How We Research and Recommend
The shortest version: we travel before we write, we disclose affiliates, we correct mistakes promptly, and we never take undisclosed sponsorships.
How destinations get researched
Every destination guide on Traveloonie starts with on-the-ground time in that place — either by us, or by a contributor we commission and vet. We don't write speculative guides for places we haven't been. We cross-reference current visa rules, currency rates, transit options, and safety advisories against the relevant government source (state.gov, gov.uk, smartraveller.gov.au, embassy pages) within 30 days of publishing or updating a page.
For practical numbers (typical accommodation cost, meal cost, transit cost), we report the range we actually paid or observed during the most recent visit, not a number scraped from another travel site. Numbers older than 12 months are flagged in the post or refreshed.
How we update content
Every guide carries a published date and, where applicable, an updated date. We aim to review high-traffic destination guides at least once per year, and we update faster than that whenever currency, visa rules, or major transit infrastructure changes. If you find anything stale, please tell us — see the corrections section below.
Affiliate disclosure
Heads up! Some links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us keep Traveloonie running and free for everyone.
We only link to services we'd recommend without an affiliate relationship. We never accept paid placements that are not clearly labelled. We do not run sponsored posts disguised as editorial. If a piece is sponsored, the entire page will carry an unambiguous "Sponsored content" label at the top — and at the time of writing, no such pages exist on the site.
Use of AI in our workflow
We use AI tools for research synthesis, outline drafting, copy editing, and metadata generation. We do not publish unedited AI output. A human reviewer (whose name and role is logged in our internal Git history) signs off on every guide before publication and is responsible for the factual claims in it. AI is a force-multiplier, not the author.
Corrections
If you spot a factual error, an out-of-date price, a closed-down restaurant, or a visa-rule change we missed, email hello@traveloonie.com with the URL and the correction. We acknowledge within 48 hours. Substantive corrections are published with a dated note at the bottom of the affected page.
What we don't cover
- Destinations where the State Department / FCDO advises against travel for non-essential reasons.
- Luxury travel above ~US $400/day — not because it's bad, but because it isn't what our audience reads us for.
- Real-time price aggregation. We point at the right tools (Skyscanner, Google Flights, Booking.com, ITA Matrix) and let those handle live fares.
Independence and ownership
Traveloonie is independently owned. No publisher, agency, hotel chain, or destination tourism board owns equity in or editorial control over the site. We don't accept FAM trips (familiarisation trips funded by tourism boards) in exchange for guaranteed positive coverage; if we ever do accept a press trip, the resulting coverage will be labelled as such.
Security disclosures
For security issues, please use our responsible-disclosure page instead of the editorial address.