Guide books
Travel books are an excellent source of information, ideas and prospective destinations. Here is my recommended selection.
see wonder lust website and others
The Lonely Planet guide books are excellent. The success of this guide book series can be seen in many places where travelers roam. You'll regularly see many people carrying the guide book, looking through the guide book at restaurant tables and companies making use of their listing by advertising 'Recommended by Lonely Planet' on their signs.
The Lonely Planet is successful because of the quality of their information, listings and particularly the maps, which generally saves one having to buy any maps, even on a long trip to a country like India.
However there are several drawbacks to the guide book's success. Hotels that get favorable listings in the Lonely Planet are almost always full. They also jack up their prices as they know many travelers will happily pay the inflated price, because the Lonely Planet has said the hotel or guesthouse is good, or perhaps even 'the best place in town'. Popular editions of the Lonely Planet tend to be in print for 2 years before they are revised and a new edition published. In this time many new hotels and guesthouses appear, and quite often present better services and value for money than the places listed in the Lonely Planet.
This I like to call the 'Lonely Planet Effect'.
The Lonely Planet effect also causes the following
- Restaurants that offer average food at inflated prices are full, when nearby restaurants offer better food at lower prices see few visitors. Where would you rather eat? Definitely the later for me.
- Services such as ferry rides or tours are uncomfortably packed, whereas better services are half-full giving better attention to their customers.
- Popular places, such as the beaches of Goa, become packed and start to lose the charm that everyone visiting wants to experience, when the neighboring beach is practically empty, and everything is half the price.
My point is that you should consider 'thinking outside of the book'. When you arrive somewhere walk around, find an area you like and then start asking at guesthouses in that area. Don't just go straight to the recommendation in the Lonely Planet. Look around at restaurants. I find the best are often not listed in guidebooks, and those that are, are over priced.
If you have plenty of time use you feet and your eyes, and not your guide book, to find places to stay and places to eat.
However, if you are short on time, guidebooks do offer exactly the sort of information you need to find a place to stay and somewhere to eat quickly.
If you are a first-time backpacker the Lonely Planet will be your best friend. If you are an experience backpacker you'll probably find that other guide book series can offer you a better traveling experience. The Rough Guide, and others, are always worth considering.
BBC Worldwide has bought the travel guide publisher The Lonely Planet.
Lonely Planet was founded in 1972 by husband and wife team Tony and Maureen Wheeler . Currently publishing around 500 titles that are widely used by backpackers and other travellers.
Lonely Planet also produces travel programmes and its web site receives 4.3 million visitors a month.
The BBC have made the purchase to expand their online revenues and operations in America and Australia.
The Wheelers, who owned the business along with John Singleton, will retain a 25% shareholding in the company.
After travelling overland from Europe to Australia, the Wheelers produced their first book, Across Asia on the Cheap, from their kitchen table.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, Oakland and London, with more than 500 office employees and more than 300 on-the-road authors.
Guide books make travelling a lot easier, whether you just want the minimum or information, or a complete guide. But knowing which guide book to buy is not such an easy task. There are several ways to find the guide book best suited to you.
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