Gone are the days of setting off on your big adventure, pack on the back and nothing except your Lonely Planet to guide you. Now with the likes of tripadvisor, travel bloggers and even travel apps for your smartphone we have access an abundance of travel information that some may ask, do we still need guidebooks? My opinion: the trusty old Lonely Planet still has a place in the travel world and here my reasons as to why I won’t be storing my travel books on the bookshelf just yet.
1. It’s available offline.
Whilst we live in the world of technology and internet there are still places you can travel too where this may not be available. There is nothing worse then trying to find out information on your next destination or even when you have just arrived and you can’t get online. This also makes planning your trip super easy, as you can do it on the plane or even at the local bus stop when waiting for your next departure.
2. It’s concise and to the point.
Whilst having access to all this new information is great, it can be total information overload when trying to make decisions about what to do, where to stay, what cafe to go to etc. At least with the Lonely Planet you are only given a few options with their recommendations, which makes decision making a lot easier on the road.
3. It covers a wide variety of topics all contained in the one book.
From learning about the country’s history, culture and language to advising on cafes, shopping and scams the lonely planet has it covered. Rather than having to research and sift through a lot of different resources you can just refer to the one trusty guide, saving yourself a lot of time and headaches.
4. It’s a great starting point for planning your trip.
As I said before it can be total information overload on the internet, so it’s great to start planning your trip with the Lonely Planet. In fact they even give you recommended itineraries on how to plan your trip.
5. They are the travel experts.
Lonely Planet have been in the travel business for years and years. You can trust their opinion and if there something important you need to know it will be covered in the guide. Whilst there is a lot more information out there it’s not necessarily always quality and you could quite easily be misguided with incorrect information.
All in all the Lonely Planet is still one of my number one travel companions on the road. If you’re interested in buying one, check out Bookworld to get the latest editions!