lonely planet is good for basics but never go to their places...they are always crowded...

i use them for historical overview but whereever i go, i just ask other people...never use guides for recommendations

buy the guidebook that fits you
if you're only going to Prague, i'd look for a Prague book. If you're going elsewhere in the Czech universe, look for a country book.

I like Rick Steves. My last 2 trips i bought Rick Steves books. Well worth the money. There is a lot of practical info that isn't as organized on the internet, maps and stuff, handy phone numbers. I find guidebooks save me lots of time and often money too. The other guidebook that i liked was Let's Go which i used for France.

happy travels

I have to say I'm a guidebook junkie. I even buy them for places I am only just thinking about going to maybe in the next 2-5 years. That said, I also like the info on the internet and of course that is greener to use.

I noticed you were using Prague as an example in previous posts. I just went there for 4 days as a side trip before a business trip I was taking to Heidelberg, Germany.

I bought a Frommer's guide to Prague and the Czech Republic plus a DK guide to Prague. I tend to buy those heavy DK guides first because they are full of pictures. Then I get more serious and look around for something that talks about places to stay, eat and transportation. Usually I get a map too because that can helpful both for planning where to stay and for navigating around a place.

I was tempted by Rick Steeves but for some reason Frommer's spoke to me this time. I think it was the section on getting out of the airport and mentioning the 120 crown bus that caught my attention this time. I also like Lonely Planet but they're much better for out of the way spots than for urban adventures.

I also spent hours just combing the internet reading about Prague and writing friends who had been there, etc. Here I go, the info junkie again, but it gets me so excited about traveling to a place.

Anyway when I travel, sometimes I take a guide or two with me and sometimes I leave them at home. Sometimes I photocopy the pages I like and then toss them as I travel. This time since it was a business trip and I wasn't traveling around much, just fly into Prague, fly to Frankfurt/Heidelberg. I took both guides with me and read them on the plane.

I ended up spending a day in France after business, but didn't take a guidebook for that. I just pulled stuff off the internet on the town I was headed too and that worked fine too.

I think I really like the guidebooks best for entertainment value and lists of cool walks. Even if I'm not headed there yet.

My travel budget does not allow me to use a Rick Steves or a Frommers, especially a Frommers. It is essentially an expensive hotel and restaurant guide with frills. If you drive, a Frommers might actually be more useful. I have never had the money to go to the restaurants they recommend. Oh well. The museums are covered in other books.

The DK eyewitness guides are great, but I've never actually sprung for one AND the LP for europe, asia. For the Americas it's footprints all the way. If I see an eyewitness book, I take a look at it when I arrive.

I've used a Let's go, but my general reaction to them is
"Let's go buy another guidebook. They're better than nothing, by the way. This I HAVE found to be true.

The Berkeley guides? Very cheeky and not as useful as one would like. Don't miss them.

The americas.. all you need is a Mexico Footprint, and a Central and South America Footprint. The entries per country on the big book are better than the entire country guides for LP, in that continent area.

The net is my friend. After I'm done researching I take a decision. I'm going to buy the Vienna Card now which gives us discounts plus map plus guide book. The good part is that English IS spoken in Vienna so don't have to worry abt that.

When we went to Budapest, I printed out several phrases to use.

Horses for courses, as they say!

In the case of the original question, I would agree with Ramboo and suggest you just get the city guide. Often if I'm on a short trip and the library has it I just borrow a guide, use it during the trip and then return it when I get back. Nice and simple.

As for me, as most of my long term traveling has been in Europe I actually really love the 'Lets Go' books. They're physically much lighter than most books, and they've got excellent info on getting from A to B. They've surprised me a bit with recommendations to places I wouldn't have necessarily thought of going to but ended up loving. On the down side, their historical info is slight (which doesn't bother me cos I'm well versed already) and their food recommendations are rubbish. But then, I rarely like any guidebooks food recommendations!

I traveled in Canada with a Rough guide - which was ok. They missed out a couple of important things (like not mentioning the existance of Titanic Graveyards in Halifax) and almost give too much historical info at times but it served me well.

As an Australian, I find it hard to recognise the general greatness of Qantas and Lonely Planet alike - but when pressed I'll admit they do the job

I'm terrible for planning - I love the inspiration side of things, and I lock in how I plan to get around pretty early on but most of the time I decide on the road what I plan to do next which makes a guide book essential. I tend to read as I go and adapt as needed, which is easier for me than preplanning absolute locations or logging into the internet constantly to decide my next direction. Good for passing time waiting for the train to come too

quote:

I'm terrible for planning - I love the inspiration side of things, and I lock in how I plan to get around pretty early on but most of the time I decide on the road what I plan to do next which makes a guide book essential. I tend to read as I go and adapt as needed, which is easier for me than preplanning absolute locations or logging into the internet constantly to decide my next direction. Good for passing time waiting for the train to come too

Me too!

Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Invaluable advice because it can mean the difference between wasted time and confusion and more time and energy for the good stuff.

I usually buy LP because I like to read the country/cultural stuff before I go...gives me the perspective I like better than say...Frommers...because one of the reasons I travel is to understand local politics. I also refer to my bible..."The World's Most Dangerous Places" by Robert Young Pelton. I like his edgy non-touristy attitude and I get the political history...which is critical in understanding the local culture.

So I go to the library and zerox, or buy the book and tear out the hotel and transportation info and the maps to take with me. I look for a budget hostel or guesthouse in LP and if possible book online because I hate getting off the bus or train or plane and not having any place to tell the taxi to go. (And I am astonished that people would have the guts to buy a travel book and then return it, for gods sake! I hope those people didn't buy their books from an independent bookstore!) Anyway, if I don't like the first place I go, I have a place to stash my backpack and look for another place.

Having said that, if I am going from country to country over a long period of time (during which I often change my mind a few dozen times because someone in a guesthouse has said "oh, you have to go to ____and see _____!) I just wait and buy a book in the country I am in for the next country. This is tricky if you are in places with no English bookstores. In that case I use the internet.

I only carry a very small backpack so I also dump books along the way...only carry one or two at a time because they really weigh up. BTW, I sometimes see young backpackers with these huge 80 pound backpacks and wonder why the heck they think they need all that stuff unless they are camping. I only take a couple t-shirts, couple pairs of pants and the "unmentionables." Anything else you can't live without you can buy along the way. On second thought it's better to live awhile with the things you think you can't live without especially if you are a westerner. Just my opinion.

Books could just as well leave out the places to eat unless you are a gormand. You can get that from other travelers or just eat on the street. I have spent hours looking for that "special" cuisine only to find that the place has closed or moved on.

Well, that's enuf...thanks to all of you again. I'm always refining to get more of the hassle out. Too old for hassle!


Blog: http://blogs.bootsnall.com/nomads

quote:

On second thought it's better to live awhile with the things you think you can't live without especially if you are a westerner.

Oops, I meant it's better live WITHOUT the things you think you can't live without...