5 Reasons Not To Trust Your Guide Book
Have you ever been away traveling and noticed how different a place is in person when compared to the description in the guide book?
I couldn’t help but notice…
“…I consulted my map and headed to the nearest cheap guest house that I could find in the Lonely Planet.
On arrival at the “Downtown Guest House” the owner seemed rather surprised at my choice of guest house, the alarm bells should have starting ringing at this point.
The place certainly looked the part, with a small bar and the flags of every backpacking nation strung up high around the walls. Something just didn’t seem quite right.
The staff seemed very friendly and the owner was great but what was troubling me was that they didn’t seem to act as if having a backpacker looking for a room was something they dealt with on a daily basis.
Never the less I wasn’t feeling like traipsing around looking for somewhere else so I stuck to my guns. “
“…Since “The Lonely Planet’s” review of this guest house or maybe even just in low season there was something a little more sinister and seedy about this place.
It certainly seemed a million miles away from the guide books review.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but there was some evidence to suggest I was barking up the right tree.
Firstly I hadn’t seen or heard anything from any backpackers, the only sign being the welcoming flags in the reception and the tour operator next door.
After all, Phuket has a seedy reputation in parts, but here? I’m not sure.
The evidence I found without even looking was a couple of used lipsticks in the draw in my room, one earring and two ladies sandals out on my run down balcony (Thinking about it I could have found a lot worse!).
There were also numerous long hairs scattered around the room.
This evidence accompanied by the strange approach from the staff at “Downtown Guest House” led me to the conclusion that it was probably a place where Western men brought their Thai ladies.”
- Taken from my Travel Blog of Asia
The event described above from my own travel blog wasn’t just a one off occurrence, it was quite common that I’d get to a place and wonder just where the writer in the guide book was coming from.
Here are five reasons why you shouldn’t rely on your guide book:
1. Out Of Date Guide Books
Things change at a rapid rate on the road, a bar may have new management, a guest house may not exist anymore. If you have a old guide book you may just find that what you are looking for just isn’t there anymore or has changed dramatically.
Even if you do have the latest guide book like I did with the example above, things can change so quickly that they are not always the most reliable source of information.
2. Missing Information
I’ve noticed on my own travels that often the best places to stay or to eat are not even listed in the guide book.
This could be the case for a number of reasons: perhaps things have changed since the book was written, perhaps the writers could only cover a certain number of places.
3. Following The Trail
By following the guide book too closely you’ll find yourself well and truly on the “backpacking trail”.
Whilst this is not always a bad thing, if you don’t put the guide book down the chances are you’ll be surrounded by backpackers for most of your trip.
This is not always a bad scenario for many of travelers but you’ll struggle to get off the beaten track.
4. Pressure To See Everything
The guide books tend to list the main places and sights that “you have to visit”. For me I’m not that interested in everything, like everyone I have my preferences.
You’ll find travelers who follow the guide book closely will visit each “must see” sight in order to tick it off the list rather than visiting it because they have a real interest in it.
5. Predictability And Lack Of Adventure
By following the guide book too closely your journey can become slightly more sterile, going with the flow and finding your own solutions to problems can be much more of an adventure.
Putting the guide book down once in a while can allow your journey to become much more spontaneous, fun, adventurous and surprising.
Guide books can be of great use to the traveler and offers information that isn’t often readily available at your finger tips on the road.
Some people love to plan their journeys, Willy Volk over at Galding.com wrote – Is it Possible to Overplan A Trip? Mistakes of the Novice Traveler. Others just like to go with the flow, discarding the guide book.
Guide books can be great forms of reference during your travels but should always be used in context and as a “guide”.
Try not to rely on your guide book and only turn to it when you really need to use it to refer to, or as a simple “guide” to a place.
Let yourself do the exploring and do not let the guide book rule your traveling experience.
Do you have any amusing stories about a place that didn’t quite match the guide books description?
Let us know by commenting below…
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This is great advice. I like your point about getting off the trail. I sometimes wonder if the “backpacking trail” is another version of the tour bus.
Yeah it is in away, especially in countries like Australia.
Anyway, Stacy how about joining the 30 day alcohol detox?
You know you can do it!
I thought I left a comment earlier today, but I must have messed up. What I was saying, though, is that I really appreciate what you are doing with the detox.
I don’t drink often, but I occasionally enjoy a nice cold beer or a glass of good wine. I wonder why is it so difficult to think of abstaining for 1 month.
Since I have a wine tasting next week, I’m guessing the detox wouldn’t work for me unless I can have one day off, and that kind of defeats the purpose.
Good luck with your challenge!
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