Are Travel Guidebooks Dead for Backpackers?

By Josh June 3, 2008

They used to be referred to with extreme reverence. Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, Frommer’s. Every independent traveler had a guidebook in their backpack, like a gunfighter had a gun in his holster. It was as if the prices and places listed between the covers were stamped with the approval of the travel gods.

But what has happened to the institution of the guidebook?

Lonely Planet is now part of the BBC empire. Backpackers are using the pages of their Let’s Go guides as fire starters or rolling papers.

They are asking the same question: Why lug around a five pound book when you can get the most up to date information off of a web site? Why trust one guidebook writer when there are travelers’ forums online with tens or hundreds of different opinions on a country’s sites and sights?

Maybe I am an old school traveler. There is something to be said for the tangible experience of holding a weighty book in your hand and flipping through the pages, planning for next moves like a master tactician. Lonely Planet has seen better days, for sure. But, still, it is useful for getting the gist of a place and there are some gems found deep in each guidebook’s pages.

A travel guide often focuses on a specific mindset. I remember using Fielding’s to find an out of the way hotel, ecstatic that the author had tagged my very room with the skull and crossbones sticker that was a signature of that particular guidebook.

Try doing that with most web sites. The info is often broad. What might turn on legions of travelers could be a downer for others.

So, yes, I still carry. And you should too.

What if your Zig Zag’s run out?

Topics: Backpacking |

One Response to “Are Travel Guidebooks Dead for Backpackers?”

Best Budget Travel and Backpacking Travel Guidebooks July 11th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
[...] Travel Guidebooks might be dead in some people’s minds since the internet has all the information we need for free. However, I still wouldn’t consider venturing abroad without a published, reputable travel guidebook. You’re not going to have internet access everywhere, and when you need some quick go-to backpacking or travel tips, a big fat travel guidebook from Lonely Planet, Frommers, Fodor’s, or Let’s Go is your best and easiest option, unless you’d rather hunt down an internet cafe to read some restaurant reviews. Now I present you…. [...]