Travel Guidebook Or Not
 

On recent posts, many comments have been made about the benefits of guidebooks and the lack of common sense for those that do not use them. A popular position being that the $20 cost of a typical guidebook is worthwhile especially if it prevents one from “blundering” while traveling.

Of course this works fine for some but being the frugal, budget minded, cheap traveler that I am, it does not necessarily work for me. I find that all information offered in travel guidebooks can be easily found for free online at such forums like Fodors which advertises it's online trip planning products.

Furthermore, I have found more than a few members at various forums like Fodors more than willing to share their expertise and sage advice for free. All it takes is to mention somewhere in a trip report a perceived “blunder” and the horses are off to the races.

Combined with this just waiting “to let go” resource, free local information and guidebooks at hostels (where I normally stay), $20 seems to be a waste of money even if I end up making a few yen, yuan or baht “blunders”.

After having traveled to hundreds of places over many years, I could have easily spent thousands of dollars on guidebooks. Even a thousand “blunders” would be cheaper.

You can buy some great travel books from www.abebooks.com for far less than $20. I recently bought a new 2008 Moon book on Prague and Budapest for $3.00 total, including shipping.

DMBTraveler - On my first trip, I walked through the Luxembourg Gardens to get somewhere. I didn't have a clue about the Gardens. Now, with some research, I make it my first stop after flying all night. Nice place to get your body adjusted to the time. Always works for me. I'm glad I read about it.

I usually get guidebooks from the library when I am in the planning stages for a trip. I might buy a guidebook to take along, or I might not. Depends on the trip. I hardly ever travel without a good map though.

For me, it isn't really about money, just not hauling extra stuff.

I recently got a tablet computer, which is absolutely great for looking up stuff on the fly if wifi is available. I also like the screen shot feature - I take a screen shot of maps or info for later - works great.

As above, I use guidebooks for free from the library in advance of a trip for general research. I like paper copies better than the internet in the early planning stages, especially when it's a place I haven't been before.

For the actual trip I only need a street map (that I pick up upon arrival) and, if applicable, a phrase book/dictionary.

I get free guidebooks from my libraries - no need to pay anything for them. I find that there is a lot of information on this board but guide books offer more depth.

You can also check out "Destinations" at the top of the screen. That's a guide book and a free one. I just copied tons of information about Barcelona. Yes, it's the internet but it's a guide book.

To me the advantage of traveling with a single guidebook (and yes, often borrowed from the public library) is for the unexpected. I use Fodor's and other sources online and off for research and planning, but will not generally go online while I'm on vacation. So if I'm in Paris and find myself in a different neighborhood, or want alternate plans because the museum isn't open yet or I'm not in the mood, I can use the book to remind myself of what else is nearby or find something that was not in my original plans but seems like a good idea now. I don't always travel with my iPad and when I do, I don't necessarily want to pull it out on a street corner or find a cafe with WiFi when I can just flip through a few pages to get me to my next step.

I never travel with electronics so have no phone, iPad, laptop, etc. to fall back on.

Sometimes I do purchase ONE small guidebook. For example "Let's Go Amsterdam" was priceless for my 1st trip to that city. Lots of maps and great suggestions. Way more precise than anything I found online, and a lot quicker. Just bought it and threw it in my carry-on, read it on the plane ride over.

I have tons of guidebooks. For me, half the fun of traveling is the planning and learning about new places and what there is to see and do when I get there. I usually plan our trips years in advance so I find it helpful to have my own guidebooks I can refer to off and on during my planning. To each their own.

This thread is probably in response to these threads where several Fodorites were offering you advice on how to make your holiday better:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...py-reunion.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...atm-advice.cfm

Your third sentence "All it takes is to mention somewhere in a trip report a perceived “blunder” and the horses are off to the races." does not make sense since if you have written a trip report then the trip is over with and no advice will help.

Better yet... When Fodor's uses your quotes from this forum in their guidebooks, then you get a FREE copy of any guidebook you'd like. I have a stack of them, never had to pay for one.

And they are off and running ....

Yes, folks it's a lovely day to be at the races :)

Now back to our regularly scheduled program ....

Bill: As I was saying Jim, it is nice for you to file your reports live from the field.

Jim: Yes, Bill. The internet is a wonderful thing and I am sure glad we can all use the benefit of it in so many ways.

Bill: So what resources do you use in planning a trip and where is your next destination?

Jim: Well Bill it all depends. Maybe I'll go to the library, surf the web, or just wing it and see where the tradewinds blow me. Maybe to London in time to catch a bit of the Olympics.

Bill: But aren't you afraid of blundering especially with it being this late in the games? Don't you need more time to plan?

Jim: Bill, I don't think I can do enough blundering that a pint or two can't fix. I reckon as long as I don't do any "Tweeting", I'll be just fine at Buckingham. Furthermore Bill, trip planning does not have to be long term. It can also be spontaneous. Break out the cash, credit card or stop at an ATM and hit the road running.

Travelers can do whatever works for them. The point is to get out there and have fun traveling on your own terms.

Bill: Thanks Jim, looking forward to your next trip report and I hope you'll again use the internet to make it a live one.

Now back to Churchhill Downs for our daily update :)

DMBTraveler,

I still love guidebooks and have many, even though I do NOT travel with them.As you know I do my research prior and have asked for your advice on many occasions.

Neuman605,

Ditto :)

I am not opposed to guidebooks as such just the idea that one is somehow foolish not to use them. There is a wealth of info available from many resources without spending US$20 everytime you want to travel somewhere.

As the posting here so far have shown, most people use as much free advice as possible and few actually purchase guidebooks.

The level of research and amount of planning one does for a particular trip depends on your individual travel experience and comfort zone.

