Feb 18th, 2010 at 2:30PM:
For some travelers, the mere sight of a tour bus is enough to make them cringe. Heck, I don't enjoy seeing large masses of humanity spilling out of a humongous vehicle and mucking up my "unique" travel experience. But that's not to say that all tours are wastes of your time and money.
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guidebook posts
How to decide if a tour is right for you
Feb 18th, 2010 at 2:30PM:
For some travelers, the mere sight of a tour bus is enough to make them cringe. Heck, I don't enjoy seeing large masses of humanity spilling out of a humongous vehicle and mucking up my "unique" travel experience. But that's not to say that all tours are wastes of your time and money.
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2010/02/18/how-to-decide-if-a-tour-is-right-for-you/'; ...Travel Read: Culture Smart! Ethiopia
Jan 31st, 2010 at 1:00PM: I'm headed to Ethiopia soon and I'm busy reading everything I can get my hands on about the country. Thus I eagerly picked up a copy of Culture Smart! Ethiopia. The Culture Smart! series offers insights into the customs and cultures of dozens of different countries. As a first-timer to sub-Saharan Africa I hoped to get lots of insight into a very different world.
Sadly, I didn't.
The book's ...South by Southeast: Avoiding the hordes
Jan 29th, 2010 at 9:00AM:
I had high hopes for my arrival in Hoi An. This historic city, set along Vietnam's Central Coast, has all the ingredients to be the perfect destination: a charming downtown lined with ancient Chinese buildings, a picturesque waterfront setting and a unique culinary history. So it was a shock when I stepped off my bus to find the city the epitome of a tourist trap, stuffed to the gills with ...Gadling readers compile Belize must-sees
Nov 19th, 2009 at 2:30PM: Gadling would first like to congratulate Dave C., the lucky winner of our Moon Belize giveaway! Dave C. wrote: "I don\'t get the change to do as much diving as I like, but when I can, I won\'t miss it. If in Belize, I would certainly not want to miss the opportunity dive at the Blue Hole. Diving gives me a sense of peace I can't get doing anything else, and the Blue Hole just looks like a ...The newest edition of Moon Belize is a gem
Nov 11th, 2009 at 5:00PM: The first things that come to mind when I think of Belize: Mayan ruins, world-class diving, bird-watching, and hiking through nature. Sounds like a vacation in paradise, if you ask me - and I'm from Hawaii. Joshua Berman, a travel expert to both Nicaragua and Belize, recently revised the 8th edition of Moon Belize, and the result is a comprehensive, informative guide for any kind of traveler.
...Fake Canadians go home
Aug 30th, 2009 at 4:30PM:
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/08/30/fake-canadians-go-home/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
I'm as mad as a polar bear reading about global warming. Everywhere I look I see Canadian flags on backpacks. A maple leaf seems to be as important an item of budget travel gear as daddy's credit card, but there's one problem--many of the people flashing the good old red, white, and red ...Travel Bookshelf: free guidebook to "Angels and Demons" Rome
May 19th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Small press guidebook publisher Roaring Forties Press has released a free guidebook in downloadable PDF format titled Rome's Angels and Demons: The Insider's Guide to the Locations Featured in the Book and Movie. Author Angela K. Nickerson covers all the sites mentioned in the bestselling book, and then delves into the historical background of the real characters mentioned in the plot, such as ...Travel Bookshelf: Cheeky Guides
May 15th, 2009 at 11:30AM: Let's face it--most guidebooks are boring. Sure, they're informative, but they either read like a postgraduate thesis (Blue Guides) or are filled with snotty, uninformed opinions (take your pick)
The Cheeky Guides come as a breath of fresh air, or rather a gust of lager-laden belches from some local lush leaning against the bar at a seedy pub. These guides to Oxford and Brighton, two of England's ...Gadling Giveaway: Road Trip USA
Apr 20th, 2009 at 5:00PM:
Gadling is teaming up with Avalon Travel to bring you a great giveaway! A few days ago, I reviewed Road Trip USA, Avalon's latest guidebook written by road trip extraordinaire Jamie Jensen, who also was gracious enough to answer a few questions and Talk Travel with me. Believe me when I tell you: this is the Road Trip bible – 900 pages of travel tips and fun facts that cover the ...Travel Read: Road Trip USA
Apr 14th, 2009 at 7:00PM:
Avalon Travel writer Jamie Jensen traversed the nation several times, testing various two-lane highways in the process, to bring road trippers the best (really, it's the BEST) road trip guidebook for the U.S. to date. Road Trip USA, released this month, features eleven unique cross-country road trips. I would not only recommend this guidebook, I would insist that you buy it if you're embarking ...GuideGecko.com launches
