Do you use a Kindle for guidebooks?

I do both, actually. Vacations are so expensive and I don't get to take one often, so $15-$20 extra to duplicate the book is well worth it. I use the hard copy before I leave, it's a personal preference - I like the layout in hardback better. When I leave for the trip, I rip out the maps. If I'm in a foreign city for a while, I also order "Streetwise" brand maps, they save tons of time being lost in the city (although I realize sometimes lost is not a bad thing, but if you have reservations somewhere for a show, for example, it's not the time to be lost). While on the trip, I either take the Kindle or use my Samsung Note 4, which has approx. the same size large screen as the iPhone 6s Plus.

My personal experience is that if you use the Kindle app on your phone and use the large font, it's actually easier to look things up on the phone than the Kindle when you're walking along or standing in a line - less bulky, you're more accustomed to using your phone on the fly and it's one less thing to carry, because I'm not leaving my phone in the hotel room. I would think the size of your phone screen would greatly impact how well this works. In any case, the free Kindle app allows you to pay once for the book on Amazon and download it to multiple devices, phone, iPad, etc. Very convenient. The free PC or Mac version of the app makes for nice printouts as well. Don't forget to download your Rick Steve audio tours, there are also inexpensive walking tours on Audible.com of cities Rick doesn't provide audios for. Also, be sure to label your Kindle with contact information and password protect it, in case you leave it in the plane or somewhere else (I speak from experience). Enjoy your trip!

Oh, forgot to answer your other question - if sunlight is an issue, the Kindle is easy to read in bright sunlight and depending on your brand and age of phone, the phone may not be. I have the paperwhite Kindle currently, but have had earlier versions of Kindle and no sunlight problems with any of the Kindle devices. If you are on a beach, you might want to put it in a sandwich bag to protect it, but once again, personal preference....

I used my iPhone Kindle app to have my RS travel books with me on my list two trips. Worked OK for me.

Getting to a specific page the guide was referring to while on the bus was sometimes difficult on my last trip because the pages in the Kindle version of this book did not line up with the printed version (material was exactly the same, just page breaks were different in some places). The previous book lined up exactly with the printed one.

I plan to continue using the Kindle version because it is so much easier than toting around a thousand page book.

I had a Kindle 3 and loaded a RS guide on it and did not like scrolling thru to find the section I wanted. The Kindle died and the nice folks on this forum talked me in to an iPad Mini which I love. I downloaded all Rick's guidebooks for my Fall vacation onto it using the Kindle app and it was fabulous. Just planting a seed for when you start getting end-of-life signs from your Kindle!

Gasp! Pam just gave me heart palpitations! End of life of my Kindle?? NO!

I have Paperwhite that is almost three years old, and I love it. One of the reasons is the readability in bright light or no light. That can't be beat. I'll get another if this one bites the dust. I would not get the Kindle Fire tablet, or any other tablet for just regular reading.

However, I use mine just for reading books. It's not great for paging around a guidebook. And maps, graphs, etc are impossible. I did have a guide to New Orleans that I read cover to cover, and while in the city, I was able to pull up some info that I knew was there. But I feel it would have been faster in a paper book. There are bookmarking capabilities that I don't use much, but that would make it easier to find your info again.

I know you like to read real printed books. Me too. I have almost completely switched to Kindle books. One of the best reasons is that I can load it up with books when I travel. I hate having nothing to read, and the only bookshop in town is in the corner of Walgreens.

I find that using Rick Steves' guidebooks on my Nook works really well. I also use the Nook app on my Samsung Tab8. I have the Kindle app on the Tab but never use it because the Nook app is way better.

Chani, I buy e-copies of RS guidebooks and have no trouble navigating for information while out and about using my old iPad. I also use the scanner at the public library to scan pages from guide books I've bought but don't want to lug around--such as the Blue Guides and maps--and have those on the iPad. This way all the information is in iBooks. My tiny, old Kindle is loaded only with pleasure reading material but goes on all trips, as well.

I've always used paper copies of guidebooks in the past but just purchased my first Kindle guidebook for an upcoming trip. I immediately didn't like it and wished I had just bought the paper copy. I do not find that it is easy to navigate a guidebook on an actual Kindle. It might be easier on a tablet or phone though. In the future I think I will stick to buying a paper copy and ripping out the pages I need for my trip before I go.

Karen, I burst out laughing with your post. Yes, . When it won't hold a charge and gets big black lines across the screen. I acutally use the iPad mini mostly for reading books just like the Kindle and you can access your whole Kindle library on there from the Kindle app.

