Is Any Budget Travel Guide Worth Having?

by

There are several budget travel guides for sale on the internet that claim to show how you can save much if not all of your air fare whenever you decide to fly from A to B. There are also deals to be found for hotel accommodation, cruises, car rental, train journeys, safaris – almost any kind of travel you might be planning.

Some experienced travelers seem to get quite angry about these budget guides. Why should we pay for something when it is already freely available on the internet? It’s a waste of money! Why would any person with any shred of integrity be seen anywhere within 500 miles of these dreadful salespeople? Only idiots would be sucked in by these sorts of claims! Blah, blah, blah.

Well, I research and sell data and information to people who specifically want to buy it. So do travel agents, incidentally, who seem to avoid the disgust of the ‘seasoned’ travelers. Many people are engaged in the information industry, one way or another, and provide news, advice, guidance and information that we all like or need to access from time to time.

I think the real problem lies in the minds of those ‘experienced’ travelers. Having travelled extensively myself, often in obscure parts of the world, I know that you must learn to work directly with foreign airlines and uncooperative hotel receptionists, always prepared to alter any plan instantly to fit in with a new business schedule. And then change it again. Being able to do all this is what can make seasoned travellers feel superior to ‘ordinary’ people.

It is NOT easy to find all the necessary information when planning for travel without the help of an experienced agent. It is NOT easy to find quickly. And many experienced travelers find shortcuts and other ways of making their particular requirements easier to achieve without spending all their time on the phone or internet. So I think it is quite acceptable to sell this knowledge and information to those people who are not inclined to dig it out for themselves.

So, on one level, that is what many of these travel guides manage to do. They show you the ‘inside track’ to getting easier, cheaper and more comfortable travel arrangements. This saves you time and money and ensures that you find the best way to go, often in a higher class or grade than you might have thought possible.

However, there is also the matter of the many perks and freebies available to travel agents. Wouldn’t it be great to have a slice of these as well as all the planning knowledge? A good budget travel guide will tell you the secrets of the travel trade, so that you can benefit from all those wonderful freebies.

The cost of these information products is usually well under $50, and I do believe that they are generally worth it. The ones I recommend also have proper guarantees that will refund your money in full without question if you are not satisfied – a risk-free investment. If nothing else these guides are most entertaining to read and are full of ideas for getting a better travel deal.

If you would like more information about my favorite budget travel guide, which I feel offers tremendous value for money, please visit our website. I strongly suggest you give it a try – you can always get your money back. But I think you will prefer to keep it, because it is a mine of useful advice, tips and information for the demanding traveler.

Bon voyage!

How to Make and Popularize Travel Guides

by

Which is the best place to look up for information, when you are about to travel in a new land? What is best source of guidance if you are lost in a new city? Where would you seek help when you are out with your family or friends in a different town and you are looking for a place to live in? All the answers lie in travel guides – one of the most important keys to all the questions above, and more.

In this article we will talk about travel guides, how to make them, how to popularise them or available to the common public or the target audience and what to remember while making the travel guides. They are an important source of information and they take a very significant position in a traveller’s life because it is the guide to various destinations – it provides the means to reach there and it provides the information about the place.

When you are making them, there are two very important things to remember. First, the travel guides should be written in simple language and second, they should cover important topics – critical to the traveller. They should be written in simple language because you don’t expect the traveller to carry a dictionary wherever he goes, neither would you expect your reader to be interested in rich literature. A simple diction would help the reader understand better and stay interested.

The second important thing is that it should cover the important topics like areas, geographical details important to a traveller like, culture and lifestyle, languages spoken, places to eat and stay along with expected costs, climatic conditions etc. You can make your travel guide available through the internet – blogs and online journals. Or you can also get them printed as a booklet or make it available through travel magazines and periodicals that support travel features and write ups.

Hawaii Travel Guides

by

Travel guides can be very helpful in planning your trip to the Hawaiian Islands. They can provide all the information a tourist needs to know about Hawaii, including information on all the potential activities Hawaii has to offer and where the best accommodations are on the islands.

Travel guides also contain facts that tourists should know before traveling to the islands. Since Hawaii is a fairly expensive vacation destination, knowing the peak times for travel is very important for those traveling on a limited budget. Traveling during the off season can potentially save you hundreds of dollars on airfare and accommodations.

Travel guides inform tourists how to get around while in Hawaii. Information on island travel, as well as travel between other islands is important for all travelers to know.

Plan an activity for a special occasion requires you to have all the information you can possibly get. You can get this type of information from a travel guide. Regardless of the occasion, planning a special activity can become a very difficult and stressful task. With the help of a travel guide, it can be less nerve-racking than it would be otherwise.

