Travel, insight, images
Riveted by a friend’s tale of hearing Elton John’s Candle in the Wind '97 set to reggae in the back streets of Santiago de Cuba, and knowing Pope John Paul II had asked Fidel Castro to reintroduce Christmas Day as a public holiday, I left for the Caribbean.
I arrived in Havana a few days before Christmas 1998 with a Mum-made Christmas cake. Cuban customs insisted the cake went through X-ray, quizzed me about its cultural connotations, and gasped at its monster weight. I’ve been returning to Cuba ever since.
I now write for The Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, BBC Travel and The Times. Magazine bylines include The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Wanderlust, Condé Nast Traveller, Time Out, Travel&Leisure Asia and National Geographic Traveller.
I've penned guidebooks to Cuba, Guatemala, Morocco, Vietnam and Laos. My latest guide, the award-winning Havana Pocket Precincts is published by Hardie Grant. I project managed and edited dozens of city and country guides while working for publishers Time Out, Michelin and Footprint.
My images have appeared in international magazines, newspapers, guides and illustrated books.
I've worked with US, Australian and British tour companies as an itinerary designer, fixer, guide and tour manager in Cuba bringing my 20 years' experience on the island to these roles.
I'm the Cuba expert for bespoke travel curator Essentialist. www.insidecuba.co is dedicated to Cuba stories, and to trip planning.
Copywriting & Consultancy
- Cuba Travel Network
- Cuba Private Travel
- Esencia Experiences
- Thomson Holidays
- Consultant, meeting organiser, and tourism and economy report writer for NGO Fauna & Flora International
- Adviser and fixer to journalists and photographers
Guidebooks
- Author, Havana Pocket Precincts: A Pocket Guide to the City’s Best Cultural Hangouts, Shops, Bars and Eateries 2020
- Contributor, Lonely Planet Secret City (Old Havana) 2020
- Contributor, Lonely Planet Global Chocolate Tour (Baracoa, Cuba) 2020
- Contributor, Lonely Planet Guide to Life (Cuba) 2020
- Contributor, Lonely Planet Amazing Train Journeys (Hershey Railway, Cuba)
- Contributor, Lonely Planet Global Coffee Tour book (El Café, Havana)
- Author, Frommer’s EasyGuide Cuba (2015, 2011, 2009 (6th, 5th and 4th edition)
- Writer + principal updater, Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Cuba (2015, 2013, 2011)
- Writer, Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014 (Trinidad, Cuba, in 2nd place in Top 10 Cities to Visit)
- Writer, Lonely Planet Cooks, Clowns and Cowboys (Learning Rumba & cigar-making)
- Writer, Rough Guide Cuba (2013)
- Author, Frommer’s Cuba Day by Day (2010), 1st edition
- Writer, Michelin Must See Havana (2012), 1st edition
- Writer, Footprint Cuba (2010, 2004, 2002, 2000) 5th, 4th, 3rd & 2 edition
- Contributor, Time Out Havana & the Best of Cuba (2007), 3rd edition
Radio, reviews, interviews & awards
- Winner of the 2021 Travel Media Awards Best Guidebook of the Year for Havana Pocket Precincts
- Shortlisted for the 2021 Travel Media Awards Specialist Writer of the Year (Cuba)
- Awarded the 2020 LATA Media Awards Top published Latin America photo
- Shortlisted for British Guild of Travel Writers' Travel Writer of the Year Award 2020 for a portfolio of 4 stories on Cuba & Laos
- Shortlisted for British Guild of Travel Writers' Travel Feature of the Year 2020 non-UK Award
- Shortlisted for British Guild of Travel Writers Transport Feature 2019: A Cycling Revolution. E-biking Cuba
- Quoted in Telegraph Travel Is Donald Trump about to spoil Cuba’s party?
- Awarded 2017 Latin American Travel Association top prize for best online blog post about the faux funeral of a man in Cuba: Burial of Pachencho
- Quoted in Telegraph Travel Tourism boom has turned Cuba into ‘Piccadilly Circus’
- Quoted in Cigar Aficionado Americans are flocking to Cuba but is the island ready? Aug 2016
- Skift quote European Tour Operators in Cuba Mull How U.S. Thaw Will Change Competition April 2016
- Talking on NPR’s OnPoint with Tom Ashbrook Travel to Cuba Feb 2016
- Quoted in Wanderlust magazine Cuba to phase out dual currency Oct 2013
- Quoted in Guardian Travel Entrepreneurs lead Cuba’s new revolution Dec 2012
- BBC Radio 4’s Excess Baggage. Talking about travel in Cuba with John McCarthy Jan 2010
Trip design & planning
- Essentialist
- Political Tours
- Private clients
Latin America stories
Press features
- Guardian Travel High Society: El Alto, Bolivia, steps into the spotlight
- Indy Travel Exploring the Bolivian jungle that inspired Daniel Radcliffe’s latest movie
- Adventure.com Can Jungle movie help save the Bolivian rainforest & ecotourism?
