✨ Welcome to our brand-new series, TravMedia's Travel Writer of the Week! ✨

Each week, we'll be shining a spotlight on one of the incredibly talented, passionate, and inspiring Journalists or Editors from our amazing community.

This week, we'd like to shine the spotlight on Andrew Eames - expert travel writer and former managing editor of Insight Guides. 

We hope you enjoy - happy reading !!

Where are you based?

 In Chiswick in West London

What outlets do you write for? Who is your audience? What are your travel specialties?

Mostly newspapers, particularly the Times, sometimes the FT, the Telegraph and even the Sun. Plus Wanderlust magazine.

I tend to write about German-speaking destinations, plus eastern Europe, Scandinavia, France, and southeast Asia. And I prefer quirky, active storylines, doing and discovering. I think our task is to show the reader something they didn't know, rather than helping to sell holidays to familiar destinations. Unfortunately that's swimming against the tide in modern travel media.

Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?

Freelance, and I have been for 32 years. I am old!

What are your professional pet peeves?

PRs who assume that journos are more easily seduced by luxury than by story. And those lazy journos who are.

In your past professional life you were …

Always a journalist, but I was on the staff of the Times once upon a time.  I also do have secondary careers as a rowing coach, and as a writer of books. It is very hard to make a good living purely as a freelance – at least in my opinion.  

Where would you like to return to?

I've recently been to India after a 20 year gap, and want to see more. It has improved, but it has yet to become mainstream.

What's on your bucket list?

More long distance train journeys.

Where do you travel for fun?

Usually to Scotland, where my mother comes from.

Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …

I got hauled into a police station in Baghdad for taking photographs in the railway station a month or so before the Iraq war started. I did think I might not get home. But the big boss only wanted to confirm that it always rained in London. So I agreed it did.

What advice would you give your younger professional self?

Don't say yes to whatever comes up. Stick to what you know you are good at, and don't be tempted to bullshit.

What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?

No nuggets

How best should people contact you?

By email. andrewjeames@gmail.com