If you’ve been to Border’s or Barnes & Noble lately, and happened to cruise through the Travel section, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the humongous selection of travel guides. We recommend Lonely Planet guidebooks for several reasons.
While they may not be the flashiest guidebooks available, they have the best, most complete information available that will help you on your study abroad trip. Each guidebook begins with a full color map that calls attention to points of interest, with short descriptions of each. This is very helpful when beginning the planning stages of your trip. Next, there are country facts, including history, geography, climate, environmental information, government, economy, society, religion, and much more.
The next section, much larger, is full of facts for visitors, with suggested itineraries, visa and document information, money, time, electricity, etc. There is information targeted for women travelers, gay & lesbian travelers, disabled travelers, seniors, and travel with children. In this section, you will also find what typical dangers are in the specific country, as well as annoyances, what to do in an emergency, and legal matters.
The third main section of each book focuses on cuisine, food etiquette, and drinking. This can be very important, as many countries have a very different attitude about food and drink than you may be used to!
Following food and drink is information about how to get there and get home, and getting around while in-country. This includes railways, air, bus, car, bike, boat, etc.
Finally, you get to the meat of the books, the specific locations within the country. Lonely Planet does a great job of highlighting great places to stay, what to see, and where to eat. For larger destinations, they break everything down by price range, which can be a great tool for the budget traveler.
In the end, if you are thinking of studying abroad, or are at the final stages of packing for your trip, make sure to pick up a Lonely Planet guidebook to help you on your study abroad trip! Click for information on AmeriSpan’s study abroad programs.
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