For you to maximize your trip to this beautiful place, you need to be well informed of what the place has to offer. Sightseeing attractions, tours, and activities are only the beginning of what Hawaii travel guides offer. They can also give you important facts about the islands. Facts about the culture and customs of the island are also important. Information on health dangers are also an important part of traveling. Travel guides are a great place to get all types of information.

Ireland Travel Guides

by

1. Eyewitness Guide Book to Ireland

Nobody should go to Ireland without a copy of the Eyewitness Guide Book to Ireland. After comparing numerous Ireland travel guides, this one quickly rose to the top of our favorites. It’s easy to read, it’s bursting at the seams with information you actually want to know, and it contains more photos than any other Ireland travel guide we’ve seen. Readers will learn about everything from the history of Ireland to the inside scoop on of all the popular tourist attractions. The only disadvantage we found is the steep price tag (we paid around $40 for it).

2. Rick Steves Ireland 2007

Many travelers choose Rick Steve’s Ireland travel guide as their “bible” during their stay on the Emerald Isle. What makes this book so satisfying is its heartfelt, conversational writing style. It’s written from the eyes of a fellow traveler who understands what it’s like to travel with both high expectations and a low budget. It’s also a relatively small book, which means it can be easily carried during your trip. The cons? Not many. However, some may consider the almost complete lack of pictures a disadvantage.

3. Dublin Secrets

We realize that we’re “tooting our own horn” here, but failing to recommend Dublin Secrets in this article would be like cheating you. Written by a student who lived and studied among the locals for four months, this charming little book reveals secrets about traveling Ireland that you won’t find anywhere else. Dublin Secrets contains an abundance of insider tips, helpful advice, and fun suggestions for the traveler who wants to save money, travel comfortably, and experience the REAL Ireland. Get a copy of Dublin Secrets, but remember that it should not be used as the sole resource for your trip. It’s not designed to be an exhaustive guide, but rather an insider “conversation” from one friend to another filling you in on everything the regular travel guides missed. One cool feature of this book is that it is available online for instant download as an eBook. It also includes free access to the unedited diary the author kept during his Ireland travels, as well as the author’s mobile phone number in case you have any additional questions.

Here’s what local Irishwoman Sheila R. said of Dublin Secrets: “Very informative and chatty and witty…well worth having…a must for every traveler to Ireland.”

You can learn more about Dublin Secrets here

And that’s it for our article, “Ireland Travel Guides: 3 Travel Guides Every Visitor To Ireland Should Own.” We’ve personally found each of these travel guides to be worth many times the investment during our time in Ireland. Pick up a copy of each and dive in. You’ll be glad you did.

Online World Travel Guides – The Top 4

by

Online, world travel guides are coming into their own. While they may never beat a solid guidebook that you can dog ear and mark up as you travel the world, they are becoming more valuable for research pre-departure. Thanks to the minimal resources required to create a travel guide online (no publishers, distributors, materials, etc.) we will continue to see more pop up as the world gets smaller. However, as the quantity of world travel guides increases, the need for quality, dependable information becomes more scarce. Here are the most authoritative spots online to help you prepare your next big adventure:

Travelfish.org. If you are looking for intelligence on Southeast Asia, look no further than Travelfish (even Lonely Planet, creator of the classic “Southeast Asia on a Shoestring” acknowledges their hard hitting advice). They provide detailed information about all of Southeast Asia, with a focus on Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, with additional sections on Singapore and the Philippines. Their FAQ for each country is an exercise in mind reading: they answer questions you didn’t realize you had such as “What kind of lock works best in a bungalow?” They also break down electrical requirements and other technical advice pertaining to cameras, laptops and mobile devices.

Gridskipper. Let me put it this way: Gridskipper is the premier website for big city types. They offer the best information on major cities in the world (San Francisco, London, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo seem to get the most coverage) including restaurant reviews and advice on the best clubs. If you want to explore the rice fields of Vietnam, you are in the wrong place! A word to the wise: this isn’t a site for the faint hearted, and you probably don’t want to check this out at work.

Virtualtourist. The biggest world travel guide online, loaded with information about travel hotspots around the world.

Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum. Here you can seek advice from people close to the ground. Visa requirements change, roads get blocked, storms may hit… save yourself the trouble and run it up the thorn tree.

Travel Guides – Explore Australia in a Better Way

by

When planning a vacation, you wish to visit a place that offers you every comfort and great views. Australia is one such country that attracts thousands of travelers each year. The place has become favorite tourist spot for most of them, reason being the amazing environment, great shopping places, super-delicious food, exotic beaches, marine life and the welcoming people residing in the country.

