Bradt Travel Guides is a publisher of travel guides founded by Hilary Bradt who was awarded an MBE in 2008 for services to the Tourist Industry and to Charity. The first Bradt Guide was written in 1974 by Hilary and her husband George on a river barge on a tributary of the Amazon, and has since grown into a leading boutique publisher, with growth particularly in the past decade.

The publisher is based in Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire, England but also co-publishes with Globe Pequot in Guilford, Connecticut in the United States. The guides are considered by newspapers such as The Independent to "reach parts of the world other travel publishers don't reach". The guides may cover countries of the world normally covered in guides but often have detailed guides to parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America which traditionally have not been widely covered or did not have a long history of tourism.

The guides have some encyclopedic coverage of the history of the country or city the book it about, its geography and climate, wildlife, languages and culture, healthcare and media and then subsequent chapters address the main cities or regions of the country in systematic order. However the guides often may have an unequal emphasis on hotels, restaurants, travel arrangements and medical care for the cities and towns it covers and have few photographs of the countries which they address. They may have some details on smaller towns and villages not normally mentioned in guides or may have detailed case studies on culture or beliefs specific to the country with which it deals. According to Michael Palin; "Bradt Guides are expertly written and longer on local detail than any others".

A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide. Many travel guides now take the form of travel websites rather than printed books.

It will usually include details such as phone numbers, addresses, prices and reviews of hotels and other lodgings, restaurants, and activities. Maps of varying detail are often included. Sometimes historical and cultural information is also provided. Different guide books may focus on different aspects of travel, from adventure travel to relaxation, or be aimed at travelers with larger or smaller travel budgets, or focus on the particular interests and concerns of certain groups such as sexual orientation or dietary restrictions. Guide books are generally intended to be used in conjunction with actual travel, although simply enjoying a guide book with little or no intention of visiting may be referred to as "armchair tourism".

The periplus was an itinerary from landmark to landmark of the ports along a coast, a forerunner of the guide. A periplus such as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea was a manuscript document that listed, in order, the ports and coastal landmarks, with approximate intervening distances, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. It served the same purpose as the later Roman itinerarium of road stops.

Paul Clammer is an English travel writer best known for books on challenging destinations including Sudan and Afghanistan. Clammer is the co-author of several guide books for Lonely Planet and the founder of Kabul Caravan, a highly respected website focussing on helping travellers visit Afghanistan. Clammer attended St Ivo School, Cambridgeshire and Bristol University.

Royston Ellis (born 10 February 1941, Pinner, England) is a British writer heavily influenced by the American Beat Generation.

Ellis began his career with two poetry collections published during that era: "Jiving To Gyp" (1959) and "Rave" (1960). In June 1960, he travelled to Liverpool, England to perform a poetry reading at Liverpool University. As he usually read his poetry with backing from jazz musicians, Ellis searched among the locals for suitable musicians to accompany him and met the young group known as The Beatles.

Ellis bonded with John Lennon in particular, both sharing an enthusiasm for the American Beat poets, and spent the week at 3 Gambier Terrace with Lennon, Sutcliffe, et al.

Lennon saw Ellis as "the converging point of rock 'n' roll and literature". Ellis said of the meeting, "I was quite a star for them at that time because I had come up from London and that was a world they didn't really know about".

According to Lennon in the International Times: "The first dope, from a Benzedrine inhaler, was given to the Beatles (John, George, Paul and Stuart) by an English cover version of Allen Ginsberg — one Royston Ellis, known as 'beat poet' ... So, give the saint his due." Ellis also claims that he suggested the re-spelling of Beetles to Beatles.