The Best Travel Guides By Country
One of the best places to look for info when traveling anywhere in the world is Wikitravel. Crowdsourced, objective, up to date and contains info about almost anywhere. Still, Wikitravel does not contain all those details you may want to know: like how to get from the rail station to the airport in 3 AM, where to try the best khachapuri in Batumi, or how much does the bus ticket from Tehran to Tabriz costs. But there are sites like our - independent, often created by enthusiasts, and having lots of details.
Our attempt here is to make a list of the best info site about traveling to every single country in the world. No political arguments here: we'll just order them alphabetically and according to the Member States of the United Nations. If you think there is a better travel site for a given country, let us know.
Afganistan
Maybe it's not the best time to travel to Afganistan now. It's also possible that there will never be a better time to travel there. So if you plan going there, pack up, be cautious but just go ahead.
Afganistan Online is a big resource with all information about Afganistan. It's more of collection of useful links rather than a site that contains articles or pictures. There is a travel section too.
Albania
Albania is one of the small and still less popular tourist destinations in Europe. Even we haven't been there yet regardless that it's quite close to us.
Albania Tourism is a decent portal with all kind of information and pictures.
Algeria
Not a popular destination for sure. Especially now, being a neighbor with Lybia.
Algeria.com is maybe the largest portal about anything in Algeria, including travel.
Andorra
This small country is a lot more popular travel destination than much larger countries. And there is no shortage of travel guides to it.
Andorra.com is a small portal containing most of the info you would need if visiting Andorra.
Angola
One of the interesting countries in the real black Africa.
It's hard to find a good site dedicated to Angola so your best starting point is maybe the guide by Do It In Africa
Antigua and Barbuda
To be honest I don't know much about this country. It's easy to learn more from the site below:
Antigua and Barbuda is comprehensive portal with links and lots of info.
Argentina
Argentina is one of the countries you should definitely visit when you can. We are a bit too far from it, but if you are in the USA or South America, there is little excuse.
Just Argentina is the guide I liked most.
Armenia
We almost went to Armenia when visiting Georgia in 2010. It's still in our closest plans.
Armenia Travel Guide is in English and Russian. It's also a crowdsourced site for news so it's frequently updated.
Australia
Australia is so huge that it may take years to fully travel and see.
Why Go Australia is a blog with all kind of articles, information, resources and pictures. There is flight, hotels and hostels search too.
Austria
Very easy destination for those in the EU.
About Austria contains city guides for the major cities, travel guides, culture guides, and even info about living there.
Azerbaijan
Just like with Armenia, we almost went there when visiting Georgia, but the visa requirements stopped us. Next time!
Azerbaijan 24 is very nice looking guide in English and Russian. The lovely photo guide will make you dream about visiting it.
Bahamas
Anyone who doesn't know about the beaches in Bahamas? Of course there is more to see on this island.
The Bahamas Guide is full of information about everything in Bahamas.
Bahrain
Bahrain may be a bit risky to visit now due to the riots.
BahrainGuide.org may help you with information about how to stay safe there and what to see in the country.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is one of the poorest and overpopulated countries in the world. Just like India however it may offer you great experiences.
Discover Bangladesh comes first in Google and that's with a reason. The site is well structured and will inform you about almost everything.
Barbados
A small country but popular travel spot.
Totally Barbados contains links and info on travel, business, real estate, shopping in Barbados and more.
Belarus
This ex-communist country still has its problems. Regardless of that many adventurous travelers want to visit it.
This Travel Guide To Belarus doesn't look good but contains priceless information, which is exactly what you need when going there.
Belgium
Belgium is easy reachable from the EU, famous for its beers and chocolate.
Visit Belgium is the ultimate guide for going there. Contains everything.
Belize
Belize is not just a good offshore zone. It looks like wonderful place to visit too.
Belize.com offers everything you need - destinations, hotels, activities, and even things like drivers guide and expats information.
Benin
This very poor African country might be a magnet for those who love real Africa.
