The Me No Speak Travel Guide for China is going on year 4 I believe, but they have just recently introduced Japan and Thailand. These guides are pocket sized and full of pictures. Just turn to the color coded page for what you are trying to get (food…transportation….sex?) and point.

I like the fact that most Americans attempt to blend in while visiting Europe and such, but when we go to the East…it’s like…well screw it, I don’t even look the part so I don’t feel nearly as dumb pointing to elementary school pictures to find a toilet.  (And for the record…I’m not sure there is a section on sex)

If you’ve ever searched the web for budget backpacking guides and articles, I’m sure you’ve come across travoholic.com.  Kirsty, owns and operates a few travel sites and this is a good one.  It’s good solid budget backpacking content with articles about working abroad and packing and just general budget travel. She covers working/travel in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Austrailia on this particular site.  What I like best…ORIGINAL CONTENT!  You don’t see that much sadly, but this is an exception.  So Cheers!

Moon Travel Guides aren’t all that well known.  They seem to take a backseat to more popular guidebooks.  However their publisher is the largest travel publisher around with big names like Rick Steve’s.  Their Guides are mainly for the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, although they have a few for Europe and Asia.  I’ve personally had good luck with Moon Guide Books, as they are written with budget travelers and backpackers in mind.  Most of the time they try to employ an author who is a local as well as someone who views it as a destination.  It works.

We’re back today from the extra long memorial day weekend to bring you GoSleepGo.com. It took me a minute to find out what exactly this site does. According to their tagline “Go Sleep Go is more than a travel guide, we’re a whole new type of adventure.” But it’s not really a much of travel guide at all, but a contest site with some travel adventures. The contest is unique however. You submit an idea to spend $1000 however you would like and then get all the supporters you can to back your idea. Whoever or whatever idea gathers the most support wins the $1000. The project winner, out of field of 63, was a mass bike ride. But my favorite was an idea for a film. The contest is over but you can still check out some of the stranger projects for a cheap laugh.

I’m pretty convinced all guidebooks found in big box bookstores are fairly comparable. Fodor’s is one of those basic standard guidebooks. If you are a backpacker with a backpacker budget, don’t bother purchasing, as most of Fodor’s readers are family oriented…or at least have enough money to do touristy things. However, I’m not out to completely knock Fodor’s I’ve used them a bit while just looking for general information.

One of Lonely Planet’s newest items in the guide book collection are their Encounter Guides. I counted 26 cities for which they created an encounter guide. The difference between these guides and normal travel guide books are that these are pretty much purely about local knowledge and hotspots, not hotels and tourist warnings. They are pocket sized and they do come with a pullout map. Can’t wait to actually put one in use.

This is what online travel inspiration is about. I spent about an hour going through globetaggers.com and 15 minutes in, I wanted to grab a video camera and hit the road. David Dworsky from Globetaggers got in touch with us and thought we might want to have a look. I have to say I was impressed. It will be fun to watch this site grow. Their tagline…”the common ground for a new generation of world travelers.” Watch their trailer video and you can get a good feel for what they do.

Going to Australia anytime soon? Any backpacker planning a trip down under needs to use this site. BePacked.com is a very well designed & useful site dedicated to backpacking in Australia. Some of the site features: Create a MyBepacked travel blog, map of Australia, Forum, Essential’s List, and all the rest you’d expect.

All serious backpackers have known about this site for a while, 2camels.com is the only place you need to go to find out about festivals and events. Find out what’s going on and when, you can search by Country, Type, or Month. They have been around for as long as I can remember and they are still making updates. A pleasant rarity for the travel industry.

Like any good thing, the name of Itchy Feet Magazine pretty much describes the product. They write articles for those in need of travel inspiration. ItchyFeetMagazine.com does numerous things to make it worth your time. They cover all places, not just hot spots or cities. The articles are well informed from backpackers travels, all with self-taken photography…you will find photos that only those who have been there have seen. Overall, a great true, rustic magazine for travellers. Plus, they publish their 4 most current magazines online.