these are the essential travel guides and online travel guides
Even in the digital age, travel guides are an important part of my planning trip. I have read and tried many different travel books and online travel guides.
and put together a list of what I think are the best travel guides (books and online resources).
You are reading: Best travel guide books 2021
I return to my favorite travel guides over and over again with every trip we plan.
Once you find a set of travel guides you know and trust, it can really speed up the trip planning process.
but, which travel guides are the best? keep reading to see the full list!
Do you need help planning your trip? check out our guide to the best resources for travel planning.
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Are travel guides still used?
absolutely!
Although you can find a lot of travel planning help online, the good old travel guides are still available and in use.
some people prefer to use paper travel guides. you can bookmark important sections and highlight things you want to remember.
We even ripped out our books (they’re meant to be used!) and traveled with just the sections covering the cities and sites we visited.
E-books are also a great option for travel guides. If you use e-books, you can easily travel with multiple guides without adding a single ounce to your luggage.
It is a perfect option for those who travel only with hand luggage.
which guide should I use?
That’s a great question and will largely depend on your travel style.
I don’t usually choose just one travel guide when planning a trip.
In fact, I usually use multiple books and online help for each trip.
Each guide series is different and caters to a different type of traveler or specializes in a certain part of the world.
my advice is to try them all for several trips. take them for test drives.
Keep reading to learn more about the best travel guides.
rick steves: the best travel guides for europe
rick steves guides
some seasoned travelers are a bit contemptuous of rick steves’ guides. there is no reason for that.
rick steves knows europe inside and out thanks to decades of traveling, directing tours, writing books, and producing episodes of his wonderful series rick steves’ europe.
rick steves books are excellent guides and well worth your time.
I highly recommend them, especially for travel planning beginners and/or eager travelers looking for an expert to tell them where to visit and how.
His books are kept up to date and quite detailed, even to the point of including full walking tours (often several) and detailed tours through the major sites.
Watch Rick Steves talk about why it’s worth buying a new edition of a guide when planning your trip.
rick steve online
You can also get lots of great free travel advice and help on the rick steves website, including the forums.
There are country-specific forums, reviews, and various forums on general travel advice topics.
They’re a great way to get information and advice from other seasoned travelers… even those who don’t agree with Rick Steves’ itinerary suggestions. (shocked face)
rick steves audio europe travel app
I also highly recommend the rick steves audio europe travel app.
It’s packed with audio guides for walking tours and top tourist destinations like the Colosseum in Rome and the Louvre in Paris.
Download audio tours of your destination so you can listen to them on your mobile device as you explore your destination.
rough guides: my overall favorite travel guides
super practical and easy to read, the general guides are my best option for any destination that is not in Europe (for which I prefer the rick steves guides) .
The UK based company was founded in 1982 with the rough guidance of Greece.
Since then, they have published travel guides for more than 100 destinations worldwide.
In addition to their main series of guides, they also offer short pocket guides, on a budget, snapshots, phrasebooks, and inspirational guides like “make the most of your time on earth.”
general guides website
however,
See Also: Ric Edelman – Audio Books, Best Sellers, Author Bio | Audible.com
rough guides is not just a guide editor. since 2017 they have offered tailor-made trips to more than 70 destinations. created by local travel experts.
Their website provides some basic itineraries, travel recommendations, and basic destination information for free that can help you start planning your travel itinerary.
fodor
The great travel writer Eugene Fodor once said, “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” and that has been my mantra for the last few years.
in 1936 fodor wrote the first modern tourist guide. it was for the British public and he wrote the 1,200 pages himself.
the book was on the continent: an entertaining annual trip.
According to fodors.com, “the guide went beyond reporting the sights and, for the first time, included information about the culture and people of Europe, practical information such as how to give tip, and was the first to update annually.”
Since it was first published on the Continent, Fodor’s has been a trusted name in travel guides.
They now claim that their travel writers have covered over 7,500 destinations worldwide.
In addition to exclusive guides, his other series include Fodor’s Inside, In Focus, and 25 Best.
fodor’s says fodor’s italy is the company’s best-selling guide.
fodor’s website
fodors.com was one of the first travel websites when it launched in 1996.
Currently, the site offers destination guides, general travel content, and forums on specific destinations or general travel topics, such as air travel.
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demer
The revered Frommer Travel Guides were launched by Arthur Frommer in 1957 with a guide to visiting Europe for $5 a day (yes, $5).
that guide followed his book on traveling europe as a gi (frommer was in the army at the time).
frommer’s quickly grew to become one of the most trusted names in travel guides.
Several years ago, Frommer’s was acquired by Google, which pulled the plug on its print books in the spring of 2013.
arthur frommer reacquired the company soon after and quickly made a deal to get the books back in distribution.
Next, frommer’s began emphasizing their easy guides and daily series, which were smaller and easier to read and carry than the typical large guides they saw on the market.
from mer’s website
frommers.com is a great place to start planning a trip for free.
destination information includes city layouts, how to get around, and your best options for hotels and restaurants.