Benin has no good own travel guide. Refer to Benin section in WorldTravelGuide for travel info.
Bhutan
To the best of my knowledge, Bhutan is one of the most interesting mountainous countries in the world and worths a visit.
Bhutan Travel doesn't look too impressive but who cares. It contains the info you need.
Bolivia
A country in the heart of South America. I would love to visit it.
Bolivia Bella is maybe the best guide here with forums, news section and info about living there.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
A country with recent violent history. Right now it seems pretty calm and good to visit.
Discover Bosnia advertises itself as a guide for adventurous travelers. Contains city guides, things to do and more.
Botswana
One more of those lovely African countries. And one of the safest in Africa.
Botswana Travel Guide will try to show you Botswana is not just safaris.
Brazil
Large country, one of the new stars in the world economy and evergreen travel destination.
BrazilMax.com is cool and fresh guide. You can find a lot of practical stuff there.
Brunei
This little kingdom hasn't caught my attention yet. What about yours?
Brunei doesn't even have a good dedicated site to itself so just visit Wikitravel's page for good info.
Bulgaria
Being here perhaps you know a little bit about Bulgaria already :)
This where we come.
Burkina Faso
Poor African country with good people and one of the safe ones.
Burkina Faso has its own decent travel guide - Burkina.com
Burundi
It's unlikely that this very small African country could be your main destination. It may be good to visit it when you travel to some of the neighbor countries.
Without good dedicated site for Burundi your best bet might be visiting the AfricaGuide's Burundi page as a starting point.
Cambodia
Cambodia has great things to show you including the famous Angkor Wat.
Cambodia Tips looks like the best travel guide in the country.
Cameroon
This country is not very popular among travelers which may be a good reason to visit it.
Cameroon Today is a rich guide covering everything about the country - including culture, money, travel, weather and so on.
Canada
Canada recently won a prize for being the best place to live. Haven't been there, can't comment.
Canada-Travel.ca offers info divided by province, info about events, accommodations and more.
Cape Verde
This West-African country is a group of islands and perhaps quite different than the rest of Africa.
Cape Verde Travel has a map of the islands and each islands goes to small sub-site about it. Very convenient.
Central African Republic
Wikitravel warns that visiting the country is not advised due to the unrest.
There is no good dedicated travel guide, so just stick to Wikitravel's.
Chad
Chad is also unsafe and very poor country.
If you still want to visit it, check ChadNow.com
Chile
Chile is in our travel plans for sure. Interesting country with great people, covering several weather zones.
GoChile looks like the best portal for travelers. Don't forget to switch to English.
China
Whatever we say about China is not going to be enough. It's too huge to see at once.
I prefer this independent site to the big travel portals.
Colombia
Another must-visit country if you go to South America
Colombia Explorer looks good.
Comoros
This East-African island country is just near Madagascar.
I couldn't find decent dedicated site. Refer to Lonely Planet's
Congo-Brazzaville
Don't mistake it for The Democratic Republic of Congo. This one is safer and smaller.
See this guide.
Costa Rica
Very interesting small country in Central America.
Here is a travel guide that will help you a lot.
Côte D'Ivoire
This country used to be one of the safe countries in Africa but not now. Visit with caution.
Surprisingly there is no good site dedicated to Côte D'Ivoire travel. So use Lonely Planet's page.
Croatia
Croatia is very popular here in Europe.
Jeanne Oliver's Croatia Traveller is a well set up guide with very useful info about ferries, hotels, trains, and everything.
Cuba
Cuba is changing quickly. It might be easier to get visas soon.
Cuba is not just Havana and Havana Guide is not just about the Capital.
Cyprus
This hot island is visited by manu Europeans because of the good weather and beaches.
Cyprus Tourist Guide has all the information you need to know before going there.
Czech Republic
Known for its beer, nice girls and Golden Prague.
Most you'd ever need is available in Czech travel guide
North Korea
It's nearly impossible to visit this country as independent traveler. But even with an agency there's a lot to see there.
