When travelling overseas, I usually get the brochures which are distributed from travel agents. There is lots of information that you can find inside. Some have full color images to promote the specific country major insight. The best thing is that it is free.

As you know little about the country that you are going to visit, you are recommended to approach travel agencies, where the travel consultants have lots of travelling experience that they are willing to share and give the advice if you travel overseas.

Some countries have tourist offices in local areas and they can provide valuable information for your travel plan, including the map, domestic tour operators and destination information. If there is no tourist offices, one method that you can do is to write an email to its national tourist office, asking for brochures, the date of events, hotel accommodation list, etc. If they have website, you can do a research and scratch your travel plan.

Another way to get information is from bookstores or libraries. There are lots of travel books written by famous writers that they share their experience and recommendations when visiting a country. Meanwhile, some may write a brief introduction of a country history, tips on equipment and clothing, accommodation and cuisine. Also, recommendations on hiking, fishing or bird watching activities are available to cater different needs of travelers.

I usually add all the travel websites related to a specific country into my favorites of internet browser, managing them into different folders. It is very handy when you start to plan your traveling. Some may have RSS subscription. Using RSS reader that is free, you can get the most updated information without accessing the websites each time to check the updates.