ABOUT ROUGH GUIDES

Rough Guides was started in the 1980's, in England, by a small group of recent college grads who wanted to create a contemporary, journalistic alternative to the old-fashioned attitudes and approaches of traditional travel guides.

Mark Ellingham, Rough Guides' publisher, explains:

"I'd been travelling in Greece and, looking at the guidebooks, realized there wasn't one for me. There was nothing contemporary, which had an enthusiasm for ancient sites, beaches, and bars, which treated Greece as a 20th-century, living culture, and which didn't make you feel inadequate for not having a lot of money. And I realized that was pretty much the case for every other destination. So with The Rough Guide to Greece, we (myself, my partner Natania Jansz, and John Fisher) were basically writing a book for ourselves, and one with a journalistic and quite a writerly approach.

After Greece we had an idea to write a guide to Sri Lanka, which was where Natania's family came from. But our then-publishers talked us into doing Spain and Portugal...And by the time we had written those, we had a series......now close on two hundred titles.

Nowadays, the books no longer seem particularly 'rough'. The early editions were written on very little money for readers we assumed were in the same boat. But the books had a much broader audience than we originally anticipated and we began supplementing the "rough" elements of the books - the hostel and low-budget information - with restaurant and hotel reviews right across the range. Even on a tight budget, the philosophy is, people like to have an option for the occasional blowout."

Since the initial series, Rough Guides has expanded in a number of directions. The offerings now include miniguides, phrasebooks, music guides, CDs, and a number of specialty guides. Ellingham explains the expansion.

"For twelve years, we did nothing but travel guides. In those guides, though, we always have included our famous Contexts section: thoughtful essays on a variety of topics from the destination's wildlife, history, art movements, indigenous music, and more. From those essays on music grew our first non-travel project, The Rough Guide to World Music. That was such a success that we saw we could apply our unique Rough Guide perspective to any number of categories from music to the Internet to sports and much more.

Our mission, no matter what kind of book, is to demystify, entertain, and enlighten."

These handy, value-for-money books are ‘How-to-do-it’ manuals, packed with the practicalities: getting a passport and inoculations, saving money on flights and rail passes, planning an itinerary, staying healthy, packing wisely, avoiding trouble, and much more. Filled with anecdotes, both funny and cautionary, this series is an important, entertaining and inspiring pre-trip read.

Available in the series:

First-Time Around the World
First-Time Asia
First-Time Europe
First-Time Latin America

Features

Rough Guides score very high on our list of recommended travel guides, primarily for their first-class writing, strong attention to rail travel, great maps, and wide-ranging, well-informed coverage of the local scene. One thing not to expect is detailed reviews of hotels and restaurants, as this isn't something they try to do. Neither are shops and shopping, which go pretty much undiscussed. If you enjoy researching and reserving hotels or fine restaurants ahead of departure, or if you rate shopping high on your list of travel pastimes, you'll want additional resources.

• quality writing; a Rough Guide is not just a guidebook, it's a good read as well.
• a contemporary, journalistic view; a Rough Guide views a destination as more than a tourist never-never land. Rough Guide writers treat it as a place where real people live and work and the book's readers get to participate in that vibe.
• reviews of places to stay and restaurants are brief, but provide a sense of who you'll be mixing with as well as what's offered.
• area-by-area descriptions of sights are strong on historical and anecdotal detail but with an irreverent attitude toward all of those amazing tourist attractions.
• special sections for gay and lesbian travellers, women travellers, and disabled travellers.
• best nightlife and entertainment sections, especially for people interested in music. Use this guide to find out-of-the-way places for all sorts of music, clubs, and bars.
• guides emphasize a destination's contemporary culture with background on history, politics, economy, indigenous peoples, art, and music.
• maps in each city guide.

This general travel series is for the independent traveller who wants the best cultural and historic coverage but is also interested in where the out-of-the-way beaches and hottest clubs are located.

Audience

The inquiring, independent traveller on a moderate budget who's looking for opinions and local color in addition to in-depth coverage. Must have an offbeat, irreverent attitude toward the experience of travel and an appreciation for opinionated, witty writing.

These city and island guides are good for short stays, business trips, or relaxing island holidays. Minis get to the heart of a place quickly so you can make the most of your time. Each pocket-sized package features:

• hundreds of critical reviews of the latest hotspots and best values
• detailed practical information
• complete cultural coverage
• each review is keyed to detailed maps

These concise volumes are packed with all of the words and phrases needed in a variety of situations, and includes pronunciation tips. Among the features of each book:

• dictionary-style organization
• grammar and pronunciation guidelines
• helpful tips on culture, customs, food, and drink
• menu reader