Apr 10th, 2009 at 10:00AM:
Have you always wanted to write your own travel guide and market it yourself, in a way that is both profitable for you and useful to those interested in your travel savvy? Or are you heading to a single region of a country but don't want to lug an entire country guidebook with you? You're in luck! No longer do you have to give out your travel tips (through Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Forum or ...Frommer's new blog: Behind the Guides
Dec 16th, 2008 at 9:00AM: As part of the community overhaul that Frommers.com is currently undergoing, the company long known for their excellent guidebooks just started a new blog: Behind the Guides. In it, editors from across the spectrum of publications are contributing niblets from their travel worlds in a fun look inside of the minds of their staff. Topics range from broad green articles about Green Hotels to ...Product review - Lonely Planet guides for Nokia mobile phones
Aug 24th, 2008 at 3:00PM: Earlier this week I posted the announcement of a new initiative by Lonely Planet and Nokia to bring the famous travel guides to GPS enabled Nokia phones. One of the big questions I had, is whether these new phone based guides could actually replace your trusty paper Lonely Planet. So, in this review, I'm going to give you a closer look at how the Lonely Planet guides work, how they can help you ...Lonely Planet Joins The Hotel Booking Game
Jul 20th, 2008 at 3:30PM: Since it was sold to the BBC, everybody's favorite guidebook company has had uncertainty looming in its future. The brand took a step away from its paper-and-binding roots recently by signing a deal with Expedia and Hostelworld. The trio will join forces to provide an online hotel booking service. Lonely Planet will put all those hotel reviews it has in its vaults to good use, while Expedia and ...Lonely Planet opens first brick & mortar store
Jul 10th, 2008 at 11:00AM: The ubiquitous Lonely Planet guides have finally outgrown the dusty shelves of your local book store and have evolved into their own brand. Sydney International airport will be the new home of Lonely Planet's first concept store, hosting a wealth of guidebooks, LP branded gear and other hobnobbery catering to a travelers whims. I suppose this location does make sense: Australia is home to the ...Download your local Not for Tourists Guide online for free!
Jun 28th, 2008 at 11:00AM: I have mixed feelings about guidebooks, partially because I hate going to a super lovely secret destination and finding 300 other people there with the same guidebook, but have to admit, I am kind of fond of the Not For Tourists (NFT) guides that have been around for the past few years. These guidebooks are a library of information, containing extremely detailed maps, overlaid with points of ...New guidebook series: Eyes Open
Mar 23rd, 2008 at 4:00PM: I love the idea behind the new guidebook series Eyes Open by design company Ideo. Rather than busy themselves with the rote regurgitation of sights of interest, restaurants and hotels, Eyes Open seeks to help travelers shift their attention towards really looking and immersing themselves in their surroundings. The series recently launched with its first two entries, New York and London, with ...The Frankenguide: Make your own DIY guidebook
Feb 23rd, 2008 at 11:00AM: Whenever I travel somewhere new, instead of dropping $30 on the newest Lonely Planet Wherever and lugging it around in my already-small pack, I'll create what I call a "Frankenguide": a mishmash, do-it-yourself collection of torn-out pages from an official guidebook, printed websites, Wikitravel guides, pages from history books, and anything else that might come in useful when I'm on the road. ...Rick Steves on being a guidebook writer
Dec 28th, 2007 at 8:00AM: After 30 years producing guidebooks, Rick Steves could easily throw his suitcase into a closet and spend all his time swimming through his piles of money a la Scrooge McDuck. But the man continues to plug away, meticulously researching various European locales for his eponymous guidebooks. And more power to him.
To many of us, Rick Steves has the dream job-- earning money to travel around the ...One for the Road: Pauline Frommer's Costa Rica
Nov 23rd, 2007 at 9:00AM: Since Iva is in Costa Rica this week, and my pal Francesca is currently planning a January trip to this spectacular country -- how about another new CR guidebook? (We featured two new Moon guides last month.) This time it's Pauline Frommer's turn to take a stab at the tropical Central American paradise. Her recently released guide to Costa Rica suggests ways for travelers to spend less and see ...
