Lonely Planet co-founder reveals the four places he'll never visit again

Metro

12-05-2025

For many of us, the first thing we do when planning a trip abroad is to look up the place on Lonely Planet – or buy one of the company's guide books.
The publisher has been running since 1973 and was co-founded by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who are both adventurous travellers.
It's fair to say the pair have been all over the world and Tony, in particular, is often asked for his holiday recommendations as a result. The expert has recently recommended Uluru in the Australian outback, saying it's 'impressive' and 'magic', as well as Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
However, there are also several places he claims he won't be 'going anymore' and two of the countries on his list are incredibly popular with tourists.
Writing in a blog post titled, 'I'm not going there anymore', Tony revealed that he feels 'guilty' about travelling these days as friends have decided to 'look after the world and not fly any more'.
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For now he's decided to 'continue travelling and continue to feel guilty about it', but there are four places the 78-year-old has sworn off, including Bali.
The Indonesian island is a popular holiday spot thanks to its natural beauty with vibrant blue waters and an abundance of flora and fauna. It's also generally considered a pretty affordable place to travel but for Tony it's got one major flaw.
'Sorry Bali,' he writes. 'There are so many good things about that Indonesian island and I've just had a great travel writers reunion trip there, but until they sort out the ridiculous traffic I never want to go back, unless there's a very good reason to drag me there.'
He continues to list all of the 'wonderful' things about Bali, including the art, food, shopping and places to stay but adds that there's 'no way' he'd ever want to spend another two hours of his life travelling between the Kuta beach strip and Ubud.
Another place he won't be going back to is the USA, despite having spent years trying to visit all 50 states – and having gone to Missouri and south Carolina last year.
Tony currently only has three states left to visit until he's been to them all (Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi), but ticking them off isn't a priority right now.
'Despite having spent nearly 10 years of my life living in the USA and despite having many American friends, I'm currently happy to leave the USA at the bottom of my dance card,' he states, continuing to say that this is due to Trump and his 'associated scoundrels' running the place.
His other two big no-nos for travel right now probably won't surprise many people: Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Tony says he's been to Russia several times over the years, but won't return 'as long as Putin continues to kill innocent people'.
And as for Saudia Arabia, he writes that there are 'so many reasons' he never wants to go there, from the 'murdering of journalists' to 'cheetahs being shipped to Saudi Arabia to be kept as pets'.
This comes after Metro travel writer Alice Murphy, revealed the one country she'd never go back to – and interestingly it's one that didn't make it onto Tony's list. More Trending
Alice, who has visited 50 different countries, shared that Qatar is the only place she has no desire to ever return to, as it felt 'clinical' and rather 'dystopian'.
While the places in this article might not be on your travel bucket list, there are several 'underrated' spots that are well worth a visit, according to Michael, a man who has visited 175 of 195.
Here are his top recommendations:
'Tunis has one of the best street food scenes I've ever encountered,' he says of the capital.
'I did a food tour with my buddy Mehdi, who runs the YouTube channel Tunisian Street Food, and I still dream about the stuff we tried. Fricassés, brik, grilled merguez – it was unforgettable.'
Metro's Gergana Krasteva recently wrote that of the 10 countries she visited in 2024, Bhutan trumped them all.
Michael agrees that the isolated Himalayan kingdom is unlike anywhere else on Earth.
From the ethereal mist draping the capital Thimphu to the sheer cliffs where Tiger's Nest Monastery clings, this mystic enclave feels like it exists outside of time.
'It's the kind of place that stays with you, haunting your thoughts long after you leave,' Michael explains.
'If you want nature, wildlife, adventure, and coastline all in one place, this island will leave you speechless,' Michael says.
'It feels prehistoric. Like stepping into a lost world.'
While India is known for its chaotic energy, the path to Pakistan is one less travelled.
Michael says: 'The people, the food, the landscapes, and the sheer affordability make Pakistan a must-visit for adventurers like me.'
Metro recently named Pakistan as an unmissable destination to visit in 2025 thanks to its vast valleys and mountain ranges in the north, and we're not the only ones noticing all the country has to offer.
She said: 'Silence was the first hint that Doha was not my kind of city. Or rather, the particular kind of silence that hangs in the air of an empty street. Running down the broad boulevards of the Gulf state's capital are lines of luxury cars, custom Rolls Royces and cherry red Maseratis gleaming under the Arabian sun. But beside them the pavements are empty, because nobody walks on the streets of Qatar.'
'I couldn't help feeling that this driving-centric culture makes an aesthetically impressive city seem clinical, a desert sea of skyscrapers with little life around them. The only people on the streets are construction workers, their heads covered with cloth to fend off the sun.
'The scene was similarly dystopian in the Souk Waqif, a traditional market ranked as one of Doha's top attractions that I couldn't wait to shop in. It's said to date back to the 19th century, but its sandstone alleyways have been modernised so much, they feel like a sterile sort of Disneyland. Compared to the vibrant bazaars of Jerusalem and Marrakech, it's just a little soulless.'
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