We are a global studio on a mission to change travel.

We publish evidence-based culture and travel guides to the places you visit. Our coverage helps heighten your understanding of places and deepen your travel experience.

In doing so, our guides help you discover and understand the world.

We are reframing travel as an act of understanding

Our team

We got started out of Kathmandu in 2020.

Today, our team of editors, illustrators and designers spans New York, London, Sydney, Oaxaca, Rome, Tokyo, Riyadh and Irkutsk.

In each of the countries we cover, we work with teams of local writers, researchers and correspondents to hand-craft our guides. If there are stories or insight about your country that you would like to share, please get in touch and let us know.

Email: hi@thalby.com

#

The Thalby dot

Barcelona-based design studio Hey Studio created the colorful Thalby dot, a key part of our logo and identity. The Thalby dot recalls the colored pins that used to stud wall maps, pointing to locations visited or destinations planned.

For us, the Thalby dot is a reminder of the vast splendor of our earth, its innumerable diversity, as well as our deep interconnectedness.

Dot dot dot... there is always more to discover.

#

Our manifesto

Travelers have never been better served when it comes to logistics. We know where to go and where to sleep. What to see and do. There are lists and aggregators and platforms. In many ways, travel has never been easier - at least until the pandemic hit, of course.

But when it comes to gathering deeper insight into the cultures and countries we visit, there are fewer options. Most guidebooks are written by foreigners and quickly outdated. Many simply propagate established cliches and stereotypes, without getting to the heart of the country in today's terms.

We've set out to change that.

Our mission

By designing topical, evidence-based and locally written guides to the world’s countries and cultures, Thalby fills the gap. Our guides help travelers understand, appreciate and connect at a deeper level.

In doing so, we aim to change the way travel happens. We use big ideas to shift the conversation.

We are reframing travel as an act of understanding.

Four big ideals drive our coverage

Curiosity

We love curiosity and we cater to the curious. Discovery is at the heart of what we do.

Globalism

We are committed to globalism and a healthy form of globalization. We see inter-connectedness as a plus.

Empathy

We strive for empathy. We care deeply about our readers, our team and the cultures and countries we cover.

Diversity

We celebrate difference and recognize commonalities. We strive to include all voices in our guides.

To read a Thalby guide is to fall deeper in love with humanity.

Thesiger and Al-Albi

Our name is a nod to two great travelers of the 20th century. Wilfred Thesiger (1910-2003) spent almost 60 years exploring the Middle East and Africa, and Assamina Al-Albi (1885-1960) roamed the Middle East and South Asia. Both were deeply committed to the regions and peoples they explored and encountered.

Thalby continues in this tradition.