Which travel guide should I buy?

08 August 2024

There are several answers to this question.

First of all, it depends on 4 factors which are very personal to you…

ACCORDING TO YOUR TASTES IN REGARDS TO INFORMATION AND IMAGES

If we summarize, let’s say that there are 2 main families of travel guides.

Those bringing together few images, but lots of practical information, addresses and reviews on accommodation, restaurants of all types and prices, as well as gems to find outside the main tourist attractions. If this is what you want, you will choose a guide like Le Routard or Le Petit Futé.

Those which include a lot of images and elaborate more on the characteristics of a destination, i.e. history, culture, nature, architecture as well as the main tourist attractions not to be missed. If this is what interests you, your choice will then be for guides like Lonely Planet, Michelin Green Guide, GeoGuide, National Geographic, Gallimard, Ulysse, Évasion, Hachette, Jaguar or even more detailed like Le Guide Bleu or Voir/Eyewitness.

Several of these guides are available in both English and French.

DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE TO PREPARE BEFORE THE TRIP

If you are leaving in several weeks or months, the complete and voluminous guides are for you since you will be able to inform yourself amply in advance, weigh each choice of activity at your disposal and develop your schedule and itinerary more precisely.  

Otherwise, a short guide summarizing the main attractions to visit will be sufficient for you.

DEPENDING ON THE LENGTH OF YOUR TRIP

To meet the expectations of people who are leaving for 2 weeks or less, most travel guide publishers have decided to offer a summarized and simplified version such as “Stopover at…” or “Afew days at…” or “A long weekend at…”. Also very popular: the “Cartoville”, a small hardback collection focusing on the tourist districts of a city and showing a map of the streets of each district and their attractions. 

If you are planning a longer journey of discovery, a complete guide will be your best ally to plan your entire itinerary.

DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH WEIGHT YOU ARE WILLING TO CARRY THROUGHOUT YOUR TRIP 

Luggage weight restrictions on air travel and your own physical capacity at your destination may determine whether you take your complete guide or just a short summary guide.

The suggestion that we often make in store if the client is very hesitant between the two options is the following: opt for a complete guide in order to have maximum amount of information and choice, and travel only with a small notebook, in which you will have recorded everything you want to do and see, as well as the corresponding contact details. 

ACCORDING TO YOUR BUDGET 

The price of travel guides generally varies between $13 and $60, depending mainly on the number of pages which is roughly between 30 and 400 pages. 

ANOTHER FACTOR: PUBLICATION DATE OF THE GUIDE 

At Aux Quatre Points Cardinaux, we make sure to always have in store the most recent edition of all types of guides. 

Depending on the type of guide, the publication date has more or less importance.

Indeed, if you are more interested in cultural, historical, architectural and natural information as well as the main tourist attractions of a destination, the publication of the current year is not mandatory since recent changes may be minimal. 

On the other hand, if you especially want a multitude of practical and factual information on a large number of accommodations, restaurants, and the latest news off the beaten track, it is certain that the current year’s publication is more relevant to you. 

We order every week from publishers or their distributors. In addition, they automatically send us new publications and inform us of what’s new. 

We also make individual orders to meet the specific needs of our customers. Of course, we ask them by what date they need it, so we can validate the possibility of receiving their guide on time, therefore before their departure. 

These special requests can be made in store, by telephone or through the contact form on our website. 

As you can see, there are numerous possibilities to satisfy a range of individual preferences and particular needs. 

Have a good trip!