Why you need a guidebook

I frequent a lot of travel boards, especially the ones that have to do with Japan, and all of them receive a constant stream of FAQs, including "What is there to see and do in Tokyo?" "How do I get from Narita Airport to central Tokyo?" "What does the Japan Rail Pass cover?" "How long can I stay without a visa?" and "How is Japan for vegetarians?"

After the tenth person in as many weeks has posted, "What is there to see and do in Tokyo?" I feel like screaming through cyberspace, "Get a guidebook!"

Many of these posters, judging from their text messaging style of spelling, appear to be very young, so they may believe that guidebooks are just oh, so twentieth century, being printed on paper and all, and they think that there's a one-stop website somewhere that will plan their trip for them.

If they do go over to a foreign country based only on the information on a website or two, they end up wandering around aimlessly, not knowing what they're looking at. "Oh, another old building."

Ironically, people who spend thousands of dollars on a trip abroad can't shell out the $30 or less it takes to buy a comprehensive guidebook for their destination.

When I'm going to a new destination, even if it's an unfamiliar U.S. city, I buy a basic guidebook and read through it. Not only are almost all my FAQs answered but I gain historical and cultural background that helps me appreciate and understand what I see. In addition, I learn about sights and events that are not common knowledge but which are tremendously appealing to me.

My recent trip to England began with a group tour and ended with ten days of independent travel on my part. The guidebooks persuaded me to venture up to York, which I just loved. During the group tour, one of my fellow travelers talked the director into extending one day's excursion to another nearby town, based on what he had read in a guidebook, and that town turned out to be one of the highlights of the tour portion of my stay.

So while the Internet is a priceless tool for making hotel and plane reservations, don't rely on it for all your travel planning. Get a guidebook several months before you're scheduled to leave and read it at your leisure. You will arrive at your destination better informed and better able to appreciate what you see.

on the bus going to work and two young women got on. One had a small purse, the other was carrying nothing. The one with no purse started asking the driver where to get off the bus to catch a ferry to Victoria. I started to grit my teeth. Our bus drivers tend not to be very helpful with these types of inquiries. Then it turned out that they thought they might want to take the ferry to Vic. and then go on over to Vancouver. Yikes! That is not the easiest thing to accomplish--and certainly not as a little day trip on public transportation. If the women had read a guidebook they would have been much better informed about taking a day trip to Canada from Seattle.

I generally use a guidebook as a basic way to get ideas about where to go and how to get there, as I am not a tour person. Usually they are filled with all kinds of information that is useful. Of course, they are a springboard to helping you do what you want to do as a traveler. Needless to say, circumstances are always in flux--some of the places you may be attracted to may not be there by the time you make your trip--but it's fun looking for them. And you might run into something you like just as well as the original idea.

I like Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, the Moon Guides and E. Frommer. Each is designed for a different kind of travel experience, but putting bits and pieces of them together, you get a rich portal to your travel destination.

which are just so beautiful to look at and which give excellent background on the culture and history of my destination.

Then I move on to Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, or (for England) Rick Steves.

I never go to a new vacation area without a guidebook. I still ask for opinions, though, since personal experience is worth a lot. But a good guidebook is like having your own personal tourguide. My top choice is Lonely Planet, but I also like Frommer's. I've looked at the Moon guides just recently (they're the only ones that have one specific for Acadia National Park) but I just didn't like the feel of the book.

1) Insight Guides: Great as a first step. Excellent cultural and historical background, and the beautiful photographs whet your appetite for the trip. Buy this one three to six months before you leave and savor it at leisure.
2) Lonely Planet: The broadest coverage of any of the series. They cover every town or village that has anything at all of interest to the traveler. A bit sketchy sometimes, though, and their hotel and restaurant listings aren't always up to date.
3) Moon: Similar to Lonely Planet.
4) Rough Guide: Covers fewer places than Lonely Planet but in more depth and in a more conversational style.
5) Rick Steves: For Europe and Turkey only, these books are especially handy if you're visiting a country for the first time and/or lack confidence. He practically holds your hand as he explains everything step by step, including what numbers of buses to take in London.
6) Frommers: The main guidebooks are for the non-budget traveler, and the budget series of guidebooks is similar to Rough Guide in covering fewer places in greater depth.

Check the lodging recommendations on Trip Advisor.com, if there is a listing. Thanks to Trip Advisor, I learned that one of the B&Bs recommended in Frommer's had changed hands and gone way down hill. Most lodgings get mixed reviews, but you have to read the actual reviews and find out what the naysayers object to. For example, if they're talking about a London or Tokyo hotel and complain that the room is small, well, that's standard for both London and Tokyo. However, if they complain of dirty carpets or surly staff, then that's something to worry about.

Thank you very much - I'm off to bookmark tripadvisor.com.

I completely agree! Can't do without my guidebooks!

Here's another tip:

If you're like me, and have to travel to domestic out of the way towns/small cities without a lot of touristy places (I travel for family history research while writing my book), do a Google search for CVB (Convention Visitor's Bureau) and the name of the town (or, if it's that podunk like Western Maryland, sometimes the name of the entire county). You can request a good city or county map, and they'll also send you brochures for info on places to stay and things to see.

I have spent many pleasant hours on my couch, armchair traveling a bit before each real trip for good lodgings, restaurants, archives and libraries, and gift shops so I know where to go once I get there.

I have so much research to squeeze into a very limited amount of time, so this helps me get the most out of every second.

:hi:

The poster may value personal opinions over guide books.

Guide books are obligated to give positive reviews and pretend that all places are equally worthwhile. They are not.

When I went to Spain, I chose Valencia over Seville because the guidebooks rated both well and Valencia was more convenient. It was a mistake -- the city was modern and (to me) uninspiring. Afterwards, I got excellent feedback on Seville which would have changed the itinerary.

It's just a different source of feedback.

The problem with relying on a website for a city as complex as Tokyo is that a question like, "What is there to see and do in Tokyo?" is too broad. There is literally something for everyone there, and if you don't know the poster personally, you can't possibly know what they'd like.

The most prudent course is to read a comprehensive guidebook FIRST and then get Internet information on the aspects that interest you.

For example, England has what seems like an infinite number of places to see. During the winter of 2006, I read the Insight Guide to England for its excellent cultural background and for its enticing photographs, and I made a list of places that sounded interesting. THEN I went to the Internet to find out about transportation between them. I finally decided that I wanted to pack and unpack as little as possible, so I narrowed down my ten days of independent travel to four cities other than London. THEN I went to the Internet again to find places to stay--which I think is the most useful aspect of the Internet for travel.

But if I were to go to a totally unknown country--say, Korea, which is next on my list, I'd never go onto a travel site and ask, "What is there to see and do in Korea?"

That's really sort of immature and presumptuous, expecting to be spoon-fed the most basic information. If I'm paying thousands of dollars for a trip, I want to research it ahead of time. I'll buy the Insight Guide to Korea for cultural information and inspiration and then either Lonely Planet or some similar book for day-to-day practical information.

Since the prices in guidebooks are rarely up-to-date, I would then use the Internet to find accommodations.

But to go to a country completely clueless and only on hearsay? No way!

on the place ahead of time. That's a limited series, for only certain places though.

I have friends who marvel at all I manage to see and do when traveling and I owe that directly to doing my homework ahead of time with several guidebooks (some I get from the library in advance and I always buy one to take with me as well).

After I've read through the guidebooks, then I hit the internet messageboards.

Also, I wouldn't dream of traveling without at least a basic guidebook in my backpack. So much info at my fingertips.



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