Major Guidebook Series We Find Helpful for Planning:
Several major guidebook series are helpful for planning purposes because of their use of extensive photography. This is especially true of the Insight Guide series (www.insightguides.com) and National Geographic Travel travel guides (shop.nationalgeographic.com -- search for "travel guides"). Also helpful is the Eyewitness series from DK Publishing (www.dk.com).
Reviews of Favorite Guidebooks:
Lonely Planet Blue List, 260 pages, Lonely Planet Publications, 2nd edition, 2007
A worldwide look at things to do and places to go, with lots of color photos to help you decide. New, annual editions come out in November of each year. Each one is a little more focused and smaller than the last (so far). The first one in 2006 totaled 328 pages and covered 618 things to do and places to go. The coming third edition due out in November 2007 will cover 300 experiences in 228 pages. The honing down of the material is probably a good thing and the focus remains worldwide. It makes for a great daydreaming tool. Plop your copy on the bedstand and use it to brainstorm ideas for your next vacation adventure. If you don’t know where you want to go next or you just want some help thinking “outside the box,” this book is well worth the price. Back to Top
No Worries Hawaii: A Vacation Planning Guide for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island, by Jerry and Janine Sprout, 160 pages, Diamond Valley Company, 2007
The 160 pages of No Worries Hawaii are fabulous stuff, chocked full of helpful information and some of the loveliest color photos around. If you play ball with the Sprouts, they’ll help you zero in on the greatest island vacation you’ve ever had. The Sprouts are veterans of the Hawaii guidebook scene. Their deservedly much-praised Trailblazer series includes four on the islands of Hawaii: Kauai Trailblazer, Maui Trailblazer, Oahu Trailblazer, and Hawaii the Big Island Trailblazer, all of which focus on outdoor activities of every kind: walks, hikes, bicycle rides, snorkeling, driving tours and on and on. In No Worries Hawaii they use their expertise to help you decide the type of vacation you want, the setting you want, the activities you value most, and where best to find them. Moving from an armchair voyage in which you envision and clarify your wants and needs to a clever, simple self-test to help you prioritize your wish list, No Worries Hawaii then relates all this homework you’ve done to a highly detailed, 36-category Best of Hawaii section. If you spend the time, the system really works. If you are too lazy, just focusing on the Best of Hawaii section, plus a good look at the Best of Hawaii scoreboard to see which island ranks highest for your needs will take you a long way toward paradise. Practical information abounds, with lots of money saving advice and a wonderfully detailed “Wiki Wiki Phonebook” for all the contact information you’ll ever need. This is one great travel planning guide—if only other travel destinations had something this good. For more information, check out the Diamond Valley Company's own beautifully designed Web site at www.trailblazertravelbooks.com. Back to Top
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door 2008: The Travel Skills Handbook, by Rick Steves, 676 pages, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2007
This is one of Rick Steves’ earliest books, first done in 1980 and annually updated ever since that time. For European travel, it’s the best, single source for all those practical travel issues: how to go, when to go, handling money, staying healthy, traveling alone, outsmarting thieves, travel photography, and many other topics. A second section on the “back doors” to numerous European destinations will help you cut through the layers and get the heart and soul of the largest cities and the little places in between. Very worthwhile for planning. The best of its kind. Back to Top
Africa's Top Wildlife Countries by Mark Nolting, 608 pages, Global Travel Publications, 6th edition, 2002
An excellent safari planning resource. See our review on our Africa & Asia page. Back to Top
Healthy Travel Africa Guide, by Dr. Isabelle Young, 440 pages, Lonely Planet Publications, 2000
Healthy Travel Asia & India Guide, by Dr. Isabelle Young, 432 pages, Lonely Planet Publications, 2000
Healthy Travel Central & South America Guide, by Dr. Isabelle Young, 456 pages, Lonely Planet Publications, 2000
Lonely Planet does a first rate job in supplying the necessary information to cut the health-related risks of travel in these regions to a minimum as well as providing information on to what to do when various types of problems arise. Given the publication date, a some time-sensitive details may be in need of updating. Be sure to also check with your local health department about required shots and any current warnings about travel in the regions you'll be visiting. Back to Top
