Miscellaneous Forum - VirtualTourist.com
- [
A
guide book will definitely be in my luggage. A
guidebook can be read anywhere without glaring at the same bright screen all the time and it can be taken on the actual trip. Also I write notes in the GB pages so if I idly pick up the book at sometime, the notes are nice memories. Amazon allows you to purchase the item you've viewed, easily and at competitive
prices.4. Amazon suggests related categories, subjects, products using its pattern modelling database management software, and more often than not gets these suggestions right. Amazon summarises key information on books and films that is consistent and almost always correct.2. And I make use of the VT Travel Planner. And the asssets often ends up to be lots of amateurs who think they have something positive to say about their holiday experiences or who want to share their holiday snaps on line without boring their mates/husband. Anyone out there who's just come around to using the internet instead of
guidebooks? As noted, different
guide books are better for different destinations... At the moment, I have my travel planner for Karlsruhe, Germany all set to print up. Before I go on a trip, I will systematicaly go through every available
guide book n the three libraries I regularly visit. During the trip I try to avoid to spend a single minute in front of any screen. Eyewitness doesn't make a book for South Korea so I had to rely on the internet. For anybody who wants to experience a place not just visit, they have to have some background to work with.An other thing about
guide books is that the better ones recommends books, films etc., about the country you are planning to visit. For Italy or Greece, the Blue Guides, for Turkey or Bulgaria, Rough Guide, for Japan, Australia and New Zealand Lonely Planet (the older ones - the newer are not nearly as useful for me). For the historical, cultural overview it's hard to find a comparable resource on the net that doesn't require endless googling.But when I've decided to definitely go, I'll do all the booking of airline/train ticket and hotel reservations on the net. Guide books are essential for overall planning but when getting down to specifics of where to stay, what to do, current
prices, current transportation situation and all the rest the internet is better and more accurate by far. Guidebooks are great for a general overview while the internet is better used for researching specific details. Guidebooks are supposed to be well written. Guidebooks have a format we can understand and we trust them on key themes. However, I live in a country where
guidebooks are not available, so have to depend on the Internet, which is how I found VT when I was going to Lebanon. I also have info on the "Romantic Route" which we plan to see after the meeting. I also use both Internet and book sources, and I check out
guidebooks from the library before I'll commit to buying one. I also visit tourist information offices in the
towns I visit and get first-hand and up-to-date information of the area. I always use the internet, VT first of course, and use google and msn search for a
city's official site or tourist info. I can get the latest and the newest, make reservations and have my entire itinerary organized on the internet.For the history of a country, I agree with the above posters that such background info is best found in
guide books. I carry print outs of VT trip planner, and others. I don't want lots of pictures: my eyes will see for real. I just want lots of explanations/information text.I highlight what I really must see/want to know before I go but I only read in real depth when I'm back: my brain just can't take in everything whilst I'm actually away, even when I try. I like to be able to relax with this information, sitting in the garden or at night in bed. I only buy a
guide book if I know I'll be using it a lot [Rome and Egypt and Cairo ; and picked up an old one of London in a charity shop.. I use internet to check out places to stay, reviews, and get information from locals, plus to get a general idea of what a place is like. I'd go with the Lonely Planet thanks. I'd still look at his photos though, and be grateful for him loading them in. I'll be on the hands of the ABC squad too!! I've included most of the things interesting to me. I've used others if no Rough Guide is available (RG maps are excellent too), but I far prefer its history & detailed info. If they continuously print information that is wrong word gets around and their sales nosedive. In the main, they are less about promoting the author who wrote the information, or selling something else.Booking flights we do online, as are bookings for the starting trip and ending trip hotels. Individual contributors can add a review of the book / DVD after the correct objective information has been offered. Internet sites may not be in the business of directly selling their information, they use information to get affiliate marketing and advertising revenues for minimal costs. It is improving.Virtual magasines can be helpful in that they have more photographs than
guidebooks and thus can inspire.Guidebooks are most often in the business of selling
guidebooks. It seems these reviewers do not have any need to be recognised more by their postion versus others, implying they are more interested in the quality of their work than on their "ranking".5. It's a very nice
guide with a little of everything. It's like my own custom-made travel book. Lonely Planet
guides are too glossy and heavy..I ended up ripping out the relevant pages each day. On my trip to India last year,and to Paris and Warsaw just now I made my own travel
guide from Vt tips, printed it out and put in a folder. Once there, I try to visit the tourism offices there tooAll this when I plan the trip... Reading some literature or travel literature about your destination sweetens the experience in a whole added dimension. Reasons - too much info and the books are too expensive. Similarly, there is no room for "comments" on the review from the "hiyah, I rated your review hint hint rate mine chummy boy" lamps. Since I have joined VT, I do more research on the internet than I ever did before. Sites are listed by regions, sometimes maps are provided, hotels, restaurants, public transportation, some language tips. Sort of in between internet and printed
guide. That is the Eyewitness series because they always include some history. The breadth and depth of category and product coverage is unmatched.3. Then I'll start researching the places on the net with a view to getting other peoples impressions. Then was able to consult and plan on a day to day basis. There is no ranking or silly little school kid gold star stuff given to the reviewer. These whould have written by experts.My answer is; when I have to plan my travels I like both
guidebooks and internet. They are produced to sell in large quantities and to generate repeat business from the sales of the books. This is helpful especially in relation to getting to and from airports etc. Used the maps and the directions from RG to find my way around, ask directions, buy food and to order food in restaurants. Using a torch the bloke skunks around looking over piles of half finished, unvalidated magasines splashed across the floor in unsorted piles. Using a torch the bloke skunks around looking over piles of half finished, unvalidated magasines splashed across the floor in unsorted piles.>>I strongly disagree. Very few and quite expensive internet coffee shops there. Virtual travel and hotel sites have a long way to go. Visas, maps, getting there and away, locations of embassies and the majority of the sites to see. VT transport and accomodation tips are invaluable. Whatever I find interesting in a
guide book, I will check up on internet to find updated info and I print out some stuff of things that I find along the way. Which adds to the core data the site provides.These reviews can be rated so the most thorough reviews rise to the top. Would I want to rely on information about El Jem from a bloke who wants to create as many tips from his six pictures of the place on his new digital camera, or from the Lonely Planet? Yes I'd agree with you that the travel planner feature is better than a
guidebook if my value equation is based on cost being lower than the benefit received. Yet still folk continue to write good reviews and remain motivated. You might have to trail through some dead wood and waffle but checking out the most recent pages almost always gives up to date information. Your
guide book may be anywhere from 1-5 years out of date, the internet is current.By internet I include forums, official country/
city guides, newsletters, sites like VT and Lonely Planet, Forbes and Fodors and all the others of that genre.