Your membership includes:
35.88. Everyday price is not bargain
Agreed, no bargain to be seen here. Just RRP.
Has anyone used their guide books recently to see how accurate or good they are? I remember using these like 10-15 years ago before modern phones and good internet.
Yes, seems a leftover from another time.
Travelling in Nepal over 40 years ago, seemed every low cost traveler had a dog-eared copy.
We would meet at recommended accommodation, only to find it booked out by fellow LP readers. Then on to the next in list…
The problem with too many using the same source of travel info!!
For many years, always travelled overseas with a LP.
But found I rarely consulted LP while travelling.
Only used for planning travels. The books are too heavy for light travel. So LP sat on bookshelf at home.
Now don't bother, with easy internet access to much more current info. There are specialised travel forums & YouTube posts. Get most of my info from other travellers & helpful locals.
Just borrow latest copy from library to get quick overview BEFORE leaving.
(LP are often left behind in hostels before travellers leave the country. Used to pick up those free on arrival.)
Depending on the destination, latest LP Book information may be too old to be useful.
Travelling in Myanmar before it was closed to travellers, pricing & much vital info was useless.
I disagree. I am aware that I hold onto a love of LPs due to nostalgia and hope they never go out of print. But I think depending on the type of travel you do, they can be super handy having with you. Especially backpacking where your destination in 2 days' time is yet to be determined. I spent 12 months going around Europe like this, every day using my guidebook (LP or Rough Guides) to look at accom options and how to get to places. One time I arrived at Barcelona at about 1am and had to wander around looking for a hostale to stay at, my LP certainly helped then (couldn't afford EUR100/night hotels).
Online forums and videos are a really slow and cumbersome way to plan the day's activities or the next destination, in my opinion. When you have a guidebook, the info is all in chapters, sorted by categories (accommodation / activities / places to eat / etc.) so it's quick to use. Online websites, forums, etc - you have to fish through a lot of opinions and sporadic information to weigh up the options. I think it's best as another tool, whilst a guidebook is the primary tool. Might be good to, say, search for a particular place to research more. Having said that, in my travels, I used to use hostels.com and hostelworld.com (from memory) to find accom in the next town, and cross check that with the guidebook if it had any info on it.
I'd find it hard to quickly know where the border crossings are in a country, or, how to get into or out of a particular city or town, where the main town bus stop is (as opposed to commercial operated bus stops), etc - especially in a foreign language country that might not have english versions of this info on their government websites.
The second benefit of books is that they are always there, no matter your data connectivity or battery status. You can make notes in them, bookmark pages, etc.
I also find the bias / recommendation slant to LPs is often fairly balanced and true. If they say a hostel is dingy, it probably is.
Agree on the meeting of other LP travellers. Saw that heaps - even tried to avoid them by carving out a different journey or using Rough Guides over the years. But I think that's much less common these days. The South America 'gringo trail' (which I was on) is probably entirely due to LP!
The sentiment in your above comment (anti-LP) seems to conflict with your comment further down about how (in some countries), it's common for internet connectivity to be unavailable (pro-LP). Yeah, things change and you learn to take that in your stride, and you talk to other travellers and locals about changes. The price of things, yeah they always change. I remember basically adding 25% to all my hostel price expectations when reading out of a 2-yr old LP.
Backpacking 9 months a year for many years from 2005, to different countries (often moving on daily)… found carrying multiple heavy LPs was a pain.
Moved to carry-on only travel by 2006 & thoroughly enjoyed the freedom it gave me on long travels. Ditched the LP books!
To reduce weight, photocopied sections (enlarged so were easier to read, from council library).
In 2006, a friend in London posted on a section every 2 weeks to next post office in Europe. Were prepared in stamped envelope. Left behind after use.
Worked great! Had the benefits of having a LP, without the weight
As a very flexible traveller, I included alternative destinations in each mail out, or could request a different destination be sent.
I've unexpectedly flown to different countries at days notice when conditions or plans changed - never been a problem.
Aways was able to borrow a copy on travels - often from fellow travellers with good advice as they had been there.
As for advice from the internet - I don't hang around cities. I have to assume access will be very limited in remote areas I prefer, where almost no English is heard.
Travelling for decades with little phone access (definitely no mobile access) - I'm used to it. Used to take photos of maps on my 3MP camera at internet cafes to find my way. Things really have improved!!
But with more experience, knew I didn't need to have all the info on a country or region. Enjoyed freedom of turning up without preconceived ideas from a guidebook.
And truely learnt! Locals asked for my advice on their country & customs… "Why do we do this?" Before long I was on TV! In days before YouTube.
I began basing myself in a city / hub (with good transport connections) to explore a distinct region, rather than a country. Returning later to explore a different region. It's a more in-depth approach. No need for guidebooks, just talk with locals for advice
So my travels changed. It became a more fulfilling experience. I learnt more than was contained in the pages of a guidebook!! It was exhilarating!
