 |
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| Type | Travel publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Chalfont St.
Peter, Buckinghamshire,  United
Kingdom |
| Key people | Hilary Bradt |
| Products | Travel guides |
| Website | www.bradtguides.com |
Bradt Travel Guides is a publisher of travel guides founded by Hilary Bradt who was awarded an MBE in 2008 for services to the Tourist Industry and to Charity.[1] The first Bradt Guide was written in 1974 by Hilary and her husband George on a river barge on a tributary of the Amazon,[2] and has since grown into an organisation, with growth particularly in the 21st century.
The publisher is based in Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire, England but also co-publishes with Globe Pequot in Guilford, Connecticut in the United States. The guides are considered by newspapers such as The Independent to "reach parts of the world other travel publisher's don't reach".[2] The guides may cover countries of the world normally covered in guides but often have detailed guides to parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America which traditionally have not been widely covered or did not have a long history of tourism.
The guides have some encyclopedic coverage of the history of the country or city the book it about, its geography and climate, wildlife, languages and culture, healthcare and media and then subsequent chapters address the main cities or regions of the country in systematic order. However the guides often may have an unequal emphasis on hotels, restaurants, travel arrangements and medical care for the cities and towns it covers and have few photographs of the country's which they address.[2] They may have some details on smaller towns and villages not normally mentioned in guides or may have detailed case studies on culture or beliefs specific to the country it deals with. According to Michael Palin; "Bradt Guides are expertly written and longer on local detail than any others".[2]
Bradt books will often provide information on topics related to the area of travel, but not specifically about tourist or travel amenities. For example, in the somewhat awkwardly-named The Amazon: The Bradt Travel Guide dedicates 60 pages to the area's natural history—more space than any other chapter, including practical information and the individual country chapters.[3]
More recently the Bradt Guides have begun publishing specific books such as wildlife in places such as the Galapagos Islands and Madagascar, an island which Bradt herself is an expert in.[4][5]
They have also begun an "Eccentric" series which are detailed insights into some of the cities in the United Kingdom including London, Edinburgh and Oxford as well as on the countries of the United Kingdom and France and Australia.
The guides are often written on a low budget, usually by writers who have had hands on experience within the country or region they are writing about. They may also be written somewhat unconventionally and paradoxically to normal tourist guides. For instance, in the guide to Benin, written by Stuart Butler, a surfer and writer who is familiar with the region, he reflects in the book on the sometimes shocking difficulties and conditions facing Africa and in the book has a paragraph entitled "Africa is Hell".[2] The books often relay information about the nature of the local people, based on the experiences of the author in the various cities.
Contents |
Africa
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Americas and Caribbean
Wildlife
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Europe
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European city guides |
China (Yunnan)
Iran
Iraq
Kyrgyzstan
Maldives
Mongolia
North Korea
Oman
Palestine (with Jerusalem)
Sri Lanka
Syria
Tibet
Turkmenistan  | Madagascar Wildlife guide - Madagascar Wildlife - Bradt travel guides ...take the road less travelled |
| | Official site - Bradt travel guides ...take the road less travelled |
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