TIP: Travel Guides

There are multiple travel guides in my office, but a few are always within arm’s length.

My first pick from the pile every time is “India (Eyewitness Travel Guides)”. The book is well laid out with gorgeous pictures and illustrations. For each region the book covers, the destinations are numerically assigned and plotted on  a corresponding map. Locations are picked for their cultural or historical significance with almost no mention of where to eat, stay, etc., that the other guides add. This helps reduce the book to a manageable size for dragging along on the plane.

The other three guides are good resources each covering the country with a slightly different angle. If you goal is to find a good place to eat, a place to lay your head for the night or how to move about the country then Frommer’s and Rough Guide are definite must reads.

Lonely Planet has a book specifically out for South India that, hands down, is needed in your collection if traveling to this part of the country. More details, more recommendations, and in general, a lot of useful information. Remember, the language is entirely different in the South, the food changes from state to state, and cultural differences that are too many to count are addressed in this book.

Rough Guide has produced a decent book for the Golden Triangle route of Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan. Should your journey take you to these parts, you really only need this particular title. The basics of Indian culture, language, customs and more are covered in this easy to read, easy to pack book.

What I’ve really found to be most helpful are the State Tourism Department booklets for various regions of each state. Typically these are free and available from any government run tourist info office. Locals, drivers, or merchants can point you in the right direction once you’re on the ground in India.

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