They also provide other general travel content and featured articles, plus travel ideas for honeymoons, arts and culture trips, national parks, family trips, road trips, and more.
frommer’s travel show (podcast)
pauline frommer, daughter of frommer founder arthur frommer, hosts the frommer travel show podcast.
new episodes come out about once a week or several times a month.
bradt guides
Known for publishing guides to less-traveled (though certainly no less deserving) destinations, bradt bills himself as “the world’s leading independent travel publisher.”
bradt guides are the choice for destinations not covered by other publishers.
They say that “more than two thirds of the bradt guides still do not have direct competition from other publishers”.
the first book of the bradts, backpackers on ancient roads peru & bolivia, was the first to detail the inca trail.
They later became known for writing “post-conflict” destination guides. These included Rwanda, Kosovo, and the Baltic states after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
in addition to his destination guides, bradt also publishes a slow travel series of uk destinations, a wildlife series and general travel literature.
bradt guides travel club
Avid travelers can support Bradt by joining his travel club via patreon. There are three levels: Bradtpacker, Globetrotter, and First Class Traveler.
Each level offers different levels of benefits for subscribers, such as e-books and access to your personalized travel planning service.
lonely planet
The Lonely Planet books have long been quite popular, especially with younger backpackers looking to travel on a budget.
Books can be clear about the kinds of details certain travelers (first timers, eager travelers) may want when trying to make good decisions about where to spend their travel dollars.
lonely planet books are good for independent travelers and adventurers.
or for those who just want some recommendations but not a very detailed prescribed itinerary.
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In addition to its popular guidebooks, Lonely Planet also publishes phrase books, general travel books, food books, and children’s books.
lonely planet website
You can get basic and inspirational travel information to start planning your trip from the lonely planet website.
Unfortunately, they set their forums to read-only some time ago. in my opinion, the forums were the best (and most valuable) part of the website.
polo frame
Marco Polo is best known for its compact and colorful pocket travel guides.
They also offer spiral-bound itinerary-based guides, phrase books, folding maps, travel manuals, travelogues, city maps, and road atlases.
marco polo discovery tours app
The Marco Polo Discovery Free Tours app offers travelers a variety of guided itineraries through many destinations.
for example, you can download a 24 day new zealand driving tour with a turn by turn driving tour of both islands.
The tourist itineraries include stops and recommended sites, as well as accommodation.
dk eyewitness: among the best travel books for images
I like to read the dk eyewitness guides, especially when looking for information on the history and culture of my destination.
bright, full-color books feature beautiful photography and illustrations that are perfect for inspiring your travel itinerary.
cover more than 100 destinations.
dk was founded in 1974 by christopher dorling and peter kindersley.
published their first travel book in the early 1990s with the promise of showing you “what others only tell you.”
They also cover all the usual aspects of travel guides: itineraries, maps, restaurant and accommodation recommendations, highlights, etc.
where to go podcast
Produced by the team behind dk eyewitness books, each episode of the where to go podcast takes a deep dive into a particular destination.
new episodes come out every two weeks or so.
knowledge guides
For over 40 years, Insight Guides has published guides covering more than 200 destinations.
In my experience, they are a little deeper into the history and culture of the destination than any other travel guide I have come across.
then if that’s not your thing, these guides may not be your best bet.
Knowledge Guide Series includes: Exploration Guides, City Breaks, Pocket Guides, City Guides, Experience Guides.
knowledge guide website
You’ll find travel information on the Knowledge Guides website, so it’s a good place to start if you’re unsure of your destination.
The emphasis of their website seems to be on advertising their knowledge guide travel offerings…not that there’s anything wrong with that.
dark atlas
dark atlas book
Unlike all the other travel guides listed above, Dark Atlas: An Explorer’s Guide to the Hidden Wonders of the World is not a series of guides, but rather a book detailing an incredible array of oddities and wonders. worldwide. world.
This is how the authors describe their book and website (more on that below):
“the site and this book are a kind of wonder of places, a cabinet of curiosities destined to inspire a passion for wonder as well as a passion for travel. in fact, many of the places in this book are not “tourist sites” at all and should not be treated as such. others are so out of the way, so treacherously situated, or (in at least one case) so deep below the surface, that few readers will be able to visit them. but here they are, sharing this wonderful and strange planet with us.
The revised second edition (published in 2019) added over 100 new sites to the 2016 first edition.
The book is an enjoyable read if you like oddities from around the world. I definitely recommend picking up a copy.
dark atlas website
Be sure to stop by the obscura atlas website during your trip planning if you like finding out of the way sites, unusual places to visit or want to make it a priority to get off the beaten path.
You can even take dark atlas trips to some pretty unusual places and even do some unusual activities… like helping biologists with bee research in redwood national park.
dark atlas podcast
dark atlas released a podcast in March 2021, which I really enjoyed listening to.
early episodes covered places like the gates of hell in turkmenistan, the museum of bad art in massachusetts, and the old widow jane cement mine in rosendale, new york.
final thoughts on the best travel guides
The best travel guides will be the ones you use and help you plan a trip you really love.
Personally, I like to use a combination of online travel guides and travel planning resources.
But don’t just take my advice. Try these series of guidebooks and online travel guides and find the ones you will like and use for your trip planning.
what are your favorite travel guides? leave a comment below!
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