- Guardian Travel Exploring the Che Guevara Route in Bolivia
- Wild Travel Exploring the wildlife of the Panama Canal
- Wanderlust Foodie Antigua, chocolate, coffee and volcanoes in Guatemala (pdf)
- Wanderlust Exploring the Highlands of Guatemala (pdf)
- The Independent Easter in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, with Christ and Maximón
- i-escape.com Laguna Lodge
- The Independent Survival of the Fattest, Galápagos Islands
Guidebooks
- Co-author, Footprint Focus Guatemala (2011), 1st edition
- Co-author, Footprint Belize, Guatemala & Southern Mexico (2005 & 2008), 1st & 2nd edition
- Major contributor, Footprint Mexico & Central America (Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Mexico) 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008
- Researcher and writer, Alastair Sawday’s Green Places, 1st edition (2006)
- Author, Footprint Guatemala 1st edition (2002)
Radio, reviews, interviews & awards
- Awarded the 2020 LATA Media Awards Top published Latin America photo
- Shortlisted for AITO Travel Writer of the Year Award 2018 (Feature under 1,500 words) for Exploring the Che Guevara route in Bolivia
Southeast Asia stories
Press features
- Wanderlust WanderSleeps 8 of the most characterful Hoi An stays
- Wanderlust WanderSleeps Seven of the finest stays in Luang Prabang
- Cruise Adviser Temple run Journey along the Mekong on first eco-cruise on the river
- Telegraph Pork, lemongrass – and the Laos factor Exploring Laos & its fragrant food
- Lao Airlines Magazine Buffalo ice cream and cheese in Luang Prabang
- Telegraph Travel Dream Trips: Cruising Halong Bay
- Lao Airlines Magazine In the footsteps of giants: walking with elephants at Mandalao
- Lao Airlines Magazine Secrets of the Stone Temple, my story about exploring a buried-in-the-jungle unesco wonder in Laos for Lao Airlines Magazine, Wat Phou, Laos
- Lao Airlines Magazine The Brits forging a new path with the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife
- Guardian Travel Hanoi & Vientiane food tours: 20 of the best food tours around the world
- Lao Airlines Magazine Rosewood Luang Prabang review
- Travel&Leisure Asia A chef reviving ancient Lao recipes (At The Table Royal Revival pdf)
- Travel&Leisure Asia six design hotels are Millennial-approved
- Travel&Leisure Asia The six best hotels to celebrate a special occasion
- Travel&Leisure Asia Six hotels perfect for a family occasion
- Telegraph Travel Vientiane port guide
- Telegraph Travel Luang Prabang port guide
- Telegraph Travel Mekong River Cruise Guide
- Guardian Travel Tigers forever: a wildlife hike in north-east Laos
- Telegraph Travel Ultimate Laos itinerary
- Guardian Travel Undiscovered Asia
- Wanderlust Magazine Reaching new depths in Laos and the greatest river cave in the world
- (Wanderlust magazine Xe Bang Fai article pdf)
- Weather2Travel.com Why you should visit Phu Quoc island, Vietnam
- Guardian Travel Luang Prabang 3-day holiday itinerary
- Guardian Travel The ‘new’ Vang Vieng in Laos
- Independent First cruise of Vietnam’s Red River Delta with Pandaw; syndicated in The Australian
- Guardian Travel Two-week holiday itinerary in Laos
- Telegraph Travel From soldiers to sunbathers, how Vietnam’s China Beach became hip
- Telegraph Travel Dam threat to last few Mekong River dolphins
- Guardian Travel Top 10 budget hotels in Vientiane, Laos
- Telegraph Travel Exploring the communist cave hideout of Viengxay, Laos
- Guardian Travel Top 10 budget hotels in Luang Prabang
- Guardian Travel Three-day itinerary in Hanoi
- The Independent Vietnam’s new UNESCO World Heritage Site at Trang An
- Daily Telegraph Bai Tu Long and Halong Bay by boat and seaplane
- Guardian Travel Three-day itinerary in Saigon
- i-escape.com An Lam Saigon River
- i-escape.com An Lam Ninh Van Bay
- Guardian Travel Top 10 budget hotels in Ho Chi Minh City
- National Geographic Traveller City Life: Ho Chi Minh City
- The National Hotel insider: Amano’i, Nha Trang
- The National Exploring Nui Chua National Park & Amano’i, Vietnam
- Guardian Travel Top 10 boutique hotels in Hanoi
- Independent Slice of the City: Vientiane as Laos marks 60 years of independence from France
- Traveller My culinary faux pas under the railway arches, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Wanderlust What else is new in Vietnam and Laos
- Wanderlust The last of the wild-elephant catchers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam (pdf)
- Wanderlust First 24 hours in Ho Chi Minh City
- The Independent Communist cave hideout, Vieng Xai, Laos
- Time Out Stalking rhinos on elephantback in Nepal pdf
- Pathfinder Visiting Xeo Quit, Viet Cong subterranean base, Mekong Delta, Vietnam
- Scotsman Voluntourism – Building homes for the Kamaiya in Western Nepal
- i-escape.com La Folie Lodge, Laos
Guidebooks & Apps
- Writer, InterContinental Hotels in Laos, Vientiane description
- Author, Footprint Vietnam Dream Trip (2013), 1st edition
- Author, Footprint Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos (2013), 4th edition
- Co-author, Footprint Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos (2010, 2008, 2005), 3rd, 2nd and 1st edition
- Author, Footprint Vietnam (2011, 2008), 6th edition and 5th edition
- Author, Footprint Laos (2010), 6th edition
- Editorial consultant and contributor, Dorling Kindersley Cambodia & Laos (2011), 1st edition
- Co-author, Footprint Southeast Asia (2012, 2010, 2009), 3rd, 2nd & 1st edition
- Writer, Time Out Adventure! (2009), 1st edition (Rhino safari on elephantback, Nepal)
- Editorial consultant and contributor, Dorling Kindersley Vietnam & Angkor Wat (2007), 1st edition
- Co-author, AA/Fodor Key guide Vietnam/See it Vietnam (2005), 1st edition
- Co-author, Footprint Thailand (2005), 5th edition
- Contributor, Footprint Laos (2005)
- Contributor, Footprint Vietnam (2004), 4th edition
Radio, reviews, interviews & awards
- Shortlisted for The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century to be published in March 2022 for my Lao food journey for Telegraph Travel
- Shortlisted for British Guild of Travel Writers' Travel Writer of the Year Award 2020 for a portfolio of 4 stories about Laos & Cuba
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