Speaking up for the humble guide book

Travel guidebooks

Some of my travel guidebooks

The sources we have at our disposal to help us with our travel planning are growing by the year. We can now watch videos, listen to podcasts or audio clips, access special apps on our smartphones, view blogs, wikis, review sites or forums; we can tweet people who’ve been there, follow people who live there, ‘like’ the places we might stay in, and even view a webcam of the building or street that we’re most looking forward to seeing. Bewildering isn’t it?

In all this mass of content, is there any remaining use for the guide book? Or is the printing of these travel companions now a waste of trees when all the information could be provided in a far more interactive,up-to-date and environmentally sensitive format?

I have a confession to make. I still buy guide books. More than that, I’ve never used the vast majority of the above list of innovative tools. If I’m heading to a new place, I’m still more likely to plan my route with the help of my guide book than any other method. It will still get packed in the bag, and return home to a place of honour on our bookshelf, perhaps with frayed edges but certainly with all pages intact (I understand why some people choose to rip out pages as they go, but I could never bring myself to do it).

So why, as someone who spends far too much of my time online, am I still sticking to an old-fashioned book instead of embracing the new technology and all the functionality that it promises?

At the most simple level, I enjoy adding another book to my travel bookshelf. It’s far from comprehensive, and when I recently saw a fellow traveller’s impressive library of travel books I realised I’ll never have more than a modest collection. But it’s still a visible reminder, whenever I walk into our living room and glance at the books, of the places we’ve been and the places we’re planning to visit.

But there’s something more fundamental; something that’s difficult to put into one  sentence. From flicking through the book for the first time, seeing the beautiful pictures and saying “I have to see that”, to thumbing through the book in front of the TV on a lazy evening and building the excitement of the upcoming trip, the guidebook offers a small but important part of the overall travel experience for me, and has done for nearly 25 years.

Can an app on an iPhone offer the same experience? For some perhaps it does. I can only speak for myself. In my mind there is no substitute for the feel of a proper book and the joy it brings. I don’t have to plug it in or worry about its batteries. Nobody is going to eye up my Lonely Planet book and immediately think of mugging me to get their hands on it. And by the end of the trip, I feel I’ve got to know those authors a little bit. Usually I’ve disagreed with them about more than one issue, but they’ve nevertheless become a part of the journey.

Even though the book is retired to the bookshelf on our return, its work is not always done. Because when friends come to visit and ask us about their next destination, it’s always a pleasure to pull out a book and send them away with it, knowing that a good guide book can serve its function more than once.

And as those books age, they take on another role, serving as custodians of a world that no longer exists. Whether it’s revolution, earthquake or tsunami, events can rewrite the facts and observations about a place and render a guide book no longer valid. I have, for example, a guide book that tells me how to cross the Berlin Wall to visit East Berlin, and one about central America that was published just before Hurricane Mitch devastated the region in 1998. These books have become historical accounts of unexpected relevance, detailing the often mundane details about a world that no longer exists.

So let’s not herald the demise of the guide book just yet. Amid the rush to create the next new travel gadget, I’m pretty sure that chunky block of paper will still make its way into many backpacks for years to come, however fancy the alternatives.

Author Information

Freelance travel writer

12 Responses to “Speaking up for the humble guide book”

  1. I agree whole-heartedly (and blogged on the subject myself a while back – http://www.grumpytraveller.com/2010/06/23/three-reasons-why-printed-guidebooks-won%E2%80%99t-die-any-time-soon).

    The massive difference between a book and the internet is that on the internet you search for the information you want. A book presents the information you don’t know you want. And that way you’ll always get to learn things you’d have not otherwise thought about. I like to have the book with me, not to use as a bible, but as something to delve into every now and then.

    As you say, their lifespan far outlasts the trip. Most of my South Pacific guidebooks are currently with my next door neighbour, as he tries to decide between Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Tahiti. In a professional capacity, the books are a reference library. If I’m trying to get an impression of somewhere I’ve never been to, I find the book does it far better than any website, so I pull one off the shelf.

    The humble guidebook has plenty of life left in it yet…

    August 2, 2010 at 10:05 am
  2. Good post as per Andy and suppose a guidebook is just a big paper-y app….
    Moreover the maps in guidebooks (especially LP ones) have got me out of all sorts of bother…try using an app at the bus station in Arusha at 3am when you feel you’re getting hustled – not sure an app has got me out of trouble yet…Also they look damn cool on your shelves – especially when well battered – as well as being a great resource later on….

    August 2, 2010 at 10:25 am
  3. Thanks David and Stuart for your thoughts. Enjoyed your post on same topic David, and agree with your point on the light issues. Until now most devices can’t cope with bright sun, and those that can fall into the nickable/muggable category. The comments make a good read too…

    Stuart, LP maps are excellent for getting around a city, and I’ve often made a dodgy sketch copy of one to save carrying the book out with us. I did learn the limitations of those stick maps in Syria when I tried to use it as my driving map of the country and ended up 200km away from my intended location, but that’s another tale.

    August 2, 2010 at 1:11 pm
  4. Great topic Andy, I was actually thinking of writing something similar myself. I’m with you and can’t seem to do away with the trusty guide book. Although I haven’t tried them just yet, I reckon the Lonely Planet downloadable PDF for a small section (for example one country from a book covering a continent) could come in handy for a short trip. In relation to the ripping out of pages, I’ve never done that, but I do remember once having to rip the cover from a Lonely Planet Africa as it was actually banned from bringing in to Malawi back in the very early nineties.