All the fun and fare that the city has to offer to the travelers can be purely addictive. Make sure you have appropriate knowledge of the places to visit so that you enjoy your stay to the hilt. Online travel guides cover all information about Aussie major attractions and stunning sightseeing places so that tourists do not miss any worth place to visit.

There is no dearth of the activities that you can do here and the places to visit are bountiful. The country has everything to offer to a traveler, the vast beaches, the aboriginal spots, flourishing markets, natural and man made wonders. If you are a history enthusiast, the country offers one of the world’s oldest cultures for your exploration.

The aboriginal Australians have carried forward their culture which is around 5000 years old and you can experience it all here in this country. Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and cairns are some of the cities that offer exquisite views as well as shopping places to the travelers. The travel guide will help you find a place you connect with so that you can experience the best of the country.

When it comes to staying in the country, all Aussie hotels offer immense comfort and luxury to the travelers. For the best staying experience, you can make reservation in the hotels that are located on the beach side. The Australian hotels located in the hustle bustle of the cities and the markets also make for great places to stay as you get a closer view of the life in the city. You can find all accommodation related information from an Australia vacation guide covering details on different kinds of hotels, services and booking information.

Every part of the country has something special to offer to the travelers, be it exotic locations or the special events that take place in the city like the marathons, flower festivals, cricket seasons, Hobart summer festival and the balloon fiesta. Aussie travel guide can provide you with all the relevant information that you need to make your holiday a perfect one at this place. What else do you need from a vacation, Startling sights, finger-licking good food, luxurious Australian hotels and hospitable people? Australia offers all this and much more to the travelers and welcomes with open arms.

A Europe Travel Guide – Get an Idea Before You Visit

by

Europe, all with its rustic plains of Spain to snow laden valleys of Switzerland to modern wonders of the Eiffel tower in Paris, it is an awe inspiring wonderland of mesmerizing beauty, carefree convivial life and a rich historic significance. It is a place from where one will never wish to return home. It is a continent full of diverse cultures, exotic foods and amazing people. Europe enjoys a moderate temperate climate. Arguably, the best time to visit the continent is in the summer, when it is mildly warm. The winters, however, are quite cold.

Europe is located to the west of Asia and to the north of the African continent. The Baltic Sea lies towards its north, while to the south lay the Black sea and Mediterranean Sea. The great mountain range The Alps runs across its west. The west of the continent is bound by the Atlantic Ocean. This geographically diversity ensures that Europe is home to some of the most versatile tourist spots in the world.

There are several beautiful places one can visit here. The Europe travel guide includes the Eiffel tower located in on the ‘Champ De Mars’ in Paris, Buckingham palace in London and Colosseum in Rome as must see places. Europe is a place of rich cultural diversity and majestic man made wonders. But scenic beauty is not in dearth here. Those who love the bucolic scenes of a distant time must visit Spain; those who love snow must visit the white paradise of Switzerland. There is a little bit of something for everyone in Europe. One thing unique in Europe is its nightlife. The people here know how to live life to the fullest; carousing through the brightly lit, vibrant night clubs. Youngsters from all over the world covet to visit the famous Amsterdam. With tourist hotspots come con men, pickpockets, cheats and scammers. One must be vigilant so as to not get cheated during their pleasant holiday time.

During the summer time, there is a rush of travellers to Europe. It is one of the busiest times in the continent. Most Europe travel guide target towards a bulk of tourists. Hence to truly grasp the essence of Europe, one must make one’s travel plans customised according to their own tastes. Europe is a place that comes in many hues and colours; the question is which one do you want to visit.

Prepare For Overseas Travel With Quality Travel Guides

by

The lure of different cultures and climates stimulates many millions of people to travel outside their own country each year in search of fun, frolicking and adventure. Overseas travel is exciting for most people and knowing how to make the best of your destination is critical for full holiday enjoyment, or even the efficient execution of a business trip.

Indeed, knowing which accommodation to book and which to avoid at all costs, where to savour the best meals and drinks, or even solid tips on the best time to visit popular sights is made easier by a proliferation of travel guides. For example, business travellers, unless they are extremely lucky, seldom have time for sight-seeing or finding their own way around a city or destination meaning that they especially need to be fully clued up before they arrive. Travel guides can help make getting from A to B so much easier, as well as highlighting great places to stay and where to eat and drink; so taking much of the guess work out of avoiding poor choices, for leisure travellers too!

