Whenever you’re planning to travel to a foreign country, it’s always a smart idea to take along a guide. Not only do new and exciting experiences await, but also strange and unfamiliar customs and ways of doing things. Walking into a society completely different from your own can be fraught with pitfalls. Having a native to accompany you would be an ideal solution but in most cases, not a very practical one. It’s much easier to simply throw a book into your backpack or suitcase for easy reference throughout your trip. The following books are useful guides for an odyssey through India. Don’t leave home without at least one of them!
Frommer’s India
This guide’s renowned team of authors includes Pippa de Bruyn, Dr. Keith Bain, Niloufer Venkatraman, Shonar Joshi, David Allardice and others. A paperback edition costs $16.49, while a Kindle edition costs just $8.99. Frommer’s India is updated and personalized twice a year by a team of experts. This guide provides four itineraries, and it’s a fantastic resource for planning your time in India. Frommer’s India has extremely useful information on topics such as bargaining, safety and etiquette. This book is for high-budget travelers wishing to “experience the best of India.” Generally regarded as a quality guidebook, the only common complaint about Frommer’s India is a lack of good maps.
The Rough Guide to India
Penned by a team of authors, The Rough Guide to India costs $19.79 for a new paperback edition and $22.99 for a Kindle edition. The Rough Guides are known for being comprehensive, and the India edition doesn’t disappoint. Not only does The Rough Guide to India offer in-depth information about the country’s history and practical advice regarding visiting attractions; it also provides a great deal of cultural information. This is especially helpful when navigating a culture so unlike your own. The Rough Guide to India offers social and etiquette tips, as well as a detailed listing of hotels, restaurants, resorts and nightlife.
Lonely Planet India (Country Travel Guide)
This book lists a team of 17 authors and costs $21.11 in paperback and $17.59 for a Kindle edition. In addition to a large writing team, this travel guide boasts 83 weeks of research, 132 ancient temples, 196 clear and easy-to-use maps including a Delhi pullout map, 3D plans of iconic sights, comprehensive planning tools, inspirational photos and in-depth background. Lonely Planet is one of the most popular guidebook publishers around. Its India Country Travel Guide is extremely detailed, and as a result, the hefty tome is over 1,000 pages long. However, lugging India around is worth it for the wealth of reliable information offered on just about anything a traveler could want to know. Besides, you can easily avoid the bulkiness issue by purchasing the Kindle edition.
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: India
Crafted by an editorial team, each DK Eyewitness Travel Guide is as up-to-date as possible at the time of publication. Paperback editions cost $19.80. Currently, no Kindle edition is available. The latest DK guide to India organizes information according to region and is rich in photographs, maps and illustrations. This travel guide sets itself apart with features such as 3D aerial views, cutaways and floor plans of all the major sites and full-color maps of towns and regions. Information on markets and festivals, beaches and attractions, as well as highlights such as the best places to eat and palaces to visit, are all listed town by town, region by region. The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: India provides a wealth of information on architecture walks, scenic routes and thematic tours, as well as on every temple and shrine. Even if you never actually go to India, the DK guide is an enthralling pictorial journey.
Enjoying India: The Essential Handbook
J.D. Viharini authored this top-selling India travel guide. The paperback edition costs $18.36, and the Kindle edition is a great bargain at only $3.99. This guide is a favorite among travelers, offering great advice and information on topics such as how to stay safe and healthy, communicate successfully, understand how yes can mean no, avoid cultural blunders, deal with Indian bureaucracy, accommodate special needs, bargain effectively, get a seat on a fully-booked train, use your computer safely, cope with Indian plumbing and so much more. Viharini, who has spent many years living in and traveling around India, writes with the wit and wisdom of an insider. Readers love Viharini’s engaging, humorous style and keen observations. Useful travel guides written by a single author are rare, but Enjoying India is a true gem.
Whether you take along a tome from a tried-and-true travel publisher or a much more user-friendly crib sheet penned by a native, be sure to check out your travel guide options before planning your sojourn to India.
This guest post article was written and provided by Erica Gustafson who is a freelance writer, avid traveler to India and online media consultant for Expedia.
Image by mckaysavage
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