Lara DunstonDo you remember how Puglia was touted as “the new Tuscany” by the travel media last year? Well, as we recently discovered, the reality is very different. We’ve just completed a road trip in Calabria researching a guidebook, and spent some time in Basilicata at the start of the trip and drove through Basilicata and … Read more about Is Calabria the new Puglia?
Now, you know I’m not a fan of guides (see this post) and my recent observation of a tour guide who stopped at each key sight at the Roman Forum to read passages from a guidebook to her bored tour group only reaffirmed many of my beliefs on guides and guided tours. Yet Context Travel … Read more about Putting context back into travel, OR why contextualizing travel is cool
I have a secret: despite writing and contributing to some 25 Lonely Planet guidebooks, I have to admit I’ve always preferred using Rough Guides – primarily for their fantastic Contexts chapters at the back of the books. While many guidebook publishers have been cutting back on word counts in the history, politics and culture chapters of … Read more about Enriching the experience of travel: it’s all about context
If you’ve visited the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in Rome, then you probably did so with thousands of other people – or, to be more precise, tens of thousands. The attraction is a magnet for a mindbogglingly 25,000 people a day. The hours of waiting in the inconceivably long line that stretches around the huge … Read more about The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel after hours: the only way to go
I’m converted. And I’m not ashamed to admit it. I can now reveal I’m addicted to cool guided tours. My definition? Enriching, focused, well thought-out, specialized tours to compelling places with small groups (so miniscule you can remember everyone’s names), led by super qualified and highly specialized guides who are as fascinating as the places … Read more about When guided tours are close to spiritual experiences: I’ve been converted