What Makes a Good Travel Guide Book?
A travel guide or guidebook is “a written book of information regarding a place designed especially for the convenience of tourists or travellers.” It will most likely contain information on sights to see, landmarks, hotels, eating places, transportation, and many more. Maps of various detailed and cultural history and background are often also included. Guidebooks are sold in a variety of formats including paper and digital. Paper has been the most common format since the advent of printed books in the 18th century with the first “guide” being published in England in 1776. Digital guides, however, can be purchased on-line or downloaded from several websites.
Guide books are very helpful for travelers as they provide all the necessary information that travelers need to make their trip enjoyable. However, as with all other things, there are certain factors that travelers should look out for when buying a travel guide book. The most important factor while choosing a travel guide or guidebook is that it should contain comprehensive coverage of the destination where the book is being purchased. The next important factor that guide books need to have is that they should contain accurate information regarding locations of attractions and points of interest. It is also advisable for travelers to choose guide books that have customer support telephone numbers at the back of the guide book so that travelers can get in touch with the company if they have any queries while on the trip.
Another important factor that guide books must have is that they should contain tips that would help tourists plan their vacation well. Such tips could include booking for a flight or a bus or minivan, renting a car service, renting a vacation apartment or a resort property, purchasing tickets for attractions, pre-paying for hotel reservations or cruises, learning how to speak some languages such as Spanish or French, learning how to ski, learning some dancing moves, preparing meals at home, getting your passport renewed, preparing for emergency situations such as medical emergencies, learning how to swim and so on. A travel guide should also help tourists avoid common mistakes that could otherwise cause them unnecessary hassles during their vacation. A good travel guide book should also include tips on how tourists should deal with emergencies such as fainting, getting seasick or suffering a blackout. Travel guides that do not mention these common problems are less than helpful. There are many other interesting topics that guide books should cover, but the above are the three that are the most important.