Chani,

I can't answer your question completely as I don't use a Kindle. However, I do have the Kindle app on both my iPhone and Netbook, and find that provides a very convenient source of reference during travels. It's sometimes a bit cumbersome working with the small screen on the iPhone, but much easier once I figured out how to use the app.

I use a kindle for guidebooks. It's not perfect, but I wouldn't go back to paper for travel info. It's pretty easy to use. Obviously you can't flip through it, but you can set up bookmarks and highlights and then go right to that section. I bookmark the site overview pages, and highlight important info ahead of time. I actually prefer the kindle for the site tours - I can read it while at the site easier than carrying a physical book, because when I'm going through a tour I like to keep the book open. Paper has the pesky habit of trying to close or just being more clumsy when carried open ;) Another benefit is that it's searchable - if I remember the book mentioned a place with great squid I can search for squid instead of reading all the restaurant entries.

I have a Kindle Fire, which is a tablet with apps and internet as well as ebooks. It is backlit (like a phone or ipad), but I can read it outside easier than the ipad. The regular Kindle isn't backlit at all and is just as easy to read outside as a normal book.

One problem is that maps sometimes are harder to use. If guidebook maps are important to you, you may need to figure out an additional map source.

The most obvious benefit is the weight - I can take a guidebook or two for each city, and a novel or two for recreational reading on the trip. I still prefer paper at home...but on a recent trip to Spain I wanted to read Don Quixote, and my preferred translation is hardcover and about a million pages. Kindle to the rescue!

We've not used the guidebooks on a Kindle, but have done so on a Nook. Not sure how much difference there will be. Perhaps someone who has used both can elaborate. Anyway, they really save a lot of space and weight compared to the regular paper books. The only downside we noticed is that the maps leave a good bit to be desired so we still rely on the old fashioned paper maps.

Thank you all for sharing. I travel with a notebook computer and an iPod Touch. The notebook stays in the hotel. I've put stuff on the Touch and found it very hard to read in daylight, sometimes even with the brightness at highest level (which eats up the battery charge).

Mira What you've described is exactly what I'm looking for. Since I have the Touch, I don't I need the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire and the Paperwhite both cost 50-60% more here. Just making sure I understood you - Is the "plain" Kindle as easy to use? As for bookmarks and highlights - that's what I do to my guidebooks at home anyway.

I'm also looking for a map app for my Touch that I can use without wifi/gps and that allows me to map directions from point A to point B. I tried CityMaps2Go and it worked okay for some things, but did not help me navigate city streets.

Chani, yes as far as I remember the regular kindle is just as easy to use. I used it up until 2 years ago when someone got me a fire as a gift and I sold the plain kindle. I actually want the basic one back now - better battery life and my kid won't want to take it to play games all the time! It's black and white so not great for pictures, and I think the maps are even trickier than on the fire. But the searching, highlighting, and bookmarking are the same.

Chani, I buy guidebooks in e-format using iBooks on my iPad Mini. I find I can do everything I want (highlight, bookmark, etc.). It's also easy to purchase books as I go (sometimes I decide I want to read a related history or novel when I am headed somewhere), without adding extra weight or searching for a book that is not available.

I use the "search" function to find a topic or place name, it works out very well.

As I browse at home in the planning stage, I also will do a "screen shot" and save the image on my iPad Mini (map, list, restaurant review, opening & ticket info, transit schedule, etc.). I have also taken photos of relevant guidebook pages. I create specific albums for these 'photos' for each trip destination. Then I just delete them as I go...

Like others I'm not fond of the compromises in using a guidebook (or any other "book" that's not read strictly in front-to-back order) on the Kindle. In addition to it being harder to skip back and forth between two sections, such as between a map and accompanying paragraphs of text, the graphics on an E-ink Kindle aren't as clear as in a printed book. The Kindle app on a laptop or a tablet shows pictures and drawings much better than a Kindle devicemdoes.

That being said, when I accientally left my Ireland book in an inn in Ireland I was happy to finish the trip with a replacement guide in my Kindle.

I used a Kindle for the Rick Steve's France guidebook and it worked ok, but isn't ideal. A kindle is great if you're slowly reading through a novel. But with a guidebook I like to be able to flip through it quickly, and so the slow page refresh of a Kindle gets annoying. A Kindle fire may be a little quicker I think, so that may not be as much of an issue. But I ended up using the guidebook on my phone and laptop more than the Kindle version.

thank you all for sharing. I have decided not to get a Kindle for the time being.

Chani,

Have you also considered an iPad or iPad Mini?