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Guidebook overview
Maybe there should be a guidebook for travel guidebooks for the market is massive. To give you an overview we have done the hard work by reading and using a lot of guidebooks (and getting lost due to poor maps and looking for hotels that don't exists anymore). The outcome is this fairly comprehensive list of guidebook series with their pros and cons. Keep in mind that quality and style can vary within one series. And remember, this is almost religion.
Bradt
Take the road less travelled
Bradt travel guides have been around for 30 odd years. It's often to destinations less travelled (like deep Africa and Central Asia) and their focus is on the background information such as history, culture, religion, and local customs. The books are text heavy with an detailed introduction to the country, a lot textboxes with great did-you-know kind of info, and a reasonable amount of practical travel info about accommodation, places to eat, etc.
Pros: In-depth guide to special regions for those who are willing to read a lot.
Cons: The pictures vary a lot in age and style from faded slides to colorful travel agency images.
DK Eyewitness travel
The visual guide
The Eyewitness is a well-made visual guide that informs and inspirer the reader with pictures rather than words. Beside pictures there are illustrations that deliver an insight on details of places and sites that other guidebooks skip.
Pros: Good for the culture, history, and architect minded traveller with an eye for details, who don't have to bother with practical stuff.
Cons: No in-depth information (due to lack of heavy text pieces) and stays on the beaten track.
Fodor's
Gives their opinion
American Fodor's makes several kinds of guidebooks, where the main one is the chunkiest. It's researched by writers living in the country instead of travellers passing through. Their focuses are on sightseeing, dining, hotels and entertainment aimed for middle to upper budget with a rating system for key sites. They also include a useful "suggested itineraries" for every region, which is nice for traveller who is not planning to go off the path.
Pros: Give you a great overview of where to go and what to do.
Cons: Short on history and culture and some guides are sloppy edited.
Footprint
Well researched travel information
This is the business's grand old man started way back in 1924. Their force has always been South America but today they have more than 150 countries on their shelf. A very well researched guidebook with emphasize on the practical details such as where to stay, eat, shop, and how to get there with a great range to choose from. The guide will take you through both the main sites as well as way off the beaten track with high number of maps.
Pros: Your life line while travelling.
Cons: Light on background and site information.
Frommer's Complete
For the upscale traveller
This is the American Frommer's try to a have-it-all guide. They tend to cater for better off travellers, even business travellers, with their outspoken opinions and advice. They don't try to turn you into an edgy traveller and they even give advice on the best package deals. If you are their target, you will get a brick of a guidebook with a clean layout.
Pros: In-depth food section with recommendations.
Cons: Can be skimpy on travel details and the maps are poor.
Insight Guide
The classic guide
The guide that takes you through the country's history, culture, religion, geography, etc. in an appetizing and picture rich way. A very nice feature is that all sites mentioned in the text have a number/letter, which referrer to a location on one of the many maps. It's a guide that is best read before the trip from the softness of the couch or for travellers on a tour.
Pros: A very attractive guide to the whole country and its well known sites.
Cons: Old skool in style and the pictures are not from yesterday.
Let's Go
For the young at heart
The American Let's Go guide's self-proclaimed title of being the backpacker bible might not be entirely true, but the guide is surely for backpackers. Every guidebook is still researched by students, as it was the case 50 years ago, which give the book the necessary sassiness for the traveller young at heart.
Pros: The only true backpacker guide today.
Cons: Seems to be outdone by other guidebooks on actually information and maps.
Lonely Planet
The travel bible
LP hardly needs any introduction. It's the travel bible and for a good reason. Well organized, seductive layout with pop-info, a lot of very good maps, acceptable amount of background information, and great range of options for things to eat, do, see, and is especially strong on getting around information. This guidebook is the benchmark in the business and the most used guidebook.
Pros: You know what you get, and that's high quality.
Cons: Their success suffocates their recommendations on anything, and the choices of the few pictures seem often lame considering they own an image stock agency.
Odyssey guides
Less known in-depth guides
A small publishing company with base in Hong Kong. The range of destination is a weird mixed of less known destinations, like Kamchatka and Uzbekistan, and major tourist magnets, like New Zealand and Egypt. The guide's force is the background information on history, culture, local costumes, etc. spiced up with a fair share of practical travel info and inspiring pictures.
Pros: Information on sites between the different places, something you hardly find in other guidebooks.
Cons: Few destinations and hard to find in bookshops.
Moon handbooks
Strong on North America and the Pacific
Moon travel guides do Europe, Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and the Americas with emphasize on the last two. They normally have an adventure twist, whether it's trekking, biking, skiing or some other active stuff, and their sleeping section spans sometimes all the way down to rock bottom, with camping options for those with a tent in their backpacks. Their books are often written by one single author, which mean style and quality varies from guide to guide.
Pros: The layout is excellent with good maps.
Cons: Lack of practical information on getting around.
National Geographic Traveler
Eye candy before the trip
Another spin-off from the guys with the great pictures. This is more armchair reading than an on-the-road travel guide. The focus is not travel info, but an innovative insight guide to tease the eye and the travel bug in you. They have a nice not-to-be-missed list and similar tools for the travel planning. And do we need to mention that the pictures are superb.
Pros: Great visual inspiration with some of the best travel pictures.
Cons: Only a few destination in the series and they are not gonna help much with any pratical stuff.
Rough Guide
Well written guides for grownups
What started out as a backpacker guide is today a bit less rough. It's a heavy guidebook with many pages that are stuffed with excellent information, which is especially useful when planing. The well researched background info is incorporated with listing of the usual travel information such as where to eat, sleep, drink, shop, etc. The range of destinations is great, but stays within the popular ones. It's a guide that needs to be read, not just used for reference.
Pros: Detailed information on everything in most places.
Cons: Not easy to use as a reference guide.
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