the fine print and house rules featured image

Introduction

Right, pull up a pew. If you are reading this, you are likely one of two people; a lawyer checking we aren’t breaking the internet, or a conscientious traveller who actually reads the instructions before assembling the furniture.

At The Road to Timbuktu, we value two things above all else; honesty and a good story. However, to keep this ship afloat and ensure we don’t get sued into oblivion, we need to clarify a few things about how we operate, how we pay for our flights, and why some of our photos look a bit too good for a disposable camera from 2009.

Let’s be clear about how we fund our wandering. Throughout this site, you will find links to products, hotels, gear, and services. Some of these are “affiliate links.”

Here is the deal; if you click on one of these links and make a purchase, we earn a small commission. This comes at absolutely no extra cost to you. It’s essentially a “finder’s fee” that the company pays us for sending a legend like you their way.

We use this money to cover the boring costs of running a website (hosting, domain names, caffeine) and to keep us on the road so we can keep bringing you content.

We only recommend gear and services we have used ourselves, highly recommended by trusted solo travellers, or things that Zander has rigorously tested by accidentally dropping them off a moving bus. If it survives him, it’s good enough for you.

2. The “Visuals” (AI & Image Disclaimer)

We have been at this a long time. If you’ve read our About Us page, you’ll know that between us, we have over two decades of travel under our belts.

Here is the snag; in 2010, “high definition” meant wiping the smudge off your lens. Consequently, we have thousands of stories where the original photos are either blurry, dark, or lost on a corrupted hard drive somewhere in Southeast Asia.

To make sure our blog looks as vibrant as the places we describe, we sometimes use technology to lend a hand. This means:

  • We may digitally enhance old photos to make them viewable.
  • We may use AI tools to generate images that accurately represent the vibe, location, or scenario we are writing about when our own photos aren’t up to scratch.

Our Promise: We will never use images to deceive you. If we show you a hotel room, it’s because that’s what it looks like (or looked like). We aren’t going to Photoshop a swimming pool into the middle of a desert hostel just to get clicks. The images are there to set the scene, not to sell you a fantasy that doesn’t exist.

3. Accuracy, Time Travel & The “Things Change” Clause

We pride ourselves on providing detailed, logistical help for the over-50 solo traveller. However, the world moves fast.

  • Businesses Close: That charming café with the best eggs benedict in Lima might be a laundrette by next Tuesday.
  • Prices Fluctuate: Currency exchange rates bounce around more than a jeep on a dirt road.
  • Rules Shift: Visa requirements change at the drop of a hat (or the stamp of a passport).

While we try our absolute hardest to keep our guides updated, we cannot guarantee that every opening hour or bus fare is current at the exact moment you are reading this. All information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting.

Your Responsibility: Please treat our advice as a starting point, not a legal summons. Always double-check critical info (visas, vaccinations, border crossings) with official sources before you book. We are your travel mates, not your travel insurance.

4. Talk to Us

We are only human. Occasionally, we might get a fact wrong, or a typo might slip through the net. If you spot something that is glaringly out of date, or if you just want to tell us that a hostel we recommended has gone downhill, please let us know.

We want this resource to be the best it can be for our community. You can reach out directly via our Contact Us page. We welcome the feedback; unless it’s to tell us our jokes are bad, in which case, we already know.

A note on how I write

The experiences, opinions and observations in this article are my own. I use AI as a writing assistant to help organise drafts, refine language and occasionally rescue sentences that have wandered off without adult supervision. The experiences, perspective, humour and final editorial decisions remain mine.

A Note About the Photographs

The places in these photographs are real, and so am I. The journeys, experiences and stories behind them are entirely genuine.

However, as an introverted solo traveller who has always felt more comfortable behind the camera, I rarely ask strangers to photograph me. I am even less likely to pose for a selfie in the middle of a busy street while several dozen people politely pretend not to watch.

For that reason, some images of me are created or carefully combined with the help of AI. So, when you see me standing confidently in front of a landmark or looking unusually relaxed outside a café, the setting is genuine, but my appearance may have been added afterwards.

Nothing about the experience itself is invented. It is simply a practical way of placing the traveller back into his own travel stories; with a little digital assistance and considerably less public embarrassment.