With the technology available today, like you I do not need to be weighed down by the weight of a guidebook when traveling.

The point of this post is that you don't have to spend money to research or plan a trip. Furthermore, experienced travelers know or should know that there is more than one way to have safe and fun travel experiences.

I don't carry electronics except for a netbook if the hotel has free internet, and I always bring a guidebook or two. I don't use them for restaurants or hotels, and I get tons of info from Fodors forums, but I still find a guidebook can come in handy for addresses, self-guided walking tours, info on the museums I'm visiting, etc.

I have many guidebooks, they sit on my fireplace mantle and provide the dust a place to live. (Someone/thing has to be at my house 24/7, I don't want to) but when I am at home I see them daily and they help me remember good times just by reading the titles!

MareW,

I always travel with a netbook, even my wi-fi capable phone comes in handy. And wi-fi is now becoming popular everywhere.

A wealth of info at my finger tip as long as wi-fi is available, if not I am going to have to borrow your guidebook.

Neuman605,

Maybe your "Dust Bunnies" are also making good use of them before they hop along :)

I am for sure in the guide book group because this thread made me go OMG, and go and count most of mine, which number at over 75. Crazy - I should get rid of most of them, but probably won't.

You are absolutely right that you can get most info on line. However, I love sitting in bed and reading guide books, currently reading one about Morocco that covers a lot of history, culture of different areas, bios of famous writers, artists, who've lived there, etc. I love looking at the maps and tracing walks I might do. I like comparing info in different guide books. That is the kind of stuff I read before a trip. I like taking them on car trips and reading/planning while DH drives. On most trips, we kind of hang loose and plan day by day, so during the trip, I like having a guidebook along that gives hours of museums, train/bus schedules, costs, etc., I find it easier to flip open a book that has charts or maps, than to go on line and start searching, but I do a lot of that too.

Sassafrass,

I am impressed with your collection and I like the way you use them.

I agree sometimes it is easier to flip pages and one of the first things I do when I arrive somewhere new is to load up on reading materials and maps at the "Tourist Information" booth.

Well, if we're counting...

I came in at 99, although some are missing bits, not counting the VERY old kept as curiosities in closets, or the library copies borrowed for the next trip. Plus another 101 books in the "travel essay" category. Then I have several folders with articles torn out of newspapers and travel magazines, a shelf full of maps, and another shelf of folders with odds and ends from previous trips.

I can't imagine not using guide books, both for planning and traveling. I have tried downloading Lonely Planet chapters, but still prefer actual paper. If I ever buy a smart phone that might substitute, but I won't be relying on the web alone any time soon. Especially as wifi is not a given everywhere.

Perhaps I should also mention that I sometimes use one of those guidebooks <i>to answer a question on Fodors</i>.

I recently gave away all my guidebooks as part of our effort to simplify our lives and de-stuff our house :) We had a bunch, but we gave them away with most of the paperback books we had amassed over time. It was quite liberating.

I have a bunch of old text books to give away too - anybody want them? LOL.

thursdaysd,

Ok, so far you take the cake. However, I think you would love having a "Smartphone". Wi-fi is becoming available in a lot of places one would not normally think about.

However, like cellphone the technology is simple. No lines to run like a traditional phone system or internet. Just towers or satellites.

Like "NovemberMoon" you might find getting rid of all thos books liberating but then you would have to give back the cake :(

November-moon,

Any of those old text books on the subject of curing lack of "common sense" and "insanity"? I might be interested :)

Glad your house is destuffed and you are liberated!

LOL DMB - no, unfortunately they are mostly math and engineering books...I think they do as much to increase insanity in the world as anything else ;)

I too have been doing a bit of unstuffing, and got rid of all of the paperbacks... Except the guidebooks, just couldn't do it yet. I too enjoy reading through the pages.

As I said I don't travel with them but surely wouldn't go without my smartphone!

November-moon,

I guess I am stuck with my life of "insanity" :(

Neuman605,

I like traveling with my "Smart" a.ka "Insanephone" too. Very liberating :)

And as a slight change of subject I have been home three weeks and I am itching so bad to go I think I need to go buy a new guidebook! Lol

Neuman605,

You don't need to buy a guidebook just let the experts here guide you for free :)

Where are you scratching to go?

Three weeks is too long to be at home. Hit the road, fly the friendly skies, sail across an ocean or two :)

I am currently thinking about New Zealand or Easter Island. And yes I always get the best info here. But I still love the guidebook to flip through be for I leave, and then again when I get home.

And look at this da_n smartphone.... She dorsn't seem to know be for is before, one word! Lol

Neuman605,

Thought you had visited New Zealand before.

I visited there in mid-late October a few years ago and in some places the scenery was like living in a postcard.

Also don't forget that 2 + 2 B4 :)

I have all those electronics, but I love my hard copies! And you don't need to spend $20, because they don't have to be this year's book. Even the most current guidebook will be out of date by the time it's published in terms of hours of operation, prices, etc. BUT--the history, the art and architecture--those kind of things last. You read your guidebook, decide what you think you want and then you look up hours and costs online. And as for hotels and restaurants, you get a MUCH greater range of choices by looking on any search engine than you will in any guidebook!

I read my guidebooks ahead of time, then take my iPad for looking up things while there.

I do have to say, though, that the last time I took a hard-copy guidebook, it took us to the Sibillini Mountains when we decided Spoleto wasn't what we wanted. Not sure I would have found that online at the last minute and it turned into one of the highlights of our trip!

I too love the guide books...
:)

The best of both worlds, guidebooks and electronics find with info from the net!

Oops sorry, that would be filled with...da_n Smartphone messed up again!