Tips for Buying the Best Guide Books for Ireland

Who doesn’t want the best guide book for Ireland? If you travel like us, you’re the one on the corner with a map and book bag. Yup, we like to be tourists. It’s part of the reason we travel: to see all the best sites in a country. We’ll attempt to give you tips on the best guide books for Ireland.

Where are you going?

To get started, consider exactly what you think your itinerary will be and how you plan to discover Ireland. Opt for a book specific to Northern Ireland if you’ll only be in that area. DO NOT buy a huge book of everything if you are only going to Northern Ireland. Why? The best guidebooks to Ireland will tell you specific information. The more targeted your area, the more likely you are to get specialized tidbits on your location. Further, just in case you don’t come back in a few months, you’ll know the specialized Ireland travel book will get lots of use.

Choose a recognized name.

For the best guide books to Ireland, try Frommer’s, Lonely Planet or Fodor’s. We may be leaving off a few, like National Geographic or Eyewitness. We don’t intend to imply the other books aren’t good, as well. However, over time, well funded travel book Ireland companies have been able to perfect their information. They update almost every year. They have a history of guiding tourists and selling well. It’s what kept them in business. For the best Ireland travel guide book, start with at least one well recognized name. The second book you buy can be someone you’ve never heard of … in case you need extra toilet paper, it’ll be handy. (Kidding, kidding.)

Match up the descriptions with something you already know to be true.

When you open your guide book, the best thing to do is think of a unique tidbit you already know about a place. When you spoke to your Ireland tour operator or travel agent, maybe they gave you a few general facts. One, for example, is Dublin. The Temple Bar area of Dublin is a complex place. It’s full of history and lots of trendy spots. You can visit during the day, or go find the craic at night. If you know three things about a place, the best guide books to Ireland will mention those three things, too. Ok, at least two of them, since an Ireland tour book can’t be perfect. Any book not well formatted to cover where to go and what to see should be put back on the shelf. It’s definitely not one of the best guide books to Ireland.

Recognize that pretty pictures aren’t actually useful.

Eyewitness publishes an Ireland tour book. It’s so pretty. Lots of little pictures explain things. We don’t travel to see pictures, do we? We usually buy a guide book to be told to make a left on O’Brien Lane to find the red awning where the best Irish coffee in Ireland is served, right? So, don’t be fooled by pretty pictures. Try to shoot for good content in the book, coupled by maybe a few pictures that let you know what the attraction kinda looks like.

Above all things, we hope you go about your tours of Ireland with a sense of adventure. If you don’t choose one of the best guide books to Ireland, you are more likely to have a true adventure, so go for it. Simply, the information provided isn’t going to really guide you. Hopefully, it will look nice on a coffee table, though. Follow our tips for the best results.