English Experts
Alice GriffinAustralian writer-slash-coffee enthusiast penning her adventures across Europe
Alice hails from Sydney and is currently trying to find her way in the UK, visiting great cafés by day and hole-in-the-wall speakeasies by night. When she’s not befriending every dog in sight, Alice is travelling. The whole of Europe is on her list. After years of acting like it’s her job to know all the inside travel info, she can’t quite believe she’s actually getting paid to do this. She humbly hopes her pieces will stop you from boarding the wrong bus, visiting mediocre museums or showing up at Stansted airport when your flight is at Heathrow—all of which she has done before—but she’s not making any promises.
Angela ShekSharing her love of the Far East through food and photography.
Angela was born in Brunei to a British father and Malaysian mother and grew up all over the Far East. Now settled in London, travel comes naturally to her as a former third culture child. Her favourite way to explore a new country or city is to snap it from behind a lens! Having travelled to far flung places across the globe, she hopes to spend time exploring more of Europe. When not dreaming of new adventures, she is busy baby wrangling her daughter around London.
Anna KarmilaUncovering the delights of Northern Europe
Anna loves the laid back attitude of her home-town Helsinki. After studying in London, New York and Paris, she thinks Helsinki is a great urban trendsetter for green values. She’s always looking for new ideas in art & design, testing new restaurants and treasure-hunting for creative fashion and quirky vintage. When not unlocking Northern Europe's delights she is a big fan of dogs and an enthusiastic gardener with a varied taste for live music.
Benjamin LewisRevealing the best of what the United States has to offer, one post at a time.
Benjamin was born in Los Angeles, Ca. He got his first taste of international travel during a trip to Rosarito, Mexico with a group of high school friends. At age 17, he and that same group of friends spent the summer backpacking Europe on a Eurail Pass and sleeping exclusively in hostels. After grad school, several return trips to Europe and Mexico, and extensive travel throughout the United States and Canada, Benjamin has visited over 30 different countries. He loves music, adventure, food, and art. He currently lives in Goa, India.
Eliza WasilikTaking you through the lesser known and sharing tips on how to travel with allergies.
Eliza is a non-stop adventurer and a creative, who has hopped around three continents so far. Europe, Asia and North America and the list is growing. She likes to explore the lesser-known areas and share the tips of why's and how’s. Suffering from many allergies such as sun allergy (yes, you’ve read that right) and synthetic fibres, food, chemicals and more. She wants to help others by sharing the lessons that life taught her for the past few years, on how to make travel possible when suffering from skin problems.
Gavin DarvellTaking you on a journey through Europe & the Far East
For Gavin, travel has been in his soul since he was able to walk on two feet. Visiting India, aged 15 fueled his passion for travel, and the need to explore and discover has remained. He loves seeking out unusual places, finding fantastic cafes and experiencing different cultures. He has been fortunate to have travelled across the globe, and lived in Japan & the Czech Republic. He loves sharing his passion for travel, hoping to inspire, however quirky the content may be!
Kelly SpillaneEurope enthusiast. Lover of the sea, quaint towns and quirky museums.
As the daughter of immigrants, travel is something that is in Kelly’s blood. At 23, she is lucky to have so far been to 24 countries, including a recent 3 month backpacking trip around Europe. Each place she visits offers new foods to taste, cultures to learn and people to meet. Kelly enjoys visiting quirky museums, collecting unusual postcards and discovering new travel hacks. Her favourite destinations are usually off the beaten path, found by accident or recommended by locals.
Meenakshi BoseCapturing the wonders of India and abroad through my lens
Meenakshi is a designer by profession and traveller by heart. Photography is something that she cherishes and goes on a Click! Click! Click! spree wherever she goes. Japan is her dream destination and she believes that one day she will be sipping green tea while ogling at Mount Fuji. Her present state of mind is blogging her heart out and sharing all the experiences and memories that she has been collecting from her travels.
Riya ChakravartyWriter with a passion for history, crafting enchanting accounts of Indian adventures and beyond.
Riya is a self-confessed Indophile and has travelled to most parts of the country that she calls home. She always has a tip (or a word of caution!) up her sleeve. When travelling, she seeks out local food, folk cultures, handicrafts and offbeat, less-touristy areas. When not travelling, she is seen tucked in a corner of her home reading about faraway places that she wishes to discover someday. Also a foodie and an art buff, her evenings are spent digging into kebabs and biryani in old quarters of Delhi, watching plays or attending concerts.
