Which guide to choose
Since independent tourism among Russians is still in its infancy, it is not surprising that there are not so many quality guidebooks in Russian. In this case, foreign countries can come to our aid. Of course, in order to use a foreign language guide, you need to know, at least at the initial level, a foreign language. But after all, abroad, where you are going, it is also needed. And so, two Western guides can bring us real benefits for the implementation of our plans: Lonely Planet and Dorling Kindersley.
Lonely Planet, a product created by independent travelers like all of us. A married couple from Australia, who once made a big trip from England to Australia “by land”, wrote a book about it “Asia on the Cheap”. Then, a guide to Asia “South-East Asia on the shoestring” was released, which became a bestseller. It was this book that laid the foundation for the Lonely Planet series of guidebooks.
Lonely Planet is the #1 travel guide in the world. It is known and loved by “independent tourists” from many countries. And they love him for the accuracy and reliability of the information. This is perhaps the only guide that is updated annually. Harvard students ride around the world for several months, try, write down and submit their observations and discoveries to the editor. That is why there are a lot of inexpensive and high-quality places in it. Tourists use this guide when they are looking for places to eat on their trips. And have never been disappointed.
The guide contains information about accommodation, cafes, transport, and, of course, historical and geographical information. And also cards. There is only one minus – the guide is not published in Russian. In Russia, they are sold in foreign literature stores, but they are quite expensive, and the choice is not great. But the geography of these guides is simply unimaginable! Any place you don’t want to go is on their list.
You can also buy a guide in online stores, for example, in Amazon, which has been sending books to Russia for a long time. The parcel takes a couple of weeks, but the wait is worth it. Sending one book will come out as the cost of the book itself, but you can buy two at once, or choose a store not in the states, but in England, then the savings will be more tangible (but in the states the choice in Amazon is still better, and books are still cheaper than in US).
Directly on the trip, a guide from Dorling Kindersley may come in handy. After you have prepared well for LP, it is very convenient to use DK. Yes, in general, they are convenient to use, even if you have not prepared for the trip.
The DK, using the top 10 method, describes the most important within each category: area, food, excursion, etc. In our country, as you might guess, these guides are not very cheap (meaning the full version), but the printing of the book is simply excellent.
In offline stores, finding the top 10 is sometimes not easy. But a spoon is expensive for dinner. The only thing that will help get out of the situation: an e-book, or, having time to wait, an order in online stores, whether it be the largest foreign Amazon, or the Russian Ozon.
