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Are Travel Guidebooks passé?

Earlier this year the venerable “Frommer’s” travel guides were purchased by Google and soon thereafter it was announced that they would discontinue publishing the travel guides in book form.  Word on the street is that Google was mainly interested in the social media followers of Frommer’s, not in publishing guidebooks, so they sold the publishing rights back to Arthur Frommer and the good news is that he will continue to publish the books. 

A frommer's guide book from 2000
Even an older guide book can have a lot of great information….and you can probably pick them up cheap at a used book store.

So are guide books still useful?  Well, let me give you my “two cents”.  Guide books are still a great planning tool: you can lay them out on the table, flip from page to page and share with one another much easier than if you were on a computer or tablet.  Also, you can highlight items that are of interest to you.  Even an old guide book that might seem out of date can provide great insights you may not find on a website.

Once you’re on the road, a guide book can be invaluable to you. Although most travel websites are now adapted for mobile use, and there are many apps available as well, there are times when a guide book is more convenient, especially if you have bookmarked or highlighted pertinent pages when planning.

So bottom line…..both guide books and travel websites together can help you plan the trip of a lifetime. Hint….check out our website first!

We offer reliable guidebooks that are carefully selected for Catholic travelers.  Together with secular guide books they are a great resource. If we can quote Rick Steves, he said something like “$30 tools for $3,000 experiences.