Learnt to develop friendships in different countries. Knowing a local with knowledge & access to resources is far better than a book!
When visiting South Korea, I contacted a friend from Uni there. She had been Vice Consul for SK here. Very helpful on my travels.
In Japan have developed friendships with a rice farmer in a small mountain village & others. Visited his family many times over years.
Hitchhike in many countries - a good way to meet locals. Showing interest in their different lives & culture - is an amazing experience. They can't help but show me their favorite places. People in local restaurants pay for my meals. Appearing on TV there, so lots more want to meet & assist me…
Guidebooks are useful to those inexperienced in travel. But with experience - go beyond them!
Breaking away from the confines of guidebook travel is liberating!
I was in Seoul at the same time last year. I found it to be accurate, and it was good to have a hard copy rather than relying on my phone. I am tech dependent, I will add.
I ended up leaving my copy in the AirBNB I was in for 10 days with a message in the front. I would only purchase a copy for the same reason, really - to use it briefly during travel/transit and, towards the end of my trip, leave it behind with a message to other travellers.
These books have value, but now with all the comparison apps, cheap os phone internet etc their value isreally for oldies or for off grid, hard to reach or hard to be rescued places.
These were awesome back in the day, before China or Africa had internet. Hard to imagine now.
The pdfs are more useful now than the hard copies. Ideally they should update the pdfs every month with the latest info
I picked through the latest edition in a hostel in Nepal last year and it was a lot more useful than the blogs I normally use. I feel like there are a few old-school bloggers left who provide unbiased information, and everyone else is "selling" the experience too hard. It's good to have balance sometimes.
That said, I don't think these are worth it to most people. In Argentina for example, all the prices are completely different to 18 months ago (doubled in AUD terms and often 5-10x in peso terms) and there are a stack of new charges that didn't previously exist. A Lonely Planet can't help you in a place changing this fast.
Printed guidebooks are handy for what to do & see. The local culture & customs. Hopefully providing honest & unbiased information. Very useful when planning a journey.
But information about current conditions, prices, exchange rates scams, risks, etc are always out of date. That's beyond the scope of guidebooks!
Internet searches on reputable sites are best for that.
Knowing that Argentina is in economic crisis should not be news for travellers going there. Its well known. Recession, inflation, poverty there are even discussed in mainstream media.
So dramatic changes in prices should be expected.
Heard so many complaining in Myanmar years ago - that the price charged was so much higher than what was printed in latest LP…
They cried - "It's not fair!!"
And the prices charged to tourists (eg Taxi fare from airport) were many times price charged for (very poor) locals travelling in same taxi. Understanding it's a very different Socialist economy escaped their attention. They didn't even read that in their LP!
(As I was volunteering there, locals charged me as a local.)
Frequent power outages there meant ATMs could not operate & may keep your card. And internet did not work.
(Was asked to train locals how best to deal with complaints by tourists. It taught me a lot about their primarily Buddhist culture. "We aren't allowed to lie.")
When visiting counties, conditions may change dramatically. You've got to be prepared.
Quick changes in exchange rates can multiply costs. Blowing the budget as I've discovered.
Communication systems knocked out by poor maintenance or in my case terrorist attacks meant contacting family here to say I'm ok was complex.
Transport systems may quickly close down, as happened with a major earthquakes, floods, strikes etc. Festivals & events you went there for can be suddenly cancelled.
Some places required taking US$ & exchanging on the risky black-market there to local currency.
And using local currency has its own risks & scams! Old out of use currency & fakes are passed off to unsuspecting tourists.
Even buying an ice cream in China long ago, I was ripped off - my change was mainly paper cut to look like local notes - surrounded by real notes.
Have been through floods, earthquakes, typhoons, viruses (that locals thought were due to Foreigners like me - attracting threats of violence), military detention as a country went into a political lockdown… all possible in travel.
None of which was in any guidebook. So seek up to date information & be prepared.
You may not be able to access the internet then to find an answer!!
But I still love travel!
Argentina is lovely. I’ve been there half a dozen times.
Did you change your USD on the black market? It makes things way more affordable.
Was responding to ttfb's experience there
Have exchanged us$ I brought with me - to local currency in many countries.
Often only place with good rate is black market. But can be risky following a stranger up an alley… Anything could happen, but luckily never did.
On a Malaysian island, became the local money exchange. . Was heading next to country needing us$, & needed to get rid of too much local money.
Cost of fast boat to mainland village made for an expensive exchange rate to local Ringgit to spend on the island. So suited everyone.
If I was them I would ditch the printed book copies and just go for an online subscription model with downloadable pdfs. Have their own forums with people providing suggestions and ratings. A trusted source for planning or whilst travelling.
Just been reading the Cyprus edition, and really like the way it's laid out, as well as the tips and suggestions depending on what you want to do. Get the overview of where you want to go from the book, and use the www when you want to delve deeper.
What's the usual price?