Online Travel Guides: Essential Reading Or Too Much Information?

By Ian MacKenzie On May 9, 2007 · 11 Comments

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If you’re like me, a large allure of travel is the element of mystery – of heading out into the unknown. Of meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, and challenging myself with new possibilities.

This is at odds with the exponential growth of online travel guides that pull together destination data from multiple sources, such as hotel reviews, attractions, activities, comments, ratings, photos, blogs, guided tours, maps, etc.

Here’s just a few examples: TripBase, Boo, We Just Got Back, Check Point Black, Mapwing, TrackaTrip, Geobeats, IVisitU, Gusto, GeoJoey, TripTie, Unearth Travel, TripUp, TravelVideos, TripConnect, Worlds Revealed, Vcarious, Placeblogger, RealTravel, and Virtual Tourist.

On the one hand, reading about various destinations can help you plan for the trip you want. But do you ever feel like too much information and planning can kill the unique excitement of uncertainty?

It’s true, I co-founded my own community TravelBlogger, but we’ve consciously decided to focus on allowing our members to blog their trips, rather than attempt to catalog every city and country on the globe.

What do you think? Has the explosion of travel portals helped you or do you try to avoid the avalanche of information?

About The Author

Ian MacKenzie

Ian MacKenzie is the founder and former editor of Brave New Traveler. He is a now a contributing editor to Matador, and the network's architect. Ian is also a documentary filmmaker, with his first feature (One Week Job) released in 2010.

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http://www.gobackpacking.com/Blog Dave

Given I’m planning a 1-2 year trip to multiple countries, I haven’t even thought about trying to research the destinations online to that degree. For my past two trips to single countries (Belize and Costa Rica), I don’t recall feeling an overwhelming urge to use them either.

Call me old school, however I prefer to rely on guide books instead. I know there are some hardcore vagabonders out there who think even relying on guides takes away from the adventure, however I find it provides just the right level of support and freedom I require to have a great time.
http://www.ramblingtraveler.com Stacy

When I’m planning a trip, I like to do some online research for suggestions on things to do that might not be in a guidebook. It’s a fine line between getting some suggestions and overplanning, though.

Two problems with overplanning:
Not enough freedom to make your own discoveries, which is hard to do if you are busy crossing off must-see’s on a list.
Too much anticipation for particular sites might leave you with expectations that aren’t met, causing a lot of disappointment.

I say the online guides are great, but limit your use of them.
http://www.vagabondish.com Mike

Usually, I play it by ear and hit the ground running when I travel. I’ll hear from bartenders/locals/hotel clerks/cabbies/etc. about cool things to do in their town/city and I’ll just follow wherever their recommendations take me.

Sometimes though, I’ll get to our hotel or whatever and wonder what the heck to do next. So, as a backup, if I’m going some place completely new, I like to have at least a few places that I think are worthwhile to check out. I do most of my research for “things to see” online, with a sprinkling of guidebook reading thrown in. It usually gives me a good jumping-off point.
http://www.ontheroadtravel.com Jen

There is definitely an overload of information out there. I agree with the comments above that the best travel experiences are the ones where no itinerary is set and you go where the wind takes you. That being said, travelers need the luxury of time to arrive without any plans. That’s why we created On The Road Travel: so that travelers who lack time have a great guideline of recommmendations from locals who know their cities.
Kate

I think it’s unfair to lump all those websites together, since they all do different things. I recently became a fan of WeJustGotBack.com, because it focuses on family travel. When I travel with my husband and three kids (ages 7, 5, 2), I definitely need to do some prep work ahead of time. Easy for you to say that the best kind of travel is spontaneous and serendipitous…I used to say that before I had kids. When my kids are older, I’ll travel that way again. But for now, I’m in the zone when I appreciate someone doing some legwork for me and finding the kid-friendly stuff.
http://www.bravenewtraveler.com ian mackenzie

hi all – thanks for the great discussion!

and kate — good point. depending on your travel situation, some comprehensive travel information can take the guess work out of an uncertain destination.
http://www.visit-the-coqui.com Coqui

As some one who has just started a site that is intended to help me adjust to a new country and also hopefully provide useful information for anyone thinking of visting Puerto Rico, I think it is good to have a variety of sites. Provided of course that the information is reliable.

When ever I am planning on visiting a new destination I always try to find information from a variety of sources; books, online etc. If you only have a short time in a place, you don’t want to be wasting it deciding on what you will do when you have already arrived.

Just my thoughts
Pingback: 5 Places To Watch Free Travel Video Guides
http://www.artist-at-large.com kimba

I started my art + travel site seven years ago as a way to tell my stories. When I was a kid my entire family was addicted to National Geographic. And I think my desire for travel comes from that. My take on the question is that there is using a travel site to plan a trip and then there are travel sites that inspire you to travel. I hope mine is the latter.
http://www.bravenewtraveler.com Ian MacKenzie

hi kimba, that’s a great point. i wasn’t making a distinction between the two, but when you consider it, there is a big difference between say Trip Advisor and National Geographic. If I had to choose between the two, I’d pick inspiration over information…
http://http://www.europealacarte.co.uk Karen Bryan

I have to agree with Kimba, when I write a destination guide for my travel site I would like to kindle a desire in the reader to visit that destination, provide the reader with some basic facts about that destination and provide links in the guide for the reader to find out more about topics of interest to them, rather than a all encompassing what to do and see every moment sort of guide.

For me it’s not so much that I am seeking the excitement of uncertainty I just believe in the worlds of Jan Morris “The best way to find out about a place is wander around. Wander around, alone, with all your antennae out thinking about what’s happening and what you see and what you feel.” To get a flavour of that destination you have to spend some time there without a fixed, crowded itinerary.

Online Travel Guides: Essential Reading Or Too Much Information?

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