    August 2, 2010 at 1:28 pm
  5. I totally understand why you choose to stick to actual books rather than shift to online information. The simple feeling to buy a travel guide, and start to read it on the subway ride home is simply amazing. It’s like a whole new world is in there, tangible and resourceful.

    And having them around on a bookshelf is a constant reminder of previous travels, and might actually hold more memories than photos.

    Amen to paper travel guide!

    August 2, 2010 at 7:27 pm
  6. Admittedly, I still buy guidebooks (I am cutting way back though) but I realize that it’s money not well spent. Or perhaps it’s money not spent for the guidebook’s designed purpose. I, too, enjoy flipping through it before the trip to build excitement, like some travel foreplay, but I think the time of lugging them around is coming to an end. Essentially, I think their utility is decreasing and I feel like many guidebook publishers still produce them simply because they don’t know what else to do.

    There will be the guidebook-dedicated audience, perhaps like yourself, Andy, but it’s a dwindling tribe. I’d probably place myself in the same tribe; however, I see it’s demise and I’m heading toward new lands.

    August 2, 2010 at 10:39 pm
  7. Excellent argument in favor of the guide book Andy. I have thought about an old interview with Queen when they talked about Radio Ga Ga. It was in defense of the radio when all the rage was video. “Radio, someone still loves you” and like Queen, you offer valid points to the guide book. Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, Rick Steves “someone still loves you!”
    We stopped using our guide book during our last trip. We bought it for India but hardly looked at it in Sri Lanka and Nepal (although we bought it for both) We ended up going to the internet to look up ideas and places to stay. India Mike was a far better reference than our guidebook.
    But I completely understand your point. I can’t believe that you have a guidebook referencing how to cross the Berlin Wall, that is pretty cool!
    So awesome that we were both thinking about the same thing today.
    I love your post!

    August 2, 2010 at 11:05 pm
  8. I still buy travel guide books, but I hardly ‘well’ use it. In the old days, like 5 years ago, LP guide book normally really good for accomodations or special look around spot. Well but now we have numerous way to book accomodations and once we got there we can get better informations than books.
    Then why still buy guide books?
    I think that’s some kind of ‘obligation.’
    Once I bought a guide book, I finally realize ‘Im really going!’ and get to plan or something.
    It’s money not well spend, but I think Ill keep buy them. :)

    August 3, 2010 at 4:14 am
  9. I am heading out to buy my Portugal guidebook now! At my current budget I seriously debated it when I got so much helpful info online and from other travel bloggers. Then I thought about how much trouble our Australia guidebook got us out of in Melbourne and how many unexpectedly great things it helped us find in Sydney. Even if we end up just using it as a jumping off point, I still think I’m a faithful guidebook buyer. I always want one, and now my collection is still small.

    I enjoy personal recommendations as well, and I feel that guidebooks will tend to steer you in the tourist way, but not always, I have found some very helpful tips. As for the iphone, well I can hardly afford that 20 Euro guidebook so it’s clear where I stand on that! For my next trip I’ll use a mixture of recommendation, online research and my guidebook!

    Great post!

    August 3, 2010 at 10:33 am
  10. Great points all, and thanks for the discussion. If I reflect on it I would agree that my use of a guide book has changed over the years, and from what I read I suspect that’s true for all of us.

    Mind you, I wouldn’t attribute that to the hi-tech options at my disposal, but rather my own changing habits as I’ve got older. Like others have said, carrying a book around while exploring a city is often an unnecessary weight. I like to research in advance (from my book) and then take a wander and see where I end up, hopefully bumping into a few of the things I read about in my hotel room.

    Perhaps one of its great values for me is, as some have suggested, as a prop for the pre-trip excitement and then as a memento on my shelf of a trip taken (or not taken). It’s maybe an emotional purchase as much as a logical one; but then isn’t that the case with so many things we buy?

    Thanks all for your thoughts, and I’d recommend reading Dave and Deb’s excellent post on the same topic. http://theplanetd.com/will-travel-blogs-take-over-guide-books

    August 3, 2010 at 10:44 am
  11. I probably rely on apps/internet more for accommodation and transport details… basically, info that changes quickly and will be more up-to-date in the electronic sphere, but once I’m on the road I tend to fall back on the old faithful guidebook.
    Sure, they might weigh more and scream ‘I’m not from ’round here’ (as opposed to the iphone which screams ‘rob me’), when compared to electronic gadgets they’re more robust, easily replaced, easy to read outdoors (in fact positively enjoyable to read outdoors) and when you get home you’ve got a nice memento on your bookshelf… and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not going to use my iphone to squash big bugs! Long Live The Guidebook!

    August 3, 2010 at 1:49 pm
  12. I’m always surprised by how much I miss or overlook in my guidebooks. I think I buy them – like you Andy – in part, just to own them and have them after the trip, but I don’t really read them that thoroughly. Occasionally I’ll get back and see a feature, in the NY Times say, about some can’t miss place in Hanoi or Bangkok or Mumbai, and I’ll say why didn’t Lonely Planet put that in their damn guide book. And I’ll pick up LP India and sure enough it’s a big boxed item – page and a half essay – can’t miss this place. Ahhh damn!

    September 11, 2010 at 5:56 am
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