet’s seventh eagerly-awaited annual collection of the best places to go and things to do around the world for the year ahead.

Ranked 10th on the book’s list of Top 10 Cities 2012, Darwin is “multicultural, freewheeling and vibrant,” according to Lonely Planet. “It’s now a hip city to visit rather than just the end of the road for lost souls.”  The other cities to make the list are London (1), Muscat (2), Bengaluru (Bangalore) (3), Cádiz (4), Stockholm (5), Guimarães (6), Santiago (7), Hong Kong (8) and Orlando (9).

Queenstown & Southern Lakes is eighth on the list of Top 10 Regions 2012.  “Where else can you ski in the morning and golf or water-ski in the afternoon?” asks Lonely Planet. “Add excellent wineries and superb restaurants, and what more is there to say?”  Coastal Wales (1), La Ruta Maya (2), Northern Kenya (3), Arunachal Pradesh (4), Hvar (5), Sicily (6), Canada’s Maritime Provinces (7), Borneo (9) and Poitou-Charentes (10) complete the list.

This new edition of BEST IN TRAVEL also reveals why Uganda (1), Myanmar (Burma) (2), Ukraine (3), Jordan (4), Denmark (5), Bhutan (6), Cuba (7), New Caledonia (8), Taiwan (9) and Switzerland (10) have been selected as the Top 10 Countries for next year.

BEST IN TRAVEL’s recommendations are drawn from hundreds of ideas submitted by Lonely Planet’s staff, authors and community of travellers, bloggers and tweeters.  Their suggestions are then refined by a panel of in-house travel experts, based on topicality, excitement, value and that special X-factor.

Other BEST IN TRAVEL 2012 highlights include:

✪ The best travel experiences for the year ahead in the book’s 17 “Top Travel Lists”.  These include the “Best-Value Destinations for 2012” (Northeastern USA scores the top spot) and “The 10 Best Things to Do in 2012” (“Honour Scott’s Polar Centenary” is the year’s number one recommendation).

✪ Over 35 events mapped out month-by-month in the 2012 travel planner, from the Muscat Festival in Oman to Cuba’s Christmas festival, Las Parrandas in Remedios.

LONELY PLANET’S BEST IN TRAVEL 2012

• 208pp, full-colour, 180mm x 145mm, paperback
• RRP: AU$24.99 / NZ$30
• Available from Dymocks, lonelyplanet.com and all good bookstores from 31 October 2011
• Also available in a beautiful full-colour digital edition, from the iBookstore

NOTE TO EDITORS
* Selected extracts & images available with permission
* Review copies available
* Lonely Planet authors are available for interview

For further information, please contact:
Adam Bennett
Media & Communications Manager (Australia & New Zealand)
adam.bennett@lonelyplanet.com.au
Phone: +61 3 879 8000 

The book states; “The Olympics are riding into town, with London becoming the first city to host the games three times, and a whole swatch of the capital is being transformed in the process.”

The highly anticipated title highlights 10 countries, 10 regions and 10 cities which have been handpicked by Lonely Planet’s travel experts as the best places to visit in 2012. Uganda “a rising adventure sports and wildlife-spotting destination” claims the top country accolade, whilst “beautiful and wild” Coastal Wales is the top pick of regions around the world and London is the “essential” city.

Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall contributed to the book. He said, “These are some of Lonely Planet’s must-see spots for 2012, either because they have something special going on next year, there’s a lot of buzz about the place, or because we are tipping it as an up-and-coming spot that you should visit, before the crowds get there.”

Tom continued, “London will have the spotlight firmly on it next year when it plays host to the Olympics but there are lots of other reasons why it is our number one city for 2012.  Although traditionally an expensive destination for international tourists, it is now something of a bargain for many visitors including those from the Middle East, Australia and parts of Europe.  Added to that London’s wealth of world-class free attractions and it’s easy to see why people continue to flock here.”

As well as the hottest countries, cities and regions to visit Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2012 contains inspirational lists to get the travel juices flowing. From the 10 best-value destinations for 2012, to the top places for intrepid romantics, to the top 007 destinations, the lists offer some great ideas of where to go and what to do next year.

Along with London and Coastal Wales putting Britain on the map as some of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2012’s top picks, the book features the top 10 things to see and do in the UK outside the Olympics, such as visiting Northern Ireland’s Titanic Belfast Visitor Attraction which is due to open next year. The lunchtime concerts at London’s Royal Opera House make it into the list of the World’s finest freebies whilst Pendle Hill and Stirling Castle are both listed in the 10 best places to find Middle Earth.

The book’s selections are based on the advice of Lonely Planet’s authors, guidebook commissioning team, and selected members of our travel community, and are ranked in order by a panel of travel experts.

Top 10 cities

1. London
2. Muscat, Oman
3. Bengaluru (Bangalore), India
4. Cadiz, Spain
5. Stockholm, Sweden
6. Guimaraes, Portugal
7. Santiago, Chile
8. Hong Kong, China
9. Orlando, Florida
10. Darwin, Australia

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2012 is priced at £9.99 and will be available in stores from Friday 28^th October. Also available in a beautiful full-colour digital edition, from the iBookstore for £6.99. Click here for link.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Review copies, extracts and images are available
• Contributor Tom Hall is available for interview
• Specific pages from the book can be emailed on request.

For further information contact: Heather Carswell heather.carswell@lonelyplanet.co.uk