The Best Travel Guidebooks for Culture Smart Travelers

I’m going to start this by saying I’m already a dedicated user of some of the best travel guidebooks out there. When researching for trips, I gravitate towards Rough Guides, Fodor’s, and Rick Steves.

And I mean that somewhat literally—I once drove two hours to meet-and-greet Rick Steves himself at a pro-marijuana legalization rally in Maine because that’s as close as I could get. No one can say I’m not driven! They can, however, say something along the lines of “You must stay at least 50 yards away from Mr. Steves and any member of his family.” Whatever, time well spent.

I love using guidebooks to plan because they’re a great way to have all the necessary information about a destination in one place. They keep practical advice handy (opening times of attractions, maps, addresses and websites, etc.), inspire you with photos, give you a little bit of your destination’s historical background, and blatantly show off how well-traveled you are to the guy who comes over to install your new satellite dish. Money well spent.

However, even the best travel guidebooks traditionally lack the one thing I want more material on: the destination’s culture and local customs. I’m all about sightseeing, don’t get me wrong, but somewhere in there I want to know more about the culture and customs of the country I’m visiting. Not only is that more interesting than a list of museums, it’s also much more useful to visitors who want to get the whole picture before venturing into a foreign land. (Do I think of every trip I take like an Indiana Jones quest? Absolutely.)

Back in March, the minds behind Culture Smart! guidebooks (who I had never heard of until that point) asked if they could send me a copy of Culture Smart! Chile for my upcoming trip to—you guessed it—Chile to see how I liked it. Before I even received it I was hooked on their philosophy. And that’s how I came to love Culture Smart! guidebooks—the best travel guidebooks in my opinion.

Note: Yes, I was provided with a copy of Culture Smart! Chile for free but all opinions are my own. I wouldn’t have gone through the work of writing this post if I didn’t fully love and believe these were the best travel guidebooks! As you were… 

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Are you heading out on your first international trip? If you haven’t applied for your passport yet, take a look at my step-by-step guide for how to get a passport. It can be a mildly confusing process!

In the way other travel guides focus on sightseeing, logistics, and maybe one single page on “etiquette,” Culture Smart! guidebooks focus on:

• local customs and traditions
• history, religion, and politics
• dos, don’ts, and taboos
• spoken and unspoken communication
• eating and drinking customs
• and so many more practical travel tips so you can be fully prepared for your first time in a new country. Or at least as prepared as you can be in a country that serves poop-themed entrees out of a toilet for lunch. I’m looking at you, Taiwan.

Their authors are academics, adventurers, businessmen and women, and frequent travelers of the area in question. Through Culture Smart! guidebooks they provide an account that is both deeply researched and simply relayed. In other words, I trust their interpretations completely.

As mentioned, each Culture Smart! guide varies based on the intended destination and what’s most important for that country. Like in the case of Germany, it includes a section on proper Autobahn etiquette which COULD NOT BE MORE IMPORTANT. If you’ve ever been on the Autobahn, you feel me. It just may save your life—I, and the pants I have peed in, cannot stress this enough.

In Culture Smart! Turkey they offer a section on Turkish Hammam tips and a description of popular food items (Get in my belly, simit!), Culture Smart! Mexico includes a section on their incredible bus travel, and the chapter on eating and drinking in Culture Smart! Italy is a must-read before heading over to the big beautiful boot. You don’t want to get publicly shamed for ordering the wrong thing at the wrong time of day–trust me, the girl known in some circles as the blight on the landscape of Italian culinary tradition. And these are just a few examples.

There were concrete reinforcements of behavior I saw everywhere like: “Outside the main centers Chileans drive slowly, tend to respect speed limits, and stop at pedestrian crossings. They also like honking with contempt at anybody who tries to break the rules.” And there were fair warnings that proved true like: “Chile has not developed a strong coffee culture. Coffee is typically made with instant coffee granules.” And it was in my Santiago Airbnb that I learned about this foreign concept known as “instant coffee.”

Culture Smart! guides are the best travel guidebooks to read before a trip, but reading them again afterwards is a great way to help explain some of the intricacies you noticed on your latest trip. Like how the section in Culture Smart! Germany on “Jaywalking” helped explain why I’m always the ONLY person crossing the street when the light is red, even if there isn’t a vehicle in sight. And that’s just one of the many examples (….of Ashley making things awkward for everyone).

✨ FUN FACT: So what has been the most accurate statement I’ve read in all the Culture Smart! guides I’ve checked out? I think page 94 in Culture Smart! Italy wins for that one: “Remember to take a spare pair of glasses with you and a copy of your eyeglasses prescription in case of emergency.”
          
I refer you to the time I got robbed in Italy—in which the thief stole, among other things, my glasses. And being legally blind at the time, I was forced to get another pair made while still in Italy. And What. A. job. That. Was.

For instance, the section on Rising to the Occasion referencing how Americans “ceremonialize” everything. The book talks about how we go all-in for even the most mundane of holidays like Valentine’s Day and Halloween, but also everyday “events” like kindergarten graduation ceremonies, youth participation trophies, and how even the coin toss at the Superbowl gets its own grand “show.” I. Am. Dying. 😂

One of my favorite aspects of traveling internationally is hearing how people in other countries view the United States and us Americans. I always get asked questions like “Why is the American flag everywhere?” and “Why don’t you have a fence around your house?” And this book answers those questions. Also, everything you need to know about fast food.

At just over 150 pages, Culture Smart! guidebooks are clear and concise without a lot of the bulk that often requires me to leave my more complex guidebooks at home. I’m looking at you, 875-page Rough Guide to Mexico.

When traveling, chances are pretty high you’re not interacting with every single person on every single day of the year in every circumstance. Instead, you’re getting an overview of a destination. And Culture Smart! translates that perfectly. Everything I’ve read in the Culture Smart! guides perfectly matches up with my real-life experiences. So, I’m convinced it’s possible.

Page 9 of Culture Smart! USA, when referencing the challenges of generalizing a country as huge and diverse as the United States, says, “Generalization is unavoidable. The rule of thumb is: be informed about cultural norms, but be flexible in applying this knowledge.”