Lonely Planet Armchair Escapes Right Now
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- Lonely Planet published its first guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, in 1973 after founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler completed an overland journey from London to Australia.
- The Britain guide featured here is a multi-author collaboration typical of Lonely Planet's comprehensive country editions, covering England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
- Lonely Planet Pocket Seoul, co-authored by Thomas O'Malley and Phillip Tang, is part of the publisher's compact Pocket series designed for short city breaks.
- Fionn Davenport, a Dublin native and regular Lonely Planet contributor, has written or co-written over a dozen travel guides focusing on Ireland and European cities.
- As of May 2026, Patina's travel collection includes rotating preloved Lonely Planet titles alongside vintage maps and independent travel memoirs.
Britain — Wheeler, Tony; Thomas, Bryn; Yale, Pat; Sheehan, Sean and Everist, Richard
The definitive Lonely Planet country guide for the UK — all four nations, one spine-creased companion. This is the heavyweight you shove in a backpack before boarding a Ryanair flight: multi-author, exhaustively researched, opinionated enough to tell you which castles are tourist traps and which pubs pour a proper pint. Wheeler (Lonely Planet's co-founder) anchors the team here, with Thomas, Yale, Sheehan, and Everist dividing England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland between them. The result is a country guide that treats the UK like the complicated, class-obsessed, rain-soaked archipelago it is — not a twee Heritage™ theme park. Expect walking routes through the Lake District, blunt takes on London's Tube chaos, and at least three pages debating the correct way to order fish and chips. Explore our current copy of Britain or browse more Travel books at Patina.Italy — Tilbury, Neil; Gillman, Helen and etc.
A practical Italy guide that skips the gondola clichés and gets you to the good stuff. Tilbury and Gillman wrote this for travellers who want Rome's Colosseum and Florence's Uffizi but also need to know where to eat cacio e pepe without paying €22 for microwaved pasta. The "and etc." authorship is classic Lonely Planet — a rotating cast of on-the-ground researchers filing updates from Puglia's olive groves and Venice's back canals. This edition walks you through Italy's essential destinations with the assumption that you're capable of reading a train schedule and don't need your hand held past the Trevi Fountain. Expect regional breakdowns, lodging tiers from hostels to agriturismi, and at least one rant about cruise-ship crowds in Cinque Terre. Explore our current copy of Italy or browse more Travel books at Patina.Best — Patina Paperbacks
A curated anthology that's either a travel sampler or a mystery — the spine will tell you when it arrives. This one's a wildcard in Patina's current stock: a "Best" anthology with Patina Paperbacks listed as author, which suggests it's either a custom travel compilation or a mislabeled edition waiting to surprise you. The description hints at "standout stories, essays, or excerpts" — possibly a Lonely Planet Best in Travel annual roundup, possibly something else entirely. If you're the kind of traveller who likes opening a book without knowing exactly what's inside (the literary equivalent of booking a hostel sight unseen), this is your gamble. Worst case, you get a solid anthology. Best case, it's a forgotten gem of travel writing that somehow landed in Newtown. Explore our current copy of Best or browse more Travel books at Patina.Lonely Planet Pocket Seoul — Lonely Planet; O'Malley, Thomas and Tang, Phillip
The compact Seoul guide for travellers who want street-food maps and palace logistics, not a thesis on K-pop. O'Malley and Tang wrote this Pocket edition for the five-day city-breaker: someone flying into Incheon, hitting Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village, then spending three nights eating tteokbokki in Myeongdong before the flight home. The Pocket series is Lonely Planet's slimmest format — small enough to jam in a coat pocket, detailed enough to navigate Seoul's subway without a meltdown. Expect neighbourhood breakdowns (Gangnam, Hongdae, Itaewon), restaurant tiers from pojangmacha street stalls to temple-cuisine fine dining, and at least two pages on how to order soju without accidentally insulting your server. This is the guide you bring when your carry-on is already over the weight limit. Explore our current copy of Lonely Planet Pocket Seoul or browse more Travel books at Patina.Lonely Planet Dublin — Lonely Planet and Davenport, Fionn
Fionn Davenport's Dublin guide is the one written by someone who actually lives there — and isn't afraid to tell you which "authentic" pubs are full of it. Davenport is a Dublin native and one of Lonely Planet's most prolific Ireland contributors, which means this guide skips the Guinness Storehouse queues and points you toward the pubs where Dubliners actually drink. Expect opinionated takes on Temple Bar (too touristy), Georgian architecture walking routes (worth the blisters), and at least one paragraph on how to pronounce "Dún Laoghaire" without sounding like a complete eejit. This is the guide for travellers who want literary pub crawls, Jameson distillery tours, and the kind of craic that doesn't involve a selfie stick. Davenport writes like the friend who moved to Dublin a decade ago and now refuses to set foot in anything with shamrocks painted on the door. Explore our current copy of Lonely Planet Dublin or browse more Travel books at Patina. These five Lonely Planet guides are for the armchair traveller plotting next year's escape or the recently returned nostalgic flipping through a book that smells like airport coffee and possibility. Either way, they're rotating through Patina's shelves right now — preloved, spine-creased, ready to be shoved in a backpack.Where can I buy secondhand Lonely Planet travel guides in Sydney?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved Lonely Planet titles online, shipping Australia-wide from our Sydney base. The collection includes country guides, city Pockets, and regional editions — all secondhand, all ready to be dog-eared on your next trip. Browse the current travel collection here.
Are Lonely Planet guides still worth buying in 2025?
Honestly, yes — especially preloved editions that cost a fraction of the cover price. Lonely Planet's on-the-ground research still beats algorithmically generated listicles, and older editions (pre-Airbnb saturation) often have better neighbourhood recommendations than current prints. Just cross-reference opening hours and prices online before you show up expecting a hostel that closed in 2019.
What's the difference between Lonely Planet's country guides and Pocket editions?
Country guides (like the Britain and Italy titles here) are comprehensive, multi-hundred-page tomes covering entire nations — think regional breakdowns, transport logistics, and enough lodging options to plan a month-long trip. Pocket editions (like Seoul and Dublin) are compact city guides designed for short breaks: smaller format, tighter focus, perfect for a long weekend. If you're doing one city, grab the Pocket. If you're doing a country, grab the country guide and accept that your backpack just got heavier.
Who was Tony Wheeler and why does his name appear on so many Lonely Planet books?
Tony Wheeler co-founded Lonely Planet with his wife Maureen in 1973 after they hitchhiked from London to Australia and self-published Across Asia on the Cheap to fund the trip home. Wheeler's name appears on early Lonely Planet titles (like the Britain guide here) because he was often the primary or contributing author — the publisher's editorial voice was literally his travel notes for the first decade. Even after Lonely Planet became a global imprint, Wheeler remained involved in flagship editions until the company sold to BBC Worldwide in 2007.
Do you ship Lonely Planet guides Australia-wide?
Yes — Patina ships all travel guides Australia-wide, with free shipping on orders over $29. Whether you're in Melbourne plotting a European summer or in Brisbane daydreaming about Seoul's street food, these preloved Lonely Planet titles ship from our Sydney shelves to your door.