Travel guides

Travel guides

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There are travel guides of all different shapes and sizes today, which should suit travellers of all different wants and needs.

A well written guidebook is a must have for most holidays. If you are planning a retreat to the beach for the week they are probably not worth your while, but for any exploration of a region or city they are an invaluable tool to get the most out of the places you visit.

Look out for good quality writing

The real benefit of a good guide book is in their simplicity, succinctness of their writing and usefulness to you the reader- designed with hints, advice and information which will help you get the most out of any holiday. It sounds obvious to say the above… but the variance of quality is enormous and only a few guide books get it right.

For the general traveller you really can’t go wrong with the two big beasts of the genre: The Lonely Planet guides and The Rough Guide series. They cover pretty much the whole world and are unbeatable in their range. They manage to maintain a good balance between excellent historical and cultural information and where to go for a good meal or get good value accommodation. Other guidebooks of note come from Frommers, Eyewitness, Berlitz, Timeout and Let’s Go!.

Try out niche guidebooks

But the guidebook genre is a varied species, and there are many guidebooks catering to more specific tastes too- from food to wildlife, or green holidays across the world. So, if you have descended upon Paris for a week of fine dining for example, a Michelin Guide to the cities best restaurants and accommodation might be more appropriate for you.

The main problem can be their cost - even a single city guide can be over US$20… and they also have a tendency to date too - a hotel might close or a new attraction may open.

Nevertheless, even a slightly aged guidebook is a more than useful companion. They are durable characters too, designed to withstand a heavy thumbing from site hungry tourists and are always on hand to offer a piece of information about the building you have just walked by or the church you have just entered. A great investment indeed.