Although traditionally printed in book form, many travel guides are now available on the internet and alternatives are also available in other formats such as i-pod downloads. It is important to understand that unless hosted by a trusted publication then beware of such internet guides. Many rogue sites are set up merely to attract customers to particular establishments and attractions or even just to generate links to and from other sites, which therefore may not be totally unbiased or even written by independent travellers. Other websites may purport to give genuine travellers’ reviews, but again may not be wholly independent as individuals from commercial organisations can also pretend to be unbiased reviewers.

For the best travel guides many travellers choose to stick with printed material. Books are easily portable and can be read anywhere, especially on the plane, boat or train on the way to your destination. They tend to have been thoroughly researched, well written and independent of commercial influences. Because they are published by mainstream publishers they can also be trusted and there is recourse for the buyer if the guide is woefully inaccurate. Of course, given the lead times to get things in print and depending how long after it went to print, that when it is purchased things may be out of date; but this a lag time that is likely to occur with any medium.

But, here’s a thought. If printed travel guides didn’t do the job, would so many be on sale at so many newsagents in most of the world’s airport departure lounges?

The Usefulness of Travel Guides

by

When you mention the words ‘travel guide’ to someone, they may interpret it in 2 ways: a person who will guide you to certain destinations and a type of catalogue that can help you find your way when traveling and exploring a new place. In this piece of information, we will look at how each of the options can be useful to people who travel.

The person who is known as a travel guide is supposed to know all the destinations of a certain place well. The guide must know where the exciting places can be found so that tourists can be taken there to enjoy their stay in the new country. If the guide has to take the tourists to the game parks or game reserves, he must know the times when animals can be seen or when exciting activities can be found. For example, if the tour guide is from Africa, he must have knowledge of when the migration of the wild beasts happens. This migration is an awesome sight. Many have only heard of it but never seen it. The guide is supposed to make sure that his visitors get the ultimate experience of being in new place so that they can go back to their homes with great memories.

The guide should also know all the places where people can relax and have a meal. He should be able to treat them to some of the local delicacies of that country. He should also take them round to the some of the pre-historic sites that are famous.

On the other hand, the documented travel guide can be in the form of a book, brochure or pamphlet. There are some airlines which offer these travel guides for free. There are also some local hotels that will give tourists travel guides to find their way around the city or town. Such documents usually include information about restaurants, hotels and other recreational facilities that can make a tourist’s life a bit easier. Most of the travel guides have maps especially of major cities or towns.

So, which one does one choose?

This answer can only be determined by the tourist. Getting a person to act as a guide will definitely cost you more compared to using the booklet. However, you will get to enjoy and explore more places. The ultimate choice lies with the tourists, the activities they want to enjoy and the amount of money they are willing to spend.

The Need For Travel Guides While Traveling To New Places

by

Traveling is a hobby for many people who love to explore new places in the world. However, if you love to travel with your family, it is important that proper planning for the trip should be done in advance so that there are no problems in the same. In order to visit a new place it is good if assistance of various travel guides is taken. These guides come in the form of books with all kinds of information regarding a particular place. It is easier to find out the right kinds of information that you are looking from these guides. Nowadays guides related to travel and tourism is also found abundantly on the internet. There are many websites that provide detailed information about a place and various other things related to the place.

Again, many people get extremely confused when it comes to choosing a vacation destination. It becomes difficult for them to come to a conclusion as which would be the best place for going on a holiday with the family. In such situations, a guide is very helpful. There are various kinds of guides that list many travel destinations. People can choose a particular travel destination from there. All kinds of information regarding the place are also furnished in the guides so that it is easier for people to have a good knowledge about the place. Approximate expenses are also mentioned so that one can choose the destination as per budget as well. Therefore it is quite clear that having a guide can help in proper planning of a vacation.

With the advent of the internet, online travel guides have become very popular. Much information regarding a place is available on the various websites if properly searched. You can get information on the ways to reach the place, various kinds of accommodation facilities that are available there, places to eat and drink, places of tourist attractions at the travel destination, local transportation, climatic conditions, geographical features, historical references and many more things. With all these information at hand, it is possible to know a place in a much better way. In fact, you can plan your trip nicely if you already have guidance about the place. There are no chances of missing out on any important place while on the trip with the right kind of travel guide.

Good travel guides will contain details about various accommodation facilities that are available at a tourist destination. It will contain the contact details of hotels and resorts and also their tariffs. Accurate maps should also be provided in all the guides, so that travelers can find the places without any problem. Maps can be excellent guides in themselves. Apart from that, contact numbers of various travel agents and tour operators are also provided in the various guides. Many people like to take help for various kinds of things from various travel agents while going on holidays, like booking tickets, booking hotels and arranging sightseeing for tourists. Car rental services are also arranged by many travel agents. Look for the right kinds of guides and have a nice and enjoyable holiday.