Gathering Travel Information—The Toughest Job You’ll Ever…Eventually Come to Appreciate

Avoiding the East Slavic Jinx

In Need of "Cool, Clear Water," Northeast Arizona

Among the East Slavs there is an old superstition that says you shouldn’t return home for a forgotten item if you have already begun your journey. Hence, before setting out on a long trip, Russian travelers sit quietly for a moment—still inside their front door—which, among other things, gives them time to ponder if they have everything they need. If you do come back after having left, you have to look in a mirror (and stick out your tongue or smile according to Ukrainians) to break the jinx, or you might not complete your journey! I’m not sure about the whole jinx thing, but I’m all for making sure I have everything I need before I head out the front door on a trip. The most important, essential, crucial, vital, critical, central, decisive, key, fundamental, necessary, imperative, non-trivial thing you NEED to take with you is…well, money, because without it you can’t eat, which process keeps your body functioning, sustains your life, etc. BUT, after money, you MUST take sufficient information!

Information, Information, Infor…mation?

If you read my first two posts (and let’s be honest, why in the world wouldn’t you have?), you know that I have an incurable addiction to travel information. Indeed, it could be said that I ‘fetishize’ travel info (I can’t keep writing “information,” my fingers will get sore from all the extra typing), or that I’m always ‘jonesing’ for it. I hope my previous posts have made clear why, because I now want to talk about that holy grail of travel planning—where to get the best travel info.

Last post I talked about travel goals, and how they can help you construct an itinerary. Frankly, that is the easy part: Q:“Where do you want to go?” A: “India.” Simplicity itself, ain’t it? Ah, but besides having seen the part in Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom where they eat “chilled monkey brains,” or having heard that the Beatles studied transcendental meditation at an ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas, what do you know about it (sadly, I’m speaking about my own experience here)? Maybe more than you think. After all, something in the destination stirred you imagination. Maybe you saw pictures of it in National Geographic or watched a documentary about it on PBS. Those are both great, cheap starting points for gathering travel info.

Saddle-up for the Travel Info Round-up, Buckaroos!

Great Kiva, Casa Rinconada, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

If you’ve decide you might want to go somewhere then start rounding-up some info on the place. You probably shouldn’t begin with guidebooks, as those tend to be geared to certain regions and have narrow focuses (more on that below). At first, utilize all the FREE info you have access to at home. You may have some moldy encyclopedias sitting around that could tell you what the key sights in Delhi are, for example. You may also have a treasure trove of old issues of National Geographic piled up in the basement. These have great visual representations of travel destinations, and cover pretty much the whole world. Also, don’t forget that great thing that is somehow magically attached to your computer—you know, the thing you are using right now?—the internet!

You can watch travel videos on YOUTUBE, check out travel documentaries on Netflix, read traveler’s blogs (some are better than others…obviously), see re-runs of PBS travel shows on HULU and the PBS website, visit a country’s ministry of tourism website, visit city, state and national park websites (for U.S. travel) and request free info packages. In fact, if you email a travel destination and ask for info, you will probably be surprised at how much stuff they send your way. In the U.S. this might include state maps, travel brochures, restaurant and hotel guides, etc. These entities, whether domestic or international, are in the business of getting people to come and visit and spend their hard-earned dough. Others provide info to foster global understanding of unique local sights, like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which maintains a World Heritage portal that gives information on the 936 places (like the pyramids at Giza or the Grand Canyon) it has deemed to be of significant importance to the cultural or natural inheritance of mankind. Finally, never underestimate the amount of info you can pull off of Wikipedia (don’t forget to look at the “external links” section!).

Once you’ve accomplished what you can do at home, it’s time to widen the scope of your search. The first, and most important stop, should be your public library. Even the most anemic library usually has a travel section, though, depending on the places the library patrons in your area like to go, you may not find exactly what you’re looking for. In any case, you should be able to get your hands on some info through interlibrary loans.  Public libraries are a great source for travel documentaries, guidebooks, and sometimes, maps.  The great thing is that they often update their travel guidebook selection every year, so you don’t have to rely on last year’s book. However, even if you can only get last year’s book, you can always use it for planning and then go online to figure out the current prices, hours of operation, etc. of various sights and hotels. I won’t say that you should NEVER buy a guide book. If you are willing to drop $15-$20 on each one (you can also pick these up used on Amazon, ABEbooks, etc.), then no problem. But, I will say that several travel guides, maps and language reference books from my local library have made many long journeys in my company, and I guarantee that I’m not the first patron to have thought of this idea.

Guidebook Bingo

Guidebooks…they’re great, but which one should you use? In my experience, a selection of guidebooks is better than one. Guidebook writers tend to focus on certain issues that they feel are important for travelers, while giving less attention to others. For example, Rick Steves’ books are great all-around guides, but their best feature is the detailed descriptions, including walking tours, they give of top 10 sights (i.e. places like St. Paul’s cathedral or the Residenz in Munich). His books are also good at letting you know where to find a cozy bed and breakfast. However, if you want a more comprehensive rundown of eateries and hotels, and more info about towns outside of his European “back doors,” or those off the well-worn tourist path—the spa town of Bad Ischl in Austria, for example—then you should refer to a Fodor’s guide.

When it comes to guidebooks there is also the issue (mentioned above), of choosing the right one for the region you are visiting. In Western Europe I’ve used Rick Steves (both city and country guides, i.e. Vienna and Austria guide, as they offer different levels of detail), Fodor’s (city and country), Top 10 guides (these are thin, compact, have great pictures of the sights and a handy fold-up city map—e.g. London, Munich, Moscow—stored in a pocket under the back cover), and, for road trips, Michelin Travel Guides. In Eastern Europe, I’ve used Lonely Planet (good all-around guides more geared toward destinations not usually found on the grand-tour, i.e. Romania, Africa, and the Middle East) and Let’s Go Europe (written by a bunch of young Harvard punks focusing on budget travel). For Central Asia I like Lonely Planet, supplemented by a Bradt Travel Guide (these are highly detailed and even more boutique than Lonely Planet) and an Odyssey Illustrated Guide (the boutiquest of the boutiquest but containing excellent historical and cultural info). In the US of A I’ve found Fodor’s, Mobil Travel Guides (for road trips), and Insight Guides useful. Eyewitness Guides are visually stunning and informative, but usually thick as a brick and, thus, not journey friendly.

Pancho Villa and Portabello Road

Torreon, Lincoln, New Mexico

Finally, you should always look into your favorite movies, TV series, novels, etc. for travel ideas. Many of the cities/towns/sights I end up visiting are not featured prominently in travel guides, but are places I’ve read about in history books (it’s my nerdy thing). For example, I would’ve never visited Columbus, New Mexico if I had not been interested in the history of the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa’s raid into the US in 1916. I’m sure my wife could’ve done without that little jaunt, but I went with her to Portabello Road market in London, based almost exclusively on its image as portrayed in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It turns out that the street is slightly different in reality—there wasn’t a dancing cavalcade of subjects from the far-flung corners of the former British Empire—but we had a good time anyway.

Get on the internet, dig into those copies of National Geographic, and watch old James’ Bond movies for travel inspiration, and start making a list of your desired travel destinations.