One thing you should know about me is that I am extremely loyal. If I’ve decided that I like a person or a particular product, I’ll stick by it in good times and in bad. One of my first international trips back in 1994 was from Tokyo where I was studying abroad to Bangkok and the Thai islands for a spring break trip. One day as I was getting ready for the trip, I found myself in a book store in Tokyo looking for a guide book to take with me. Without any recommendation or real comparison shopping, I ended up grabbing a Lonely Planet book off the shelf. If anything, it was probably just the cheapest option for an English language guide in the store.
Well, my travel buddy and I poured over the pages of the guide, picking out cheap accommodations on Khao San Road, a train from Bangkok to Surat Thani (jumping off spot for the islands) and a $6.00 beach hut on Koh Samui (back when there were only dirt roads on the island). Ever since that trip I have been a diehard LP fan. I know that Lonely Planets are not for everyone, and they are way beyond just the backpack set that they used to exclusively cater to back in the day, but still I can’t imagine travelling without them. Every time I book a ticket to a new country, part of my routine is to head to a bookstore to buy a new Lonely Planet guide. I like to collect those guides almost as much as I like to collect passport stamps.
There are definitely some critics out there who say that Lonely Planet has become too mainstream and that they have forgotten their original audience. I think that’s kind of funny, though, because I hear others say they don’t use Lonely Planet because it appeals too much to the hostel/backpacker crowd. I guess it’s just how you choose to look at it. Another complaint I’ve heard is that the guides have become too influential and that any unique “local” spot that they recommend will instantly be overrun by Aussies, Americans and Brits. That may have been true for a little while when Lonely Planet became very popular, but now with so many thousands of travel resources, it would be hard for any one source to be the end all, be all for recommendations.
Well, I do have to come clean and admit that occasionally I’ve cheated on Lonely Planet and tried a different guide book. I’m actually a big fan of Frommer’s guides too…but it is just not the same. My loyalty is with LP. Now I’m not crazy enough to be loyal to a product that doesn’t have the quality to back it up. These guides are as accurate as any printed guide can be and they have wide range of activities, reviews and advice for all types of budgets so whether I feel like splurging or scrimping, I can usually get what I want from the same LP Guide. And it has gone beyond just the country guide books. I like to search through the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree for advice from the online community anytime I dream up a trip I’d like to take and I have more than a few Lonely Planet Coffee Table books lying around the apartment. And one day I’d love to pen an article or two for them. You hear me out there, Lonely Planet? What about you guys? What guides do you use? Or do you prefer to just wing it?
