December 2009 Top Tips
Want to know the latest travel tips, gadgets and advice? Or are you more interested in the best websites, travel books and maps? Either way, this page is for you! This month, we look at the best upcoming guidebooks. Don’t miss next month, when we will feature the best travel gadgets!
Guide Me: The Latest Travel Books
Often bought months in advance – and read over and over – guidebooks tend to become our best friends when we travel, ending up with missing pages and tattered edges. Here is a list of the latest versions of your new best friends:
South American Handbook 2010 (Footprint Books).
The only guidebook for the whole of South America that is updated annually, this 2010 version is literally packed full of new info. Now in a smaller, more versatile hard-cover version, expert author Ben Box (who has been updating this guide for over 20 years) has also included useful tips such as the top festivals to participate in, the best treks, and where to go when. Also coming up from the Footprints brand is the next Patagonia update (due out before the end of the year) as well as Diving The World (released this month), which details over 200 prime diving sites around the world.
Buenos Aires Encounter Guide (Lonely Planet)
Guidebook giant Lonely Planet says this book is aimed at the short-stay visitor. Apart from being pocket-sized and loaded with color images, it features less accommodation options, and more neighborhood info. A good inclusion is the full-color, pull-out map, and several detailed neighborhood maps. For those heading to Nicaragua, LP has just updated its guide with the latest information, and out later this month is a coffee table book for the travel-lover called 1000 Ultimate Experiences. Though not technically a guidebook, this book brings together 1000 ideas for your next trip – after reading this you are bound to get itchy feet.
The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget (Rough Guides)
Sporting a new format for Rough Guides, this guidebook is for those travelers who have a strong sense of adventure, but are a little light on money. There is more emphasis on hostels and camping, and less information on expensive options. The format is easy to read, and there are sufficient maps to help you get around.
Galápagos: A Natural History Guide (Odyssey Publications)
Boutique publisher Odyssey Publications specializes in hard-to-find guidebooks, such as their latest releases:
Asia Overland, Bhutan and Mongolia. They have just published the latest edition of their only South America-related guidebook, Galápagos: A Natural History Guide. This is the guidebook to own if you are travelling to these islands. Author Pierre Constant focuses on the fauna and flora of this area, including the waters surrounding the Galápagos islands. For a chance to win a copy of this book, check out our competition.
Argentina Online Update (Frommers)
Veteran guidebook company Frommers has found a unique way of keeping their guides current: they provide updates available for download on their website. The most recent update is for their Argentina guide. And best of all, you don’t need to have the guide in order to download the update, It’s free.
Argentina and Colombia (V!VA guides)
The friendly people at V!VA guides do things a little differently. Their guidebooks are updated every six months and they encourage their readers to submit suggestions and recommendations, which they then check out and use in future editions. Another reason why they are one of the most up-to-date guides is the fact that each entry is dated. So you can tell how long it’s been since the author wrote it. Look out for their 2009 version of Colombia and a brand new Argentina guide, due to be published in the next few months.
Do you know of any great travel guidebooks that we forgot to feature? Let us know! Email us at magazine@saexplorers.org
There’s an app for that!
Last week we looked at some of the new applications for phones that can be helpful when you travel. One of our readers, John Adams, sent in one that he recommends.
John writes: “This is a great way to make yourself understood when you don’t know a word of the language. Just point at the object that you need.”
And while this concept isn’t new (books like this have been around for ages), this is the first time that this has be available digitally, and for such a low price (US99c). Thanks, Jonh!
Websites we love!
The ultimate guide to travelling in the ‘lost world’ of Gran Sabana, Roraima, Canaima National Park and Angel Falls in Venezuela. There is a huge amount of useful info, photos videos and maps featured and a definite highlight is the online version of the latest map of Canaima National Park.
Touting themselves as the ‘definitive city guide for the mobile generation’, this site is not only easy to use and just a little bit cool, it also has some great reviews of restaurants, bars, galleries and shops in São Paulo. It also features a section where you can plan your own city tour, including a personalized map. Love it.
Finally, someone thought to create a site for people trawling through the impossible task of applying for Argentine Residency or a DNI. These guys are essentially a support group and their experiences will help you through the long-winded process.
Not a pretty site, but a useful one. If you are planning a cruise, check here first. Readers submit their experiences (a little like Tripadvisor), and you can also compare cruise lines. They have quite an extensive section on South America.
Do you know of any great websites? Let us know! Email us at magazine@saexplorers.org
Category: Travelers Tips
