What goes into a good Travel book?

[501FunPlaces]

What goes into a great Travel Guide?
What do you like to see & read when flipping through a Travel book?
How important are full page pictures?
Any great examples??

I just finished my first book 501 Fun Places in Colorado.
I am planning out Volume 2.

Love to hear some input on what makes a great Travel book.
Thanks,
Chris DeFebio

 

[Guy Incognito]

I like a travel guide that tells me where the important nooks and crannies of a place lie. Like good quality whore houses, local moonshine distilleries, burlesque theatres and 24-hour book shops which sell The Hound of the Baskervilles in case I accidentally mislay one of the several copies which accompany me on my travels.

 

[sparkchaser]

: Guy

 

[501FunPlaces]

moonshine distilleries ... are these bring your own jar?

 

[twins15]

Pictures! I love browsing through pictures in travel books... if I can see something is cool, I am more likely to visit than if I just read about something being cool.

 

[sparkchaser]

Pictures! I love browsing through pictures in travel books... if I can see something is cool, I am more likely to visit than if I just read about something being cool.

Yes, definitely photos. But I want more than photos, I want each travel photo to have the camera settings. I think the National Geographic Photography Field Guide does this and the Lonely Planet book as well. Or maybe it was just one of them. I can't remember.

 

[Lovecraftian]

A good mix of photo settings is crucial, too. I want some fisheyes, some sepia prints, some black and white and even some that are overexposed – I find the strain of trying to see what a certain place looks like to be sort of a game. Kills time on the road, anyhow.

 

[Thomas London]

Hey Chris,

Human stories and threads are essential, everyone loves a story so get in as much as you can, too much factual is a turn off in my opinion

 

[Sabrina Gage]

I love to read travel journals which are quite interesting. Travel guide can be useful but some of them are updated too slow.

 

[sparkchaser]

I love to read travel journals which are quite interesting. Travel guide can be useful but some of them are updated too slow.

This is why you should check places like the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree or Wikitravel for updated information.

 

[norote]

I like looking at pictures of famous and non-famous places and maps in a travel book.

 

[Warrigal]

I like looking at pictures of famous and non-famous places and maps in a travel book.

And I like being forewarned about notorious local character types and infamous areas. This is not to say I need to avoid either on my travels, only that I like to be prepared. Brussels gets such a bad write-up from some people that I've elected to avoid it so far, although I could still be persuaded to imagine it in a different light. It's also useful to know if any nearby hospitals are substandard, because you don't want to leave your health to chance. I remember one especially unforgiving assessment of a Marrakech hospital that must have been a dagger in the heart of the ministry of tourism; it was a cold dismissal, but I appreciated the honesty.