Since 1991 I’ve had the best job I can imagine: author of travel guides. My first assignment was a travel guide about Canada, published by the ANWB (the Royal Dutch Touring Club, a century-old Dutch organisation for everything involving travel). Over 300 pages of text, with the occasional drawing in black or red ink. Until that point, my writing experience was mostly based on the human musculoskeletal system. The transition to nature and hiking guides was therefore not too dramatic, and work definitely became a lot more dynamic.
Since that first assignment I have authored dozens of travel guides about destinations both in Europe and beyond. Most of these were for large publishers in The Netherlands, ANWB and Gottmer-Dominicus, but I also worked on several smaller assignments for PS Holland, Silverjet and Uitgeverij De Toerist. With changing trends in tourism, my focus shifted as well: from landscapes and culture to hiking trails and bicycle routes. From in-depth analysis of landmarks in history and art, to short sentences supported by a lot of images that express their own stories and messages. From ‘great shopping locations and restaurants’ back to cultural highlights. Texts and routes for personal navigation devices and lately, more printed texts. Because despite previous prognoses of the faith of printed travel guides, they have proven to remain invaluable for many travelers.
Private life
I am married to Marcel Daniels, and especially if epic landscapes are on the menu, he likes to accompany me. And carries the heaviest backpack. His photography is amazing, so my travel guides benefit tremendously whenever he joins (www.marceldaniels.nl). Our children Joost, Lieke and Fenna, now grown-up, have traveled along with us since their earliest days. They often created their own travel reports, ranging from animal check lists to culinary diaries. Nowadays they usually travel without me, and take their adventures to new levels. Joost’s photography regularly shows up in my travel guides, but do take a look his landscape captures and special destinations over at www.joostdaniels.com.
This website
With this website I hope to help you, the reader, travel with the latest information by posting updates about changes at ‘my’ destinations. This also gives me an opportunity to occasionally showcase a special destination for which there is no space in my travel guides or that is too dynamic for printed media. Of course, I sincerely appreciate your feedback if you encounter a situation differently than I described it. But I certainly respect you keeping some of your favorite sites among yourself… actually, my primary goal as a writer is to give you room to explore for yourself, and make your own discoveries: that is what makes your travels unforgettable.
