Friday, June 25, 2010

A Guidebook For Us?


We were sitting at the bookstore this evening and were
discussing our travel style and tastes. Lynn and I tend to
be independent travelers that stay on a fairly beaten path,
but we like to visit areas that the average people don't see.
Yet we don't typically take tours and cruises. In other words,
we don't fall into the Fodor's or Frommer's category of
traveler that is happy hitting all the highlights and little
else. We also don't like to hit every Full Moon Party and
stay at the closest Backpacker for five dollars a night. We
like a little bit of comfort, on a budget. Let's Go isn't for
us either. I've been a Lonely Planet fan for years, but I
typically don't like their lodging or dining listings. I was
especially turned off by all of the inaccuracies and poor
writing in the Peru and Ecuador guidebooks. Lonely Planet
isn't always for us. Moon guidebooks do a good job with
domestic locations, but not so much with international trips
and that's something we take advantage of with our
employment lifestyle. DK are beautiful books, but are great
for pre-trip studying and very heavy. Not something you
want to schlep across several hemispheres. We also like to
meet local people and enjoy local cultures, which unfortunately
is not a strong point of many guides out there. There are
more guides including Rough Guide, Michelin, Footprint,
Cadogan, Rick Steves, Bradt, Time Out, etc. in which
I like some aspects, but definitely not all. So...I'm at a
loss. If I was wealthy, I would start a guidebook company
for travelers like us. In the meantime, I'll keep searching
and glean the best out of all of them.

5 comments:

Benjamin said...

I noticed there was a Cuba book. Thinking of going anytime soon?

Tom said...

Always thinking about it, but not in the immediate future.

Brody said...

A friend of mine is loving Eyewitness the past couple years.

Janna said...

I'm just looking for one I can download to my iTouch. So glad I stumbled across your blog. travelers rock :)

Kelly Kyle said...

Thanks for sharing your travels.....