Travel guides are not meant to know everything
May 26th 2008 02:05
Category: No Category
Many of us independent travellers rely on our travel guides for local information as well as accommodation and dining listings. However, the debate as to how accurate should the travel guides be and how often they should be updated continue between critics and guidebooks and really just how much can we really rely on travel guides?
To be honest, I am working on a quick guide to Sydney at the moment for a small company called A4Trip and while I live in Sydney, I find that it is still impossible to know everything and everywhere about the city. A lot of research need to go into the writing of the guide and as retail and businesses change regularly it's also hard to update every time a business closes down.
I found a great blog entry by a travel writer and Lonely Planet author Carolyn McCarthy talking about the travel guide not being the guru. She has some good points.
View the entry here -> A Guidebook is not a Guru
And since guidebook does not know everything, how do you then, use it and know when to trust it? This is Carolyn's suggestion: "How do you avoid the traps of a guidebook? It’s easy. Use it when it’s essential, then don’t. Don’t be sucked in by Greatest Hits Lists: what are the chances that your best travel memories will take place within yards of a Natual Wonder? You might want to spend a week in a town that got a two-sentence write up (a sure sign few travelers are there). Stick around one place long enough to make a friend. Let locals tell you their favorite outings and places to eat. Most importantly, find the time to put the guide away and trust your gut." (Carolyn McCarthy)
To be honest, I am working on a quick guide to Sydney at the moment for a small company called A4Trip and while I live in Sydney, I find that it is still impossible to know everything and everywhere about the city. A lot of research need to go into the writing of the guide and as retail and businesses change regularly it's also hard to update every time a business closes down.
I found a great blog entry by a travel writer and Lonely Planet author Carolyn McCarthy talking about the travel guide not being the guru. She has some good points.
View the entry here -> A Guidebook is not a Guru
And since guidebook does not know everything, how do you then, use it and know when to trust it? This is Carolyn's suggestion: "How do you avoid the traps of a guidebook? It’s easy. Use it when it’s essential, then don’t. Don’t be sucked in by Greatest Hits Lists: what are the chances that your best travel memories will take place within yards of a Natual Wonder? You might want to spend a week in a town that got a two-sentence write up (a sure sign few travelers are there). Stick around one place long enough to make a friend. Let locals tell you their favorite outings and places to eat. Most importantly, find the time to put the guide away and trust your gut." (Carolyn McCarthy)
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