TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

Some people like carrying around the safety net of a guidebook when they travel. But guidebooks can be expensive, and you'll probably only use them once. So is it worth it to buy one (or more)?

If you're on a budget, or if you don't want to carry around the extra bulk of a guidebook, consider this option:

Check your local libraries for their most recent guidebooks about your intended destination. Usually a good library will have the most updated version in their catalog.

Check out the book and flip through it at your leisure, taking notes or using sticky notes to mark certain pages. Use a copy machine and photocopy pages that you feel will be useful, such as maps. Then all you need to bring on the trip are your notes and a few photocopied pages. Once you're at your destination, you can visit the local tourist office to fill in any gaps about what to do and where. They'll have loads of free maps and pamphlets that you can take!

If you are planning to do a lot of sightseeing, or if you are going on a multi-city trip, it's a good idea to print out maps from the Internet before you go.

On Google maps, you can zoom in and out to show just the right amount of information that you need. Make sure you have maps that show you where your hotel is located, as well as any other attractions or landmarks that you want to see.

This is especially handy if you plan to visit a lot of cities (or even countries!) and you don't have room for the bulky, folded maps of each destination.

Some of the best maps for route-planning can be picked up FREE from AAA offices, if you are a member. They have excellent fold-out maps on each individual state, one of the whole of the USA (great for kid's rooms as a wallchart) and others of NE, SE, NW and SW USA for planning trips.

You will need to show your membership card to get these excellent publications, but it makes the annual subscription even better value for money.

Many large tourist cities are filled with people looking to take advantage of a possibly clueless tourist, so try not to make a target of yourself. Standing on a street corner with a map or guidebook is a sure-fire way to draw the wrong kind of attention to yourself.

Plan out your destinations for the day before you leave, so you don't have to keep digging into your book for something else to do. If you need to check a map, be discrete. Even make a stop in a store or restaurant to do it.