Not for Tourist Guidebooks

 If you visit your local bookstore (retail location or online), you’ll see a healthy selection of travel guidebooks.  If you’re like most people, you’ll browse through all of them, read some reviews about each of the different publishers, and probably buy a couple different ones.  You’ll probably pick one of the “big” names in travel, and then one of the more specialty ones.    And, if you’re like most people, none of this will really tell you what you need to know.

While guidebook selection is largely a matter of personal preference, each publication seems to focus on a different segment of the traveling population.

A recent guidebook that has crossed my path is the clever sounding Not For Tourists series, which is appropriate for travelers as well as residents.  They aim to cover the places that are NOT in your typical city guide ““ and will appeal to travelers and residents alike.  I’ve thumbed through them briefly, and the writing is concise, witty, and helpful.  Besides that, it can be pretty irreverent, and that always makes me laugh.

The books are meant to be stuck into your back pocket or purse and used, not just put on a shelf as resource material.  The contributors are people who actually live and work in the city covered, so it’s real life stuff:  maps, listings, airport information, transportation, and  commentary about stores, restaurants, and bars

The NFT series covers New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Brooklyn, Washington DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Queens.  The guides are different size, length, and price ““ whatever is necessary to adequately cover the specific city.  Rumor has it that cities of the future include:  Miami, Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, and my home town of Seattle.

You can buy NFT at major bookstores, Amazon, or the NFT website.  If you’re planning a conference or travel event to a city covered by the NFT guides, you can arrange for a special edition or “custom” guide.  What a great gift to include in a conference goodie bag!

NFT also has a blog covering NYC, and they offer lots information online.

I haven’t bought a guidebook in awhile, but will definitely consider the NFT series when I’m ready to make a guidebook purchase for one of their cities.  And when the Seattle one is out, you can bet I’ll be in line to get one.

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