Lonely Planet - Travel Guides and Travel Information. Lonely Planet Press is considered the world's largest private travel guide publisher, founded by Mrs. Tony Weller in 1972 in the western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in the Fuzzy Cray area. The publisher's travel books, known as the Lonely Planet series, have a long history and were the first series of travel books written for backpackers, and have been widely received by backpackers and other low-cost travelers.