I am a devoted travel book buyer, because in the end, they just work. Yea we live in the age of trip advisor (which I use a ton), yelp (also use a ton), and travel reviews, but when it come down to key points, I love a travel book on hand for every trip!

1. The pictures – Yes, the pictures in travel books are awesome, and usually professionally done.  Still, I love seeing a great photo and letting it guide me along my trip, helping me find a new cool spot or place I wasn’t expecting to go.
2. User-friendly maps/info– When I went to Croatia I tried an e-travel book, thinking – well this must be better cause it’s 2013 (it was 2013 then).  But where the book consolidated info to links, I found the whole process of using it less useful when I didn’t have wifi.  I want to see the name of a place and find it on a map. Simple.  In the car, on a train, on the go, no wifi needed.
3. Telling your story – I love how a good travel book tells your story of travel through the years, whether perked on your shelf, or in hand.  It’s very nostalgic.
4. Disconnect – a book helps you disconnect in a way that no e-device can, and it really can be therapeutic in today’s world.  So it’s worth being on the list.

Now, I do my best not to carry these around openly on busy city streets, and love DK Eyewitness Travel’s line of Top 10 books for the handy pocket map  (yes, how un-digital of me). Some of the best books for me are also thin/purse size, so I don’t have to be weighed down.

All this is a bit of an intro to my upcoming adventures in China, Bali and India – so I’ll be sure to keep things updated along the way.  Wishing you happy and haute travels!