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How guides are made

GridTrotter guides help you plan a trip: where to stay, what to do, and how to get around. This page sets out how each guide is made, who approves it, and how we keep it current.

Edited by HNSNML, based in the Philippines. Guides published before this process began are being rewritten under it.

  1. Research

    Every guide starts from published sources: official tourism and government sites, operators, airports, and transit agencies. We record each price and opening time with the date we checked it, and every guide lists its sources at the end.

  2. Writing

    Guides are drafted with AI to a fixed outline for each type of guide, such as where to stay or getting around. A guide never claims that we traveled, stayed, ate, or booked anything; it works only from the sources above.

  3. Photos and video

    Photos are licensed stock photos from Pexels, Unsplash, and Wikimedia Commons. We never use AI-generated images or footage of real places. Our videos use an AI voice over stock footage.

  4. Checking

    Each draft goes through automated checks for sources, dates, links, and claims of experience. The editor then reviews it against a fixed checklist: the guide answers the question, a sample of its facts matches the sources, booking links land on the right page, and the photos show the right place. Nothing is published until the editor approves it.

  5. Keeping current

    A weekly check flags broken links and guides that are due for a re-check: every 90 days when a guide states prices or times, every 180 days otherwise. Each guide shows the date its facts were last checked. Prices and schedules still change, so confirm time-sensitive details with the operator before you travel.

  6. How we earn

    GridTrotter is free to read and earns from affiliate links. If you book through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. A commission never changes a recommendation or where it appears. The details are on our Disclosure & Editorial Policy page.

  7. Corrections

    If something is wrong or out of date, tell us through the contact page. We check it against the source and fix the guide.