Guidebooks have been a popular topic here on Gadling. Choosing the right one, as we keep pointing out, can be the difference between a great trip and a horrible one.
A recent article on MSNBC.com, however, discusses the advantages of forgoing guidebooks entirely and instead, relying upon user-created wiki sites where travelers post their own tips and recommendations.
This growing trend has been a boom for travelers seeking not just more detailed accounts, but more timely ones as well. Guidebooks are out-of-date the moment they hit the bookstores whereas a travel site such as Wikitravel or TripAdvisor could have been updated 30 seconds before you sign on.
While this is all great information, one must exercise a bit of caution. Facts on such sites won’t be carefully checked as they are with a traditional book publisher. In addition, one must always be wary of business owners planting recommendations touting their flea-ridden hotel or nasty restaurant as “the best on the island.”
My suggestion? Bring the traditional guidebook and supplement it with as much online, wiki research as you can print out. Then come home and correct both sources by posting your own wiki entry online.