Sarah DevennyCoffee-lover making her way around Europe and the USA.
Sarah is a small town girl with big travel plans. Although she's travelled to 4 continents and lived in 2 countries, she feels most happy by the sea and travelling through Europe admiring the contrasting architecture. Sarah can generally be found attempting the perfect sightseeing selfie and sampling the local coffee - often at the same time.
Sasha SelkirkA modern day Pandora, piquing your curiosity throughout Latin America, Australia and Europe.
Her father grew up in Calcutta, mother in Borneo, siblings in California and Sasha in Swindon! A sense of injustice, a good measure of sibling rivalry and a fiery passion for adventure have fueled her travels ever since. Sasha has been lucky enough to tick a few escapades off her bucket list: bungee jumping in Brazil, road tripping in Australia to name two. Not one to be landlocked, she also loves hopping around Europe.
Vinay GuptaA photographer-blogger-trekker exploring South East Asia, Europe and India
Vinay was born in India in the city of Chandigarh. He loves to explore new destinations diving into specific tours, which allows him to click away with his camera, try local food, and discover new cultures. His favourites are immersive walks, photography tours, and food trails. A father of two, Vinay occasionally goes on solo trips. A personal highlight was a motorbike trip to Khardungla Pass – the World's highest motorable road. He aspires to travel to South America, Vietnam and motorbike through East Europe.
German Experts
Lisa WollfoersterCultural insights, travel and lifestyle pieces from all around the world
As isango!’s German product executive, Lisa Wollfoerster is overseeing coverage of all things related to the German market. She also edits the German section of The Guidebook. Before isango!, she worked in fashion retail, PR and as a freelance translator. Lisa combined her BA of International Communications in The Netherlands with a BA Hons in advertising, PR and marketing communications in London. Originally from Bremen, she now lives in London.
Moritz SchäfferA German travel enthusiast sharing his experiences visiting cities across Europe
Moritz originally comes from Germany and is currently living in London, where he works for isango! as a Product Executive. He studied German and English language, linguistics, and literature in Cologne and also worked as a contributing editor and author for television before moving to England. As a passionate traveller, he spent a lot of time in New Zealand and visited many other places across the globe. He looks forward to sharing his experiences with the German readers of The Guidebook.
Spanish Experts
Kalyani DhundeleIndian writer with the Spanish touch. A melophile with a love of dance, shoes and travel.
From New Delhi, Kalyani is a Sheldon Cooper at heart with a Carrie Bradshaw-esque attitude. A nerdy fangirl of fantasy tv/movie series. Harry Potter or Game of Thrones anyone? And dreams of strutting in a pair of Louboutin’s one day! Her interest in everything Latin, be it music, food or culture, is what got her into learning Spanish. She one day hopes to explore Spain and South America as speaking their native language must have its perks!
Manuel ZelayaA curious guy from Argentina. Passionate about discovering different cultures
Coming “from the end of the world”, as someone said some time ago, Manuel is an Argentinian sports fan, currently living in India. He is particularly fond of landscapes, as he had the fortune of living for nine years in the magical San Carlos de Bariloche, one the jewels of Argentinian Patagonia. Before coming to India, he also lived in the historical city of Córdoba, where he cultivated a deep love for history and culture, turning him into a museum and art aficionado.
Ricard AumedesSharing my European adventures to a make you a restless soul too
“Un cul inquiet” (A restless ass!) is what Ricard's mum has called him from the first moment he left home. Originally from Lloret de Mar, Ricard continues to be drawn to the sea. His favourite places include Tarifa, Fuerteventura and San Sebastian. Hawaii is very much on his travel radar. Away from work, Ricard plays the guitar, so whenever he travels his ukulele is always first in the suitcase. This restless traveller hopes to share his travel memories and inspire other restless soles through his words and thoughts.
Susana AlvarezA Spanish and Portuguese expert travelling through South America and World’s Top Theme Parks
Since I was very young my parents took me on exciting trips that made me develop in future years a passion for travel, which eventually became my profession. At 18, I received a set of suitcases as presents and since then I haven’t stopped visiting new places, discovering amazing cultures, tasting new foods, swapping ideas with natives and enjoying every minute of every trip. My passion for travel has taken me to more than 30 countries around the world, and also to some of the best theme parks. I have to say that South America has captivated me each time I have travelled there, and I have a weakness with some of the countries, for example, Argentina, where I lived for a while.