Of course there are no good independent sites about traveling there too. Stick to Wikitravel's.
DR Congo
Currently visiting this African country isn't a good idea - safety-wise.
Kinshasa is one of the very few decent travel guides about DR Congo.
Denmark
Calm and well developed EU country. You can possibly find decent flights to Greenland there.
Visit Denmark is the official travel guide and it's too good to look for anything else.
Djibouti
Djibouti is small and very hot African country.
I guess it's too small to have a dedicated travel site so just visit Lonely Planet's guide.
Dominica
A small Carribean island country with less than 100,000 inhabitants.
If you want to go there, click here to discover more about Dominica.
Dominican Republic
Almost the same name but different country. It's much larger than Dominica.
Dominican-rep.com is the guide that you need.
Ecuador
There's a lot to see in this South American country so you'd need a quality travel guide.
Ecuador Explorer is well organized and info-rich. Just what you need.
Egypt
Egypt was and still remains a major tourist destination. The recent unrest shouldn't stop you visiting the country.
This is the ugly but useful travel guide that will help you most.
El Salvador
Small country near Guatemala and Honduras.
There is not even one good independent travel guide so better check the one at about.com
Equatorial Guinea
Don't mix it with Papua - New Guinea. Equatorial Guinea is an African country with just half million inhabitants.
As expected, no good guides here either. You'll have to be satisfied with the info at Wikitravel
Eritrea
Eritrea is not considered safe at this time, but you can be sure it's not as bad as Somalia.
Here is a guide built by a traveler who visited the country.
Estonia
Estonia is ex-USSR country but there is very little connection with the communist block right now. One of the most developed East European countries.
Visit Estonia is the ultimate guide with tons of useful info.
Ethiopia
Know for poverty and hunger in the past, the country is slightly better nowadays. Still not very tourist-friendly.
This funny looking site is good for a start.
Fiji
Small exotic island country, would love to visit it some day.
This guide is good.
Finland
If you feel like going far North, Finland is a good choice.
GoFinland contains English and Russian news, articles and advice about visiting the country.
France
Please, don't think France is Paris. There are much better places to see there.
FranceKeys is well structured by territories and has quick links to essential info.
Gabon
Small African country near the ocean - one of the safe ones if you exclude Malaria and HIV.
Lonely Planet's guide may be your best option here.
Gambia
Gambia has the same health risks as Gabon plus some crime.
AccessGambia has information about "everything under the Gambian sun". So I guess it's very hot information.
Georgia
We went to Georgia in 2010. A lovely country, highly recommended to visit.
Explore Georgia is simply great site - beautiful and information-rich.
Germany
Germany is not just interesting to visit but also a good hub for other destinations in the entire World.
Visit About-Germany.org to find out most of the travel information you need.
Ghana
Ghana is known as one of the most travel-friendly countries in Africa and is often recommended to the first-time visitors to the continent.
Touring Ghana is a huge portal with routist sites, visa info, accommodations etc.
Greece
When we were in Thessaloniki in 2007 Greece was better place to visit than now.
Check GreekTravel - it's a good independent guide, exactly the type of travel sites we like most.
Grenada
With the population of average town this group of several islands is quite attractive. Add to that the tropical weather and you have a really cool destination.
Here is the the guide which won our attention best.
Guatemala
Another interesting country in the same region.
Guatemala Guides is a portal built by travelers and the info is very well structured by the different parts of the country.
Guinea
There are so many countries with Guinea in their name that it's not hard to get confused. This one is in Africa.
As expected there is no good dedicated travel guide so check the one at Wikitravel
Guinea Bissau
And this one is a neighbor of Guinea.
Again Lonely Planet makes most sense here.
Guyana
Guyana may sound similar to the Guinea-s above, but it's in South America.
For visa info, lists of agencies, events etc check this guide.
Haiti
Did you know about Haiti before the earthquake disaster of 2010? Even now the situation there remains unstable.
