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Expert Q&A
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| By Laurie Borman Managing Editor Rand McNally | ||
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Do travel books really help with vacation planning?
Guidebooks provide good information for planning a trip and get you in the mood for vacationing. They're very detailed, and they're portable, so you can take them with you, and they are sometimes geared towards specific types of travelers and travel, such as senior, singles, or outdoors travel. You can learn about the history of a place, find out what great souvenirs there are to buy, and what delicacies are part of the local cuisine. Look through several guidebooks to find the one that most matches your interests in travel. More adventurous travelers might prefer the Lonely Planet series, while a gourmand might want the Michelin Guides. I like the Eyewitness Guides because they have interesting details, they're in an easy to read format, and offer a point of view about places without too much attitude.
What a guidebook won't provide is the very latest, up-to-date information about a place, such as what conditions are like if a hurricane just blew through an area. Some of the restaurants might have folded by the time a book hits the bookstore shelves, or prices to attractions have changed. So you shouldn't rely on a guide book to be exact if you use it to time your visit to the alligator zoo or plan your budget. You can use the phone numbers provided to double check those details, though.
I always buy a guidebook for my trips because it helps me narrow my touring choices and perhaps think about restaurants or hotels. I hope you'll take a look at some of the Mexico guides and see if they work as well for you.
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