If you’re planning a trip, you’ll definitely what to learn as much as possible about the place you’ll be visiting. Finding out more about the area’s top attractions, sights, tours and other features can help you get the most out of your travel experience. Travel guides are the best way to get a clear idea about what to expect – but not all of them are truly helpful. Below, we highlight the top ten best travel guides, all which can be found online.
Archive for the ‘Travel Guides’ Category
Top 10 Best Travel Guides
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011How To Become A Travel Guide
Thursday, May 5th, 2011How can you become a travel guide?
Being a travel or tour guide these days has become a very promising career because the tourism industry is growing rapidly in some areas.
Travel guides do not need to be bilingual or know everything about the world. They do not need to always be knowledgeable about geography, history, and local culture. Though it counts to have all the facts about the location and having language abilities, guiding tours is more about managing and directing the people on the tours.
In short, anybody can start to become a travel guide if they want to, because anything can be learned from training and further experience in the field. However, if you decide to have a career in directing tours, you must be prepared to be working away from home for you are always on the road making money. Travel guiding is a way of life for some people.
The job of tour guides or tour directors is to manage the tour group. They make sure clients get what’s offered by the agencies and more. They also make sure that everyone shows up and manage everyone’s needs. They take care of the transportation and other tourist demands along the way.
Some programs may include a bit of education and background information but in fact, it is often scripted either by the agency or if you are savvy enough, you will be able to make your own speeches and presentations.
Travel guides coordinate the activities involved in the trip. It is rather essential to have an outgoing personality so you can make tours fun for the clients. Happy clients usually give tips and other incentives.
Travel guides should at least have these qualifications to become effective in their work:
-Good communication skills; Speaking in different tongues is a plus but not necessary
-A sense of adventure and an outgoing personality
-Strong appreciation for the place where you will be giving tours
-Enthusiasm and leadership
-Quick thinking and being able to deal with unpredictable situations like emergencies and mix-ups
Applying for travel guide positions is rather easy. All you have to do is find travel and tour agencies. The Internet is good way to start hunting. Research and inquire for the qualifications that are needed. Some may require training and other certifications; attend classes and get certification to boost your qualifications.
Travel directing and guiding can be categorized into different branches. Each has its own specialty and types of activities. Here are some of the common types of travel guide jobs:
Adventure Guide:
Basically, this includes outdoor excursions. These kinds of trips usually last longer and are more intense in terms of activity but offer more fun for the typical outdoors person. Hiking, rafting, climbing and other somewhat extreme activities are involved. For this type of job, a love of the outdoors is the most basic qualification.
Bus Tour Leader:
When you think of tour guides, this is usually what comes to mind. These guides specialize in showing scenery and landscape. They are usually well-versed in the history of a region. Guides of this type know lots of exciting and interesting facts to fill long driving spaces.
City Tour Leader:
These tour guides specialize in big and populated cities. They must know historic, architectural, and popular culture information about the town in which they hope to lead tours. These tours typically only last one day at the most.
Travel Guides: Recipe for a Successful Outing
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011One of the most essential things about touring is that one must have an information about the highlights of the place one wants to visit. It is essential, for in the absense of such knowledge there is every possibility that one might miss out on some of the most happening spots of a particular place. It is for this very purpose that it is advised that people who go on voyage to different countries go armed with travel guides so that they have information about everything of the place they have gone to.
This not only includes information about the highlights of the place but travel guides also about the availability of transport to ferry people there. It also gives information about some exclusive things that are found there. Things like sweets, fruits, cloths or cuisine. If a place is famous for all these or anyone and one go and don’t enjoy all or either of these, then one can be rest assured that the pains that one took to go there will go waste.
It is, therefore, in the best interest of people that they plan their outing after carefully going through the travel guides. These guides also guide people about the time which is most favourable to visit which place. It also guides one about the accommodation facility available there and the rates at which they can be availed. In nutshell, it must be understood that travel guides are something absolutely essential for people who plan to visit any place.
People must take precautions while purchasing travel guide. First of all it is absolutely essential that people buy the latest published guides as the older version might have become obsolete. Then one should also know that one does not compromise on the price while purchasing travel guides. Remember it is on these guides that hinges the success of your tour. It is essential, therefore, that they are not given a cold shoulder.