Today marks the official launch of “Nomadic Matt’s Guidebooks” — a series of budget travel guides for destinations around the world.
There are a lot of guidebooks out in the world, and each has its own personality. What makes my guides different from Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, Rough Guides, or anyone else? Mine remove the fluff, get right to the point, will be updated more frequently, and are curated to focus specifically on budget travel and off-the-beaten-path activities.
My guides are simple and easy to use. They contain the essential information you need to get around your destination without spending a lot of money. Every guide will feature the following sections:
- Suggested budgets
- Suggested itineraries
- In-depth ways to save money
- Things to do and see (with a focus on budget and offbeat attractions)
- Places to eat
- Places to sleep
- Nightlife
- Practicalities (business hours, transportation, emergency information, visa guidelines, best times to go, etc.)
This may look like a list of the essential elements all guidebooks offer, but what makes my guides different is that they are written with the nomad in mind. My guides are for those of you who want to break the mold, get off the well-trodden tourist path, and experience travel more organically. I’ve included ideas for activities that you might not see in any other publications. These guides are for the people who want adventure on a budget. If you are looking for information on those big hop-on, hop-off buses, these guides are not for you!
I wanted to create guides that you’ll use from cover to cover, so I’ve tried to keep them brief while still including as much information as possible. Instead of just creating lists of things to do and see, I‘ve also included information on how to see a city — itineraries that maximize time, money-saving tips, and other practical advice so you get the most out of your visit. My guides take what you love about this site and supercharges it. Plus, they include my favorite hostels, restaurants, and bars — spots you probably won’t find elsewhere!
Each guide is only $4.99 (cheaper than any other guide) and is available via Amazon Kindle or PDF. Each is 70-100 pages in length — you’ll be able to fit several on your tablet, e-reader, or smartphone. Right now, they are only digital, but I’m working toward a print-on-demand service so you can obtain a hard copy, too. (That just takes a little longer to set up!)
I’m starting with the following five destinations:
 Kindle | PDF |  Kindle | PDF |  Kindle | PDF |
 Kindle | PDF |  Kindle | PDF |
I’ve picked locations I know well. I’ve either lived in or heavily visited each of these cities (that is how I am choosing all my initial guides). The next round of guides that will be coming out are Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong (out now) , Berlin, and Costa Rica.
I anticipate writing a handful of guides per year and I have plans to bring on some additional writers to publish guides for destinations they know and love. We’re going to be working hard to make it easier and cheaper for you to explore the world.
How you can help
This is a big day and I humbly ask your help, especially with Amazon. Please consider purchasing one (or more!) of these new guides, either for your own future travels or as a gift for a friend. At such a low price, it’s an easy way to take the first steps toward the trip you’ve been dreaming of, or to encourage others to head out on their own adventure. More importantly, please, please leave a review of the guides once you’ve read and used them. Amazon reviews are incredibly vital to getting the books ranked well on the service.
Projects like this help keep this website running. Over the years I’ve provided a ton of free information on this site, information I’m happy to share, but your support of projects like this will help keep that information coming and support the new weekly columnists, the forum, the giveaways we host, and the site expansion, so we can promote budget travel and take our message across the world. So even if you aren’t going to the destination soon, consider helping jump-start the launch of this project!
It’s a new chapter for this website and I thank you for any and all of your support!
P.S. If you know someone going to one of these five cities, please share this post with them! Or get them the book as a gift. They will love it!
