Lonely Planet: Plan + Travel

I’ve traveled with Lonely Planet guidebooks for over 20 years and see tons of potential in the new app. It proved indispensable recently in Taos — got to the Pueblo early for the day’s first tour! I like how it’s the same on-the-ground, expert advice as the books but with a dose of tech like AI chat and geolocation. Plus, I look forward to all the hours of armchair traveling, learning about the world instead of doomscrolling.

THANK YOU LONELY PLANET FOR CREATING THIS APP!! I’ve loved Lonely Planet guide books for years, and can always trust that I will get amazing recommendations. However, it would be a huge investment to get physical copies of all books related to your destination (i.e. Japan). This app is the perfect solution, and I am so excited that I’ll get to have all guides with me during my travels. I would 100% pay a monthly membership fee to have access to all of Lonely Planet’s content. As a side note, the app design is beautiful. Colors, typography, photography, all perfect!

Been using LP's books for years and figured the app would just be a glorified PDF. Nope. The guides actually have a point of view, so I'm not stuck scrolling through 40 things to do, restaurants, and accommodations that all look the same. And the advice is actionable too: I go from "oh that looks cool" to a day-by-day itinerary. The AI guide thing won me over too. Asked it for a half-day near my hotel with good coffee and not much walking, and it gave me a real plan, not generic junk. You can tell it's pulling from the actual guides, and the recommendations come from real people. Pretty much the only travel app I use for planning and while I'm on the trip, not just dreaming about one.