How do you plan your vacation? Do you run around like a blind man, trust a travel agent, read up or do you use friends? If you have friends that travel this might be the best option. But even if you do not have, there are other friends that might help.

Ask Advice
Before you go and spend money on a destination you have never visited, ask around. Friends and colleagues like to talk about a place they have seen. They will give you inside information. This can be advice you can use to decide if you go or not. There is hardly a better substitute for a recommendation from a friend. They know your taste, circumstances and often your budget.

Where to get these friends
The bad part is that you do not always have such friends. Then what can you do about that? The good part is there is a friend you can trust. They do not know your budget so they give you different options. They do not know what you are interested in so they give you the advice of people that have been there. The friends I talk about are the different travel books on the market.

Travel books
An example might be Fodor’s book on Moscow and St. Petersburg. This friend will go with you and it will help you all the way. It will steer you away from wrong turns and wrong choices. And it will never expect a thing in return.

Good Advice
The advice you get is good because the source is good. In order to put a book like that together they rely on other people to tell them how they experienced the different places. They usually mention the best places and things to see. This will save you time and money. You will not chase around a city looking for something interesting. You can pick what you like and go there straight away.

Writers
All these books use people that have travelled. These people know how to describe things and to be objective. They also have the ability to get more information than you might be able to do. And certainly in less time.

Why use Travel Books
Using these books make it possible for you to enjoy your vacation or trip without having to figure out what is interesting. Reading the books in advance will give you an edge and many times when you visit a place you can actually give the drivers directions of where to find the place instead of the other way around.

Lastly remember that if you discover an exceptional place, bring it under the attention of the publisher who might include it in the next edition of the book.

Dream up wild destinations and find a book about the place. Dare to discover and never stop dreaming. You have friends that have been there before. Just imagine what the Lonely Planet, Fodor’s would have meant to Moses, Shackleton or Scott. Just imagine what happened to them and do not let it happen to you.