Better far off to leave half the ruins and nine-tenths of the churches unseen and to see well the rest; to see them not once, but again and often again; to watch them, to learn them, to love them, till they have become a part of life and life's recollections."
Augustus Hare

Note: All of these guidebook series are linked to the same amazon.com page. If you look on the right side of the page, you?ll see a listing of all the guidebook series under the heading ?Browse Guidebook Series?. Simply click on the appropriate guidebook series name to access ordering information or to find out more information about the guidebook series
.

Let?s Go
Written by Harvard Students, Let?s Go is one of the few guidebooks that is updated yearly. Perhaps more than any other guidebook, Let?s Go guides are sporadic. Sometimes, they are flawlessly accurate and other times they can lead you astray. Since there are multiple contributors to the same edition, the quality of the chapters within the same book can even vary markedly. That aside, Let?s Go is filled with lively verse, interesting anecdotes, and excellent recommendations for budget travelers. All?in?all, Let?s Go is one of the best guidebook series out there. I would recommend, however, that you buy another guidebook as well, just in case Let?s Go lets you down.

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has emerged in the twenty five years as the guidebook of choice for most, except the very highest income, travelers. For good reason, they are comprehensive, well researched, attractively laid-out, usually reliable, and they have excellent sidebars that reveal interesting tidbits about a destination. Recently, they have added a truly impressive array of new titles covering everything from Foods of Mexico to Diving in the Galapagos. Their language guides are particularly useful. They also publish a great selection of travelogues and their video series (now of PBS under the title Globetrekkers) is one of the few entertaining travel videos on the market. Lonely Planet guides do have, however, faults. They are only updated every two or three years and thus it is extremely important to look at the publication date before investing in these books. If the latest edition is over a year old, search for another more recent guidebook in a different series. (You can find a lot of good useful supplemental advice on Lonely Planet?s website. I particularly like the site's Thorn Tree which contains tons of useful tips from Lonely Planet readers.) Travel information ages fast and Lonely Planet guides aren?t cheap. In addition, as the guidebooks become more and more popular, the restaurants and lodging listed are endangered of becoming a ?tourist trap? before you arrive.

Rick Steves? Guides to Europe
Recently, I went to hear Rick Steves speak. The level of enthusiasm for his books in the audience was amazing. In fact, I looked around and thought (somewhat jealously, I profess) ?What other travel writer has groupies?? How has Steves attracted so loyal fans? The answer: he has kept his imprimatur on every book he writes. Even though he has a staff of sixty, you feel as if he personally researched each book. Rick knows his audience. His books contain everything ? a not only scintilla more ? that you need to know if you plan on staying less than a week in one place (if you?ll be in the same place more than one week, buy a different guidebook to supplement Rick Steves? Guides). He also scrupulously updates his guides annually so that his audience trusts his recommendations. All?in?all, his books are the easiest to use books for short term, independent middle income American travelers who want to get a good overview of Europe (a surprisingly large audience). Note to Rick Steves (if you ever read this): Please venture into Asia and Latin America. Europe already gets loads of travelers who would probably not travel independently without your guidance. Latin America and Asia could use these tourists more than Europe and, in my mind, have more to offer anyway.

Knopf Guides
Knopf Guides are chock filled with lovely photos, attractively laid out and liberally spiced with comprehensive and entertaining cultural footnotes. Their tips on accommodations and restaurants are scant and better done in other books. However, if you want ideas on what to see and to learn about the history and culture of a given destination, you can?t do better than Knopf Guides. They also really get you excited about your next destination. Knopf Guides are the only guidebook that I will read cover to cover because they are joy to both read and look at.

Discovery Guides
Discovery Guides are a larger, more text intensive, and a bit more intimidating version of the Knopf Guides. The Discovery Guides whet your appetite for your upcoming adventure better than any other guidebook out there. They are a bit heavy to lug on your trip and they have almost no information on hotels, accommodations, or any of the other travel services necessary for you to plan your trip.

Cadogan Guides
Cadogan Guides are a well written and researched alternative to Lonely Planet written primarily for British travelers. They aren?t available to many countries, however, they are worth buying if they are available because they are less daunting and more selective than Lonely Planet guides and they are less likely to inadvertently create ?tourist traps?.

