Stuart McDonald

Stuart McDonald is an Australian travel writer and the co-founder of Travelfish.org, an extensive online guide for Southeast Asia. Having lived in the region since 1997, he co-established Travelfish in 2004 with journalist Samantha Brown. Their goal was to provide honest, intelligent information tailored for independent travelers. McDonald's career in travel writing began in the mid-1990s, when he self-published guidebooks to Vietnam and Thailand, building on his initial travels to the region in 1993. McDonald's deep expertise in Southeast Asia comes from years of living throughout the region, including Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Bali. The Travelfish.org platform, which he oversees, now covers Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and features more than eight thousand accommodation reviews. He is committed to fostering authentic travel experiences, a principle reflected in his policy to personally visit all featured locations and pay his own way, ensuring unbiased reporting. During the pandemic, he launched "Couchfish," a daily newsletter offering fantasy itineraries through the region. McDonald advocates for a "better" approach to travel, emphasizing longer trips and alternative perspectives. He distinguishes his work through compelling storytelling, rather than a sole focus on search engine optimization.