Hello fellow travelers.  How many of you have done this?  When preparing to take a trip you go to the library or bookstore to pick up a travel guide for your destination then pack the book into your suitcase for reference when you arrive at your destination.  I’ve done it on many occasions.  For my trip to Paris a few years ago I packed two of these books then, when I arrived, decided they were too heavy to lug around in my backpack and too awkward to use while I was exploring the city.  And how about those city and museum tours where the guide either goes too fast or too slow, or is difficult to understand?

Now, with the growing use of Ipods and other MP3 devices, those heavy guide books are becoming anachronistic and being replaced by travel-content podcasts.  Let’s say you were going to Paris and you wanted a walking guide of the Louvre Museum.  When you arrived there you could thumb through the pages of a guide book, or hook up with a tour group, or even rent one of those CD players with museum information.  But each of these options has its own limitation.  Now let’s say you are already carrying an MP3 player to listen to your favorite music while you meander.  Now you have a walking guide of the museum in your pocket.  You don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules or directions.  You don’t have to struggle to hear a docent.  You don’t even have to follow a pre-determined path of exhibits, as is the case with many of the CD-based tours.

Several companies have begun to record travel guides specifically to be used in these devices.  One of these, iJourneys, was created by Elyse Weiner, an Emmy Award-winning network news executive who has extensively traveled the world for both business and pleasure.  According to the company website, for a fee of $14.95, travelers can download guides from nine cities from around the globe.  Many more are scheduled to be added to the library.  The iJourneys tours don’t just encompass major attractions.  Weiner’s descriptions include “the most interesting places, the best local texture.  You'll get history, art, ice cream, gondolas, Julius Caesar's assassination and wine bars.”

“Do you want to tap into the essence of a city? Delve into the spirit of a community? Grasp the magic of a particular street? Comprehend the legacy of a specific structure? Do you wish to return from your travels with the opulence of a destination etched on your soul?”  This is the opening message on the iToors website.  The company creates mp3 podcast tours of cities world-wide and bills itself as ‘your personal escort.’  Each downloadable (and free) tour focuses on the lifestyle and attractions within a particular city.

The world is changing and the tools travelers use has to change with it.  One of those tools is the beloved travel guide.  There are many websites that offer travelers the opportunity to download itinerary guides that can be played at one’s own pace on an mp3-compatible device.  With these in hand travelers can avoid the strain, aggravation and awkwardness of carrying those antiquated paper-based travel guides.