Comments on: A Guide to Travel Guidebooks

By: Daniella

Daniella — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:58:34 +0000

What an informative article. Thanks for writing it. I’ve only ever used the Lonely Planet guides and until recently have found them extremely user friendly and helpful. However, I have been a little disappointed with the LP Peru guide. I bought the most recent version before I moved down here to Lima and find it is slightly outdated. Although of course we are given the “gringo price” everywhere we go, but even after bartering, the prices we are given in taxis, hotels, museums, bus fares, etc. (some of which are fixed prices) are slightly higher than the most recent version of LP. Peru is an ever developing and changing country, but I’ve been to a few places that LP has neglected that are really more worthwhile visiting (in my humble opinion) than places they did include. And I have definitely experienced ending up at a hostel where all of the LP users stay…not here but in other countries.
Although I think I would probably use LP again if I didn’t know much about the place I was going, I’m glad to have a few more options to check out at the bookstore. Nice Piece.
Daniella´s last blog ..Grizzly Bears in Lima

By: Mikey Leung

Mikey Leung — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:15:22 +0000

As a Bradt author I also have to disagree with your assessment of Bradt Guides. Yes, I may be a bit biased but I worked pretty darned hard at getting all the travel logistics and timetables as accurate as possible — in fact I even decided to try driving a motorcycle around Bangladesh for the hell of it. I can’t speak for all the other guides in the series but I know my research has, in some cases, been triple checked and suited for all budgets. Of course, given the lack of tourism infrastructure in places like Africa and Bangladesh, you may have no other choice but to hire a vehicle and a guide to get you somewhere you really want to see.

I’d say that James’ assessment of our series is bang on. If you’re an LP traveller, then you’ll definitely find most of what you need in the LP guides — places that are filled with travellers who are blowing through countries on short time schedules. But I wrote a guide that’s for the long-term staying guest in Bangladesh, the kind of traveller that has the time to appreciate the country and its treasures in a far deeper way than one who would spend just two weeks.

By: Bo

Bo — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:56:15 +0000

Oops, what happen to Footprint? For another overview of guidebooks go to Globe Spots.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:25:29 +0000

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By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:00:24 +0000

This is a great resource! I love how you summed each description up at the end with the “ideal user”. My favorites have always been the Let’s Go books, combined with the RG and LP guides.
Nancy´s last blog ..Kungaroo featured on MatadorPulse

By: James

James — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:25:00 +0000

I don’t know if I agree with your assessment of the Bradt guides. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine and the Bradt guide was easily the best book available. While it isn’t as good as a LP for info about travel logistics (times and prices), it was much more comprehensive in content. There are literally dozens of towns, cities, and locations in the Bradt guide not found in any other book. And I don’t think it’s aimed at rich people. I thought the recommendations in the Ukraine Guide were decent for most budgets (though outdated today, many years later). But recommendations about where to sleep and eat aren’t the book’s strengths. Bradt seems to hire writers that have substantial living and working experience in the countries they’re writing about. The Ukraine guide authored had lived in the country a number of years and had outstanding recommendations for things to see and do. He even included suggested trekking routes f or the Carpathians and Crimea that proved to be great. His descriptions of and insights into Ukrainian society are also unmatched in other travel books. I’ve looked closely at the Kyrgyzstan guide, and it looks great, too.

In essence, I guess I’d change your view of an “Ideal User” to “someone that will spend a significant amount of time in the country they’ll be visiting, who wants to understand what’s going on around them, and who wants descriptions of basically every place they could hope to visit (without lots of detailed info about transport and lodging).”

By: Nichole

Nichole — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:15:21 +0000

You are so amazingly informed.

By: Cathey

Cathey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:13:35 +0000

Wow! Just saw this on the Matador U forum and am glad I did. This was super informative and really great. I've always been overwhelmed by guidebooks (so I wind up using none) but this definitely helped me understand them more to choose the right one. Thanks so much for sharing!