If you got bitten by the travel bug before the digital era, chances are you’ve relied on Lonely Planet for your explorations.
For the past five decades, globetrotters have considered Lonely Planet’s classic guidebooks a “traveler’s bible” to help plan in-depth country trips and pick the best things to do, where to stay and where to eat in each country.
Before travel blogs, websites, vlogs and social media even became a thing, I relied on these guidebooks for travel inspiration, tips and itinerary planning.
As locals, we often take our attractions or culture for granted. Sometimes, it takes an outsider’s perspective to realize how special things are for first-time visitors. Leafing through pages of text that relied purely on descriptions to bring life to places and activities made me want to explore my home country more.
After traveling around the 82 provinces of the Philippines, I’m proud and happy to share that I had a chance to contribute to the latest Lonely Planet guidebook, which now has a new format, with full-color travel photography and maps. The 15th edition of Lonely Planet Philippines published in July 2024 is now in bookstores and their online shop worldwide.
The guidebook itself was researched extensively, written and edited by an excellent team of international writers and travel experts, namely Greg Bloom, Ray Barlett, Michael Grosberg, Regis St. Louis and Iain Stewart. They know best what international travelers look for in a foreign destination and write about different destinations in the country in a way that makes you want to pack up your bags immediately.
As someone born and raised in the Philippines, I was asked to write a piece on “What makes you a Filipino.” Each country guidebook has a section introducing the people featuring a local travel expert currently residing in the country. I admit, I’ve never had to describe “our people” this way before.
I was also asked to write a couple of essays for the Storybook section, which features different aspects of the country’s modern culture. I wrote about how heritage structures in Manila can be preserved for tourism, with examples of adaptive reuse in cafes and hotels that travelers can visit. I also wrote about how indigenous textiles from around the country are modernized in sustainable fashion and souvenirs. Other essays focus on the country’s love of basketball and inspiring Filipina women like former Vice President Leni Robredo.
If you plan to travel around the Philippines and want to hold an actual book to browse through pages during downtime and have easy reference material on the fly instead of scrolling through your phone, please look out for this latest guidebook.
The first edition of the Philippines guidebook was published in Feb 1981 while the last edition came out in 2022 before this one. There have been a lot of changes since the pandemic due to hotel and restaurant closures and some top sites are no longer accessible due to natural disasters, so frequent updates are necessary.
I hope this will inspire new travelers just starting to embark on backpacking trips around Southeast Asia and seasoned travelers making up for lost time after the pandemic to consider visiting the Philippines.
Here’s the link to buy the Lonely Planet Philippines 2024 print edition. E-book versions are also available for those who want to travel light and prefer to keep books on a tablet or e-reader.
Aside from being part of the classic guidebook, I’m happy to share that I’ve also started contributing to Lonely Planet’s website.
The website contains updated information, “best of” list articles, and practical travel tips from travel experts around the world. The website contains more visual and interactive elements like photos, videos and embedded maps. Some writers are pitted in a friendly competition to make a case of their home countries for those who may have trouble deciding where to go next.
One of my first articles was for the “Local Strolls” series, where writers reveal their favorite walks or cycling routes in their hometowns. Rather than being a formal guide or list article, each route is supposed to offer “a snapshot of urban life, guiding readers to lesser-known attractions and cherished local spots.” You can read it here.
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