Here we have Rolf Potts book about Vagabonding. Vagabonding…if you don’t already know, is long term world travel, never settling basically. Some past small slices of culture lived this way. If you want to check out his book, it’s at Vagabonding.net. He also keeps up a blog that has some really good original content at Vagablogging.net (pretty clever I thought).
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)
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.
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.
RoughGuides.com came out with this one late in 2007. The “Make the Most of Your Time on Earth” is really well designed and has a fun layout. It has 1000 different adventures. Plus some pages will talk about good books and movies from or about a specific region, which is a nice surprise. But don’t get it thinking you can plan an adventure using only this book. It is an “idea” book, not a detailed guide by any means. Travellers and backpackers would find it too big to pack anyway. So, if you need some inspiration, and want to hear of some good adventures you’ve most likely never heard of, it’s a good travel book.
Wallpaper City Guides are a bit different from the standard list as many places as you can fit in a book guides. They focus on one city, and they focus on the most fashionable, best designed in that city. If you’re not familiar with *Wallpaer, their whole site is about design. They just transfered that to their very attractive guidebooks.
Perhaps my favorite guidebook provider has released a runoff travel book. Rough Guides 25 Ultimate Experience Books. In their own promo language it’s 25 years, 25 books, 25 experiences. I was able to check some out at the local college store and they were diversely entertaining. Full of great photography, they cover everything from specific countries to Food and Activities. The pocket sized guides are not so much about guiding as they are in great ideas and experiences. Many of those experiences are on our encounters list actually. They sell for $5.99 on their website.