Bradt Guides
Bradt Guides cover the world. Want to learn how to travel to North Korea, Kabul, Iraq, and the Falkland Island? Bradt has a comprehensive guide to all of these and more exotic locations. (Interestingly, they don?t have a guide to Guyana, Suriname, or Paraguay. As far as I can tell no guides exist to these countries. Though, there are chapters on these countries in other guidebooks). Bradt Guides are typically well written and carefully researched. My only criticism: these guides can be dry. Their layout is very simple and the text could use some punching up in places. All?in?all, though they are a good guide to take along to some truly off the beaten path places.

Rough Guides
Rough Guides have more personality than most of other guidebooks. They contain a wealth of tidbits that help the destination come alive. Occasionally, Rough Guides even allows a bit of the book researcher?s personality to seep through these tomes. About ten years ago, the company produced the best video guides anywhere. They uniquely captured the destination?s character and personality (Unfortunately they are hard to find today. By the way, I may be biased by my terrible crush on the series hostess ? Magenta). I also recommend their CDs of music around the world. They really help set the mood for your next adventure. The Rough Guide website contains most of the content of their guides on?line making the website the best resource anywhere if you need the answer to a simple question about your destination without buying a whole guidebook.

Frommer?s Guides
Frommer?s is the granddaddy of all budget guides. His books don?t contain much information about sites and sounds of a destination. However, they are a great source of recommendations for good accommodations at a fair price. Frommer?s website is excellent. I highly recommend everyone subscribe to his daily newsletter. It is filled with information and announcements about well priced tours and excursions. Frommers also is the only of the big travel publishers who has loads of useful information about travel experiences off the beaten path, except of course, my Big Blue Marble magazine.

Fodor?s Guides
These guides are typically well written, comprehensive, reliable and useful ? if and only if you have a lot of money. There is a paucity of information for people without beaucoup bucks. Fodor?s Guides do, however, sometimes have good information about the history and culture of a destination often written by knowledgeable local expatriates.

Fielding Guides
Sadly, this travel publisher went out of business just as it was really hitting its stride editorially. Fifteen years ago, when Fielding was one of the ?3 F?s? travel guidebooks (the big publishers were Fodors, Frommers, and Fielding for forty or more years), Fielding Guides were hopelessly dull. About seven years ago, they were completely revamped. The result: the most comprehensive, entertaining, and well research guides I?ve ever seen. The Fielding Guide to Thailand (about five years old now) is still the only big guidebook that I read from cover to cover. Unfortunately, as with all good things, it quickly came to an end. Scour used book stores for these superlative guides.

Moon Handbooks
If I had a choice of only one guidebook to take along with me on my next trip, it would probably be a Moon Handbook. Moon Handbooks are the most comprehensive and reliable guidebook series on the market. Unlike Lonely Planet, one author is usually responsible for a whole edition. Occasionally, these authors are mediocre. Generally, however they are excellent (watch for Moon Handbooks by Christopher Baker and Bruce Whipperman). The Moon Handbook for Indonesia is famed for its comprehensiveness and high quality information. Moon Handbooks do not cover as wide an area as Lonely Planet. Like Lonely Planet, they do not come out annually and thus even current editions may be out of date.

Culture Shock
The best guides for understanding the cultural, history, society, and attitudes of the people at your next destination. I recommend reading one of these guides anytime you travel to a new country. You?ll avoid embarrassing faux pas. If you feel comfortable with a local host, ask them if they agree with the Culture Shock Guides advice. It is a great segue for interesting dinner chat that also can really reveal a lot about your host and his native land. I would highly recommend reading their guide to the USA. It presents one of most accurate and thought provoking perception of our culture I?ve ever read.

Footprint Guides
Footprint Guides pack tons of useful information between their covers. The researchers are probably the most thorough and accurate anywhere. Unfortunately, Footprint Guides are only available to a fairly limited number of destinations. They also have very little detailed qualitative information making it hard to choose among the multitude of accommodations, restaurants, and sights listed in these encyclopedic guides.

Adventure Guides
Adventure Guides are a welcome recent arrival to the travel guidebook series market. Each edition contains lot of interesting sidebars about the destination. The Adventure Guides also have more information about alternative travel programs than most other guidebooks. Worth reading.

Notes

• I, (Paul Heller, founder of Big Blue Marble) have prepared these reviews after scouring the internet and book stores to select the best resources to help you travel-like-a-local more inexpensively, safely, joyfully, comfortably, and purposefully.
• Check out my reviews of links to websites featuring travel guidebooks.
• Do you agree or disagree with my comments about the books listed on this site? Know of any books that should be added? If so, please send me your comments. I promise to post your comments on the Big Blue Marble blog.
• indicates that I highly recommend these books.