PLANNING - Europe On a Budget - page 28

go under, cities raise their public transportation prices, restaurants change management, and
attractions close down for maintenance—all of which are impossible to keep updated in an
annually (or sometimes biannually) published guidebook.
Additionally, in many instances a restaurant or budget hotel will raise their prices (or cut
corners) to exploit their newfound fame because they know they'll be overrun with tourists
who blindly follow their guidebook's recommendations.
Personally, I only use guidebooks as a backup option when looking for restaurants. I'd much
rather find dining recommendations from TripAdvisor.com or local food bloggers/websites. I
would very rarely consult a guidebook for accommodation because there are so many crowd-
sourced reviews online ( Hostelworld.com , hostelbookers.com , Tripadvisor.com , Airbnb.com ,
etc.).
However, guidebooks do one thing brilliantly; they amass a large amount of information
into a single, well-structured format. It is my favorite way to get a feel of the area I'm research-
ing. I can sit down with a good guidebook and learn a lot in just a few hours.
On the other hand, researching on the Internet feels more like you're assembling a giant
puzzle—there is no structure, and even after spending hours clicking from link to link, you
still don't have a clear idea of what you're looking at. Before you know it, you're reading the
complaints that a forty-five-year-old mom from Dodge City has about hotel prices in Berlin.
The sheer magnitude of information becomes paralyzing. A guidebook may not feature every
little gem, but it provides a solid, fact-checked foundation to your travel planning and then
you can use the web to fill in the gaps.
Many guidebooks also provide walking tours, maps, cultural insights, history tidbits, lan-
guage/translations, and other practical travel information that may not be readily available
online. And there is something to be said about the low-tech factor. You can write in a book.
You can tear out pages. You can find information quickly and not have to worry about relying
on technology.
All in all, I think any good travel planning should include both printed travel books and
online guides. Next up, I'll provide you with a list of some of my favorite websites and guide-
books. I strongly suggest going to a bookstore or library and taking out a few guidebooks to
see which series you like.
INDEPENDENT ONLINE GUIDES WRITTEN BY LOCALS
SpottedByLocals.com . Having a local show you their favorite restaurants, bars, cafés,
shops, and other “under the radar” spots is easily the best way to experience a city—but many
of us don't have that luxury. This is where Spotted By Locals shines beautifully. Spotted By
Locals is a series of city guides written by handpicked young and hip locals. These guides cov-
er forty-five cities across Europe and they're constantly updated. Each guide comes in PDF
format or as an interactive smartphone app. The apps are great because its available 100% off-