BOOK REVIEW – LONELY PLANET: THE BIG TRIP

The Lonely Planet: The Big Trip is a gap year-focused book for young backpackers. We picked up this book from Powell’s Bookstore, (biggest bookstore ever!), while we were in Portland. The major thing that caught our eye was its maps. The maps were of regions such as Europe or Southeast Asia with recommended routes to see the best of each country. In each region it would explain why you should go, itinerary examples, best time to go, what to expect and how to get there. It even has a world map showing sample RTW ticket routes through seven different providers (e.g. One World, Sky Team, Star Alliance, etc.). For this world map alone, it was enticing enough to make us want to buy the book so we could gaze at this map longer.

INFORMATION:

Along with the maps, The Big Trip also provides spreadsheets of information that compare different costs of round-the-world ticket prices Other spreadsheets compare common costs of items such as bottled water, meals, budget rooms, street snacks, gas and more. It also has a section on the festival circuit, providing a great list of festivals worth visiting around the world. When we saw this list we discovered that we had unknowingly planned our Mongolian portion of the trip during the same time as its country-wide Naadam Festival. It was good to find out beforehand rather than be surprised by the crowds when we eventually arrive in Mongolia. In addition to travel resources, the book provides directories for volunteer opportunities, exchange programs, teaching english and working overseas.

VISUALS:

Large colorful photos of different places around the world are found throughout the The Big Trip. At the beginning of the book, the editors provide their top 20 big trip travel experiences through photos. Some that make the list include scaling the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and rubbing noses with Maori at Hangi in Rotorua. It’s a colorful book in general, making it fun to look at while daydreaming.

READABILITY:

The use of colorful headers combined with photos, maps and spreadsheets, makes this book easy to read. Chapters are divided out into the following world regions: Europe, Australia-New Zealand-The Pacific, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America-The Caribbean, Mexico-Central-South America, Africa, The Middle East, Russia-Central Asia-The Caucasus. As you can see, that covers most of all the major travel destinations. It’s a lot to cover but the book does it well, dividing it out into sections to easily find what you’re looking for. If you plan on connecting any of these regions together for your own big trip, this book is great to help you plan the best way to do so.

PACKABLITY:

The Big Trip is not a guide book to carry with you. It’s a book meant to inspire you with ideas of what you could do overseas whether traveling, volunteering or working. It helps dreamers like ourselves form actual plans and while we won’t pack this with us, we definitely recommend it for planning ahead.