About

Hi! I’m Natalie and I love to travel.

I wrote the first and second editions of the Rough Guide to the Bahamas, co-authored two editions of the Rough Guide to the Caribbean, the first edition of the Rough Guide Directions Saint Lucia, was a contributing writer to several editions of the Lonely Planet Guide to Tanzania and co-authored an edition of the Lonely Planet Guide to Canada.

In 2023, when my daughter was in the 9^th grade, we took a six-month family sabbatical from work and school, and travelled around the world. I’d do it again in a second.

My travel style has evolved over the years. In my twenties I mostly travelled solo, meeting lots of interesting people on the road, as you do. I spent two years in Africa, teaching at a rural school in Kenya then backpacking throughout East Africa and Southern Africa, staying in hostels, not planning more than a day ahead.

I studied Spanish in Guatemala while staying with a host family, then took the train across Canada, sitting up for five days in coach, on my way to plant trees in British Columbia. When the planting season was over, I got a job working in a hotel in Wells, a village in the Cariboo region that became one of my favourite places.

These days, I travel differently. I love camping, hiking and canoeing, but I also like trips with a few more creature comforts. Usually, an ensuite bath – doesn’t have to be fancy, just clean.

Now that I have a child (now teen) and usually travel with my family, I plan every detail of a trip in advance. I also work full-time, so time off to travel is precious, and I plan it carefully.

We travel on a budget, and I look for ways to save money and to stretch it, economizing on some things so we can do other things (like take a Nile River cruise!).

Also, certain people I live and travel with are not big fans of packing and unpacking every day and are triggered by the phrase “check-out time is 10 am.” So, we often rent apartments and cottages or camp and stay put for a while, making day trips from a base or just soaking up the local atmosphere. Once in a while, I do enjoy a stay at a special hotel.

I hope you find the information here useful as you plan your travels. Bon Voyage!