The aim of Worldly Adventurer has always been to provide detailed, up-to-date, and guidebook-quality destination guides to help you plan your trip to Latin America while encouraging you to travel beyond the usual places and discover this beautiful content beyond the beaten trail.
At the same time, I want you to spend your money with local companies to ensure that tourism is a force for long-term good and one that benefits local people as much as providing you with an enriching vacation.
Worldly Adventurer’s policy regarding hosted stays
Worldly Adventurer does accept hosted stays and trips run by tour operators and hotels in the countries we write about. There are various reasons for this:
a) Worldly Adventurer aims to evaluate experiences at a range of price points, including those on a higher end – which, frankly given how much travel writing pays, would be impossible if some, if not all, of the costs were covered;
b) we’re confident in our ability to provide impartial reviews of experiences, regardless of price point.
I have nearly a decade of experience as a travel journalist and guidebook author. I’ve written for publications around the globe including National Geographic Traveller, CNN, Lonely Planet, Time Out, and The Telegraph, as well as authored guidebooks for companies such as Moon, Rough Guides, and DK Eyewitness.
Most importantly, my opinion cannot be bought; instead, I only agree to work with companies that I have a fair idea will provide a fantastic, value-for-money experience, and one that will do its best to protect the local environment and drive money into the local economy, rather than into the pockets of multinational companies.
It’s for this very reason that I only work with locally-operated companies, such as the brilliant Chile Nativo in Torres del Paine, the indigenous-run Alpaca Expeditions in Cusco, and Impulse Travel, who pioneer sustainable, community-led tourism in Colombia.
All of my trips are hand-picked to cover well-known destinations as well as encourage my readers to consider other, lesser-known places too – an activity that can help spread the positive impacts of tourism and help diminish the ecological damage caused by overtourism.
Often, while some aspects of the trip may be provided free of charge by a company, much of the rest will be not. Many of my trips are covered by higher-end companies, however, I still continue to stay at locally-run B&Bs and work with tour operators who can’t afford to provide freebies to ensure that I can promote the very best in Latin American tourism.
How Worldly Adventurer works with operators in the countries we write about
I also work on a frequent basis with local partners. These are companies that I have personally traveled with and know that the quality of the services they provide to visitors is the best in the region. Recommending that you buy with them directly, rather than by using third-person sites such as Viator and Get Your Guide, or purchasing through a tour agent located in your home country, also means they earn a lot more money.
When I recommend partners, I do get a small commission for sending them guests, however, this is significantly less than that charged by these international companies and ensures that I can continue to provide the in-depth, expert-written content that I’m proud to publish on Worldly Adventurer.
Other writers that Worldly Adventurer commissions for the site
I also now employ a handful of writers for the site. All those who do or have historically written for Worldly Adventurer have extensive knowledge of the subjects they’ve written about.
This typically means that they’ve spent an extended time in the destination in question: no “expert guides” written after a day in a location like many other travel blogs on the internet.
Some are long-time residents of the regions or countries they write about, allowing them to provide authentic and insightful perspectives and recommendations that you won’t get elsewhere.
How Worldly Adventurer keeps content up-to-date
I prioritize accuracy and reliability in all of the published content on Worldly Adventurer. My writers conduct thorough research, verify information from credible sources, and adhere to rigorous fact-checking standards – which typically see me carefully ensuring that every word they write is correct.
Worldly Adventurer also strives to provide readers with trustworthy and up-to-date information about the current state of travel within Latin America. Obviously, this is a big task, as information can change quickly, and while myself and my team endeavor to update articles as frequently as we can, this isn’t always possible.
If you notice something that is out-of-date or incorrect on the site, please do reach out and let us know.
Have questions?
I’m always open to chat about the editorial policies that we follow at Worldly Adventurer, so please do get in touch if you have any questions: steph[at]worldlyadventurer.com