Researching destinations intensely to help you book with confidence and arrive enlightened.

That’s Archipelago in a nutshell.

Hi there, I'm Phil, I’m the founder of Archipelago. Thanks for visiting and taking more time to learn about the brand.

I quit my job digital marketing and started Archipelago because, alongside a strong desire to be outside my home country as often possible, travel content is developing a deep and troubling trust problem.

Social media is awash with AI-generated images. ChatGPT spits out millions of generic, unchecked itineraries every day. Google’s AI overviews have replaced the helpful blogs full of valuable firsthand experience. And Reddit’s unverified comments are suddenly being treated as fact.

Even the the guidebook companies have pivoted to become travel agents, swapping honest, helpful writing for a sales pitch to sell you the trip of a lifetime. Influencers are doing much of the same, showing you places on their best day, then hard-selling you a sim card when they have your attention.

The result? A confusing mess of often biased information that turns planning an exciting adventure into a stressful second job.

That’s where Archipelago comes in.

I’ve got rid of the photos you’ve seen a million times before, ditched the sales pitch and focused on independent travel writing that tells it exactly how it is. If the beach that you can only get to by hiking for an hour isn’t 100% worth it, I’ll tell you. If a room isn’t worth the hefty price tag, you’ll know. If the tour guide recommends skipping a street, I’ll tell you to skip a street.

Sure, you’ll still hear about unique hotels, unmissable experiences and neighbourhoods that are worth the sweaty bus ride, but it’s all chosen on merit, not because Archipelago is beholden to a sponsor or because there are sales targets.

And perhaps most importantly, I’m not telling you this from my own personal experience. I haven’t been to all these places. Well, I’ve been to a lot of them. But anyway, my travel experience and yours are going to be completely different.

Instead, I’ve done the legwork for you, trawled the reviews, dug through the travel blogs and read the guidebooks to build the honest, unbiased story, constructed from hundreds of voices and experiences. On top of that, I’ve interviewed hotel managers, interrogated tour guides and chatted to cabin crew, pilots and even taxi drivers to find the nitty-gritty gems that ChatGPT just can’t give you. That’s way more valuable than anything I’d have to say about my own trips.

The result? Carefully curated, fact-checked, no bullshit travel writing that helps my readers close the confidence gap. My goal is to make you feel happiy to drop several months’ salary on the dream trip, knowing exactly what to expect on arrival.

If that sounds like just what you need, then your starting point is the Newsletter. This isn’t one of those annoying daily spam-fests selling you a package deal. It’s a handy roundup of the week’s best coverage, delivered on Sunday morning so you can enjoy it over breakfast.

I hope you enjoy and find Archipelago useful, and if you’d like to support Archipelago, please share it with your network – it costs nothing and really helps!

Thanks and happy travels,

Phil