My nephew is graduating high school and will be taking a trip to Great Britain this summer (with his Dad). I've always used Rick's books and plan to give him the one for Britain, but anybody have suggestions for one geared especially to young adults? He's especially interested in "living like a local," which to him I think I means hanging out in parks and playing some soccer. I'd appreciate any suggestions of guidebooks or lifestyle books. Thanks!
Take a look at the DK guidebooks. They are easy to spot on the shelf, they are white and every page is in full color. I love them and I'm an adult! Ricks books along with the DK guides are what I'm using. I just bought the DK London guide and have the DK Great Britain one too. A little spendy but worth it in my opinion!
Try the Time Out series (e.g. Time Out London). The majority of their books are city guides. They have a little more of a local flavor than some of the other series.
However, I don't think any guidebooks are really geared towards "living like a local". If there are specific non-tourist activities that he wants to do, the best bet is to ask a local.
Tara
Is your nephew traveling all of GB?
If he's staying in London, rather than a stuffy old book, try local magazines. Rick suggested one magazine on his tv program, but I like Time Out
http://www.timeout.com/london/
They talk about local events, What's hot (or not), new restaurants to check out, and freebies too!
That's about as "living local" as you can get.
While I love the DK books, too, Lonely Planet and Let's Go are geared toward younger travelers.
I like the DK books to spark your imagination before going and to have on the bookshelf after the trip. For this trip Lonely Planet and/or Let's Go will probably work best.
Check some books out at the Library for planning, buy the book or books that fit his tastes and has the most recent information.
I think it's the Rough Guides that were originally developed by students. So, that might be one to look at. I know that they tend to have more budget eats and accommodation, but I think that they also talk about the social scene. You might want to just spent a bit of time in the travel department of your local bookstore.
Pam