Taking the Online Route: A Lighter Way to Get Guidebook Advice

In 2001, Tom Hall, a software project manager laid off during the dot-com implosion, embarked on a round-the-world trip across three continents. He couldn't carry all the travel guidebooks he needed and ended up scouring Kathmandu for a guide to his next destination, Tanzania.

"I couldn't find a thing and landed in Africa empty-handed and frustrated," he said. Today, Hall is a senior digital product manager at Lonely Planet's headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, and has spearheaded an effort to ensure that fellow travelers don't have to face the frustration he encountered six years ago -- or tear out pages from guidebooks when they only want a single chapter.

Lonely Planet has recently unveiled a solution to this issue, joining other online guidebooks in rolling out more advanced or comprehensive tools for travelers. Call it Online Guides 2.0 if you will. From Frommers.com to the Rick Steves Web site, you'll find new ways to access guidebook advice, more content and more online communities of user-generated comments.

* Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet recently launched Pick & Mix, which enables globe-trotters to go to a section of the Lonely Planet Web site ( http://shop.lonelyplanet.com), select the country or region to which they're traveling and download the chapter for the place they're visiting.

Chapter prices range from about $2 to $7, with most costing $4.50 or less. If you buy several chapters, a discount kicks in. For example, buying three chapters from the Mexico book -- Mexico City ($5), Yucatan Peninsula ($6) and Oaxaca State ($4.50) -- costs $12.40, a 20 percent discount compared with purchasing each chapter individually. Though Lonely Planet charges for Pick & Mix, all other content on LonelyPlanet.com is free.

Rather than carry loose pages, chapters -- served as PDF files -- can be downloaded into a hand-held device or e-book reader. (Note: PDF conversion to Amazon's new e-book reader, Kindle, is experimental, Amazon says, but most files should be readable.) "The traveler reaction has been great so far," says Piers Pickard, Lonely Planet's head of digital content.

"We've found that it's really popular with travelers doing longer trips, the kind where it's impractical to lug three or four guidebooks around for four months," he said. "And some travelers have welcomed Pick & Mix for its green credentials -- they are pleased to be buying a virtual product rather than a paper one."

Lonely Planet is rolling out the feature slowly, he said. Latin America -- including the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and South America -- was the first to be released. In December, Lonely Planet added the United States and Canada. Lonely Planet doesn't disclose sales figures, but Hall says they've exceeded expectations, so the company would "like to roll out more regions as quickly as possible."

Each guidebook's introductory chapter of tips -- which includes such planning info as when to go, costs, sample itineraries, etc. -- is free to browse or download, and the site allows travelers to browse a few pages from each chapter to help them decide whether they want to purchase it.

Asked if Lonely Planet is concerned that Pick & Mix could cannibalize print sales, Pickard said: "The reason we've started slowly with just one region has been precisely because of this concern. But our findings in the first months have been very encouraging: We've found that offering Pick & Mix has increased our market."

* Frommer's. The Web site for Frommer's travel guides ( http://www.frommers.com) has put online all the print content of Frommer's guides and augmented this content with free e-mail newsletters on topics including deals, cruise news and family travel.

Arthur Frommer, the founder of the guidebook series, remains a voice on Frommers.com, with a blog on the site in which he shares vociferous opinions and decades of hard-won travel wisdom. One of his recent blog posts blasted corporate jets for clogging airports and the skies.