Rough Guide or Lonely Planet

[metalguru]

That's a very good point. Time Out City Guides are really well written, informative and succinct. The Prague guide is superb.

They've improved a hell of a lot. I'm just using the Hong Kong guide which is very good.

When I first looked at the Time Out HK guide 5 or 6 years ago, it was all along the lines of 'let us show you the latest hip places that are appropriate to a trendy globetrotting profesional young couple like yourselves'.

 

[Brainaddict]

LP is the best IMO...

They are all fairly shit but LP has the best maps in it and buying local maps costs a lot...

This is my thinking on it. There's something inherently shit about guidebooks though as they can't help offering their - often not particularly well informed - opinions on absolutely everything.

But when I've considered travelling without I just envisage the hour wasted trying to find the bus stop and so on.

 

[zoltan]

Both are better than nothing and will save you time / money / hassle

It would be nice to explore on your own and dicscover those secret places that only the locals know blah blah blah - but lets face it, it not really going to happen if you are in a place for a few days or a week.

 

[Sunray]

This is my thinking on it. There's something inherently shit about guidebooks though as they can't help offering their - often not particularly well informed - opinions on absolutely everything.

But when I've considered travelling without I just envisage the hour wasted trying to find the bus stop and so on.

I think I could get by comfortably without a guide book nowadays but like them to read about the place I am heading on the way there or give me ideas on what I'd like to do or see next.

 

[crustychick]

I prefer Footprints guides

and there's always loads of folks around with LP's if you want to have a quick shifty.... where as footprints are and original

 

[crustychick]

what you need is one of these or similar - seriously