Visit this Haiti guide to learn more about traveling there.
Honduras
Honduras is a country of the nearly the same region - Central America. It's supposed to be safer than Haiti.
Travel to Honduras is the guide which will help you most.
Hungary
We were in Hungary in 2009. Nice European country between Eastern and Western Europe.
This is the first site to check before going there.
Iceland
A great place to see Northern Lights and wonderful nature. A must visit, very close in our to-do list!
Iceland Insider looks well balanced guide and is created by a couple of nice girls. What else you can ask for?
India
India is a lot more than travel destination for me as I spent a couple of months there. It's not a country that can be seen in short time and is so diverse that a single guide can hardly cover it all.
This travel blog tries to cover most aspects of India and does it well, at least as a beginning.
Indonesia
The largest muslim country in the world, but very different than the Arabic states or countries like Pakistan.
Indonesia Islands has guides on every island there which is a comfortable way to learn more about the country before landing in Jakarta.
Iran
Iran is a magnific place worth visiting regardless the bad political situation there.
This guide offers a lot of info about cities, food, etiquette etc. The articles are written by travelers from all over the world.
Iraq
As much as going to Iraq is still dangerous, there are many travelers who take the adventure.
If you are one of these, stick to Wikitravel's guide for Iraq. It looks to be well balanced and vast.
Ireland
We visited Ireland just recently and loved it. You should go there if you have the chance.
There are a lot of good guides about visiting this country. This one is independed, good, and quite personal - exactly the thing you'd probably like.
Israel
If you are into ancient things and holy lands, you obviously have to visit Israel.
This is the best guide I've found in terms of structure, design and information.
Italy
It's one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. I'm sure however there are many interesting places to see there that are not crowded by tourists.
If you are looking for something different than most, Hidden Italy might be the guide for you.
Jamaica
Jamaica is not just weeds and Bob Marley. I'm sure there's a lot else to see and experience there. Just don't forget your safety as crime levels are really high.
Like this guide says, there is no one way to go to Jamaica.
Japan
Although not huge as territory, Japan is a whole new universe for everyone who doesn't closely known it's culture. There's a lot to see there for sure.
This is one of the most useful travel guides for Japan.
Jordan
A lot of historical sites to see there, friendly people, great food. And staying there is quite affordable.
Surpsiingly there aren't many good travel guides for Jordan. So this dedicated page might be your best bet for a start.
Kazakhstan
Very interesting country keeping some scars of the Soviet era. Don't expect anything like third-world country however, Kazakhstan is one of the fastest growing countries in the region.
About Kazakhstan is a great place to start your planning.
Kenya
Kenya is maybe the most popular travel destination in Africa (after Egypt). Still, most people go there for organized safari tours. Independent traveler need to be a lot more informed before going there.
This guide has a lot of good first-hand info.
Kiribati
One of the smallest countries in the world. Is there anything interesting to see there? Let's see:
The Wikitravel's guide is short but detailed enough to answer this question.
Kuwait
Most people don't go to Kuwait for backpacking. Maybe that's why there aren't many sites dedicated to Kuwait travel.
Visit Kuwait is one of the few good ones.
Kyrgyzstan
Thumbs up for searching a guide about this country. Although it's very unpopular I'm sure it's a good place to visit.
This guide is mostly focused on Bishkek. Which is actually good because you are most likely to land there when visiting the country.
Laos
It's next to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, but is a lot less known and popular than them.
This guide seems to offer all the information you would need before you go there.
Latvia
This small European country is a part of often visited group - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Of course, each of these countries is unique.
Visit Daily Latvia for decent advice and practical information.
Lebanon
The situation in Lebanon is unstable for long time so if visiting the country be cautious.
Here is a really rich guide about Lebanon travel.
Lesotho
Lesotho is a small African country entirely surrounded by South Africa. As far as we know however, it's culture is entirely different.
See Lesotho yourself with this guide!
To be continued...