"The course offered real value for money. Other travel writing courses cost almost triple what V!VA's course did. It was intensive and practical."

"The course was really excellent and the instructors friendly and professional."

"I came with an open mind, yet the course far exceeded any expectations I may have had."

"The critiquing session helped me learn so much about writing that I'd never known before."

"The class was fantastic and I really learned a lot from it. The personas exercise was great, as was the follow up about how to keep in mind all the different travelers you're writing for when you're out scouting." --Suzanne Russo

"A great way to learn about a day in the life of a guidebook writer."

"All the instructors seemed genuinely interested in helping students learn and improve."

"A good base for hopefully a new career!"

"It was a great way of really doing the work, getting real feedback and meeting other writers. Tips were helpful as well."

"The critiques were very helpful...speakers were great."

"...the course was definitely informative and inspiring."

"Writing up everything was a huge learning experience as far as trying to be an authority on a city brand new to me. The talks about the biz were also an interesting insight into travel writing."

"Learned a lot!"

Meet the Professors

Paula Newton

Paula Newton is the editor-in-chief and operational genius that keeps the V!VA Travel Guides team moving forward like a well-oiled machine. She brings expertise from 11 years in the Broadcasting and New Media industries where she has been a pioneer in interactive television. In the past ten years, her passion for travel has taken her to more than 25 countries across the globe. Her bag of travel tales includes a somewhat dubious locomotive experience attempting to travel local-style through Kerala Province, India.

Dr. Chris "Crit" Minster

Dr. Christopher Minster is currently an instructor at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, and a graduate of Penn State University, The University of Montana and Ohio State. Before becoming head writer for V!VA Travel Guides, Crit worked for the U.S. Peace Corps in Guatemala as a volunteer from 1991 to 1994, and has traveled extensively throughout Latin America. He is the V!VA Travel Guides resident expert on ruins, Latino history and culture, and has surprisingly in-depth knowledge of haunted museums. If he's not at work pounding out new stories, you'll probably find Chris gallivanting around the Galápagos with his wife or beating everyone in the room at a local pub quiz in Quito.