The following travel books and guides are highly recommended and can be purchased through Amazon.
Before You Go: The Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Gap Year
This was the first book I used for planning my gap year in 2003 and I can highly recommend it. It covers all aspects of taking a gap year from advice for parents to finding flights and accommodation. This gap year guide is easy to follow with many anecdotes and practical information on gap year preparation, travel, health, staying safe and returning home. |
Thailand (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
I have used lonely planet guides for most of the countries that I have visited and this one is the main travel guide for Thailand. It covers all the regions and recommends hostels to stay in as well as how to travel around Thailand. All the islands including Phi Phi, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Lanta, Koh Phangan, Koh Samet and Koh Chang are all covered in depth as well as the northern trekking areas such as Chiang Mai. |
Australia (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
Good starting point for anyone intending to travel around Australia. This guide has the usual area information, hostels, local maps and activities available. The Rough Guide to Australia is also worth considering. |
Japan (Lonely Planet Country Guide S.)
An excellent guide to Japan. I used this guide on my first trip to Japan and it provided invaluable information on places to stay, places to visit, restaurants and various activities throughout the Japanese mainland. Japan is a very expensive country to travel through but the advice on transport and accommodation in this Lonely Planet guide helped me to stay within my budget. |
Sri Lanka (Footprint Travel Guides)
I visited Sri Lanka at the end of 2005 before all the troubles flared up again between the government and the tamil tigers. This Footprint guide proved to the most useful out of all the guides on Sri Lanka including the Lonely Planet guide and Rough guide.
This book is well laid out, easy to follow and provides in depth coverage of all the main areas as well as accommodation, places to visit, activities, health, food and drink and a good section on the background of Sri Lanka including its religions and history. Hopefully peace will return to this island. Sri Lanka has many beautiful places including Kandy in the highlands, the beaches of Unawatuna and Mirissa in the south and the ancient cities in central Sri Lanka. |
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New Zealand (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
This book provides an in depth coverage of New Zealand. In 2004, I found this book invaluable in travelling across the South and North Islands of New Zealand where I visited various places including Christchurch, Nelson, Kaikoura for whale watching, Wellington, Lake Taupo for sky diving and Auckland. This guide covers all the essentials including basic facts, accommodation, transport, regional guides and finally, there are small maps for many of the regions. New Zealand is relatively safe and easy to travel around and most visitors should have a great time without any major problems. For lovers of adventure sports, New Zealand has an amazing range of activities including whitewater rafting, mountaineering, skiing, caving, sky diving, mountain biking and the list goes on. Highly recommended book. |
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