For travelers around the world, to leave their home without the travel book “Lonely Planet” it is unthinkable. Famous for its advice on everything from buying used cars in Afghanistan to the number of steps from train stations to hotels in remote places – where there are no reliable maps – it has been translated into 33 languages ​​and covers 95% of the globe ! More than 150 million copies of the iconic guide have been sold since 1973.

It turns 50 next month and many travelers still carry copies of it, despite the prevalence of the internet. The company, which was sold in 2007 for £130m, has embraced the change, with a popular website, app and e-books alongside its printed guides. And the British couple who founded the business are still just as active.

Tony and Maureen Wheeler’s First Guide, ‘Across Asia on the Cheap’ followed their own 9,000-mile adventure, from Harwich, Essex, to Australia’s remote North West Cape. Tied up with a borrowed stapler, it sold for just $1.80!

As 76-year-old Tony Wheeler tells The Post, “we are amazed that we are still alive after 50 years. This is a miracle in itself. We had to explain what we were doing when we first started the guides and how they would help people get somewhere. We’ve had too many people tell us they wouldn’t go somewhere if we hadn’t shown them it was possible or if we had not pushed them to do so».

He and Maureen have been married for 52 years and met on a bench in Regent’s Park, London. Tony had already traveled extensively as his father was an airport manager. He met Maureen, now 73, a few days after she arrived from Belfast looking for work. They married a year later, and on July 4, 1972, they set out on their first adventure, the so-called “hippy trail,” on which their first guidebook was based.

With a used minivan, worth just £50 and £400 in their pocket, they traveled for six months to the Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Thailand and Indonesia , before arriving in Australia. Tony Wheeler, who has since visited 180 countries, admits: “ We had no idea what we were getting into. There was little information out there. We just talked to people and learned some things along the way».

Maureen with the kids

After selling their car in Afghanistan, they relied mostly on buses, trains and hitchhiking. Tony recalls: “On our first night in Australia, we were picked up by a guy who said if we kept him awake, he would take us with him to his hometown. When we got there he told us we could sleep in his garage. On the wall hung a sack with a baby kangaroo inside, which he had rescued from the side of the road. This was definitely something I couldn’t imagine happening to us“, he says smiling.

After the success of their first guide, the couple continued to travel and publish guides – even after having their children Tashi, now 43, and Kieran, 41.