Let's take a look at the best India travel books.
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet guidebooks are my personal favorite, and judging by their popularity, are the favorite of a lot of other people too. Lonely Planet manages to pack an extraordinary amount of information into their books.The strength of Lonely Planet guidebooks is definitely in their practical details. These guidebook have all the answers about how to get around, where to stay, where to eat, and what to see.
Lonely Planet India is a thick and weighty book -- it's got well over 1,000 pages. However, what's really handy about Lonely Planet is that you don't need to buy the complete book. If you're only planning on visiting a region within India, you can just buy the relevant section. Whether it's south India, north India, or north east India, region specific guidebooks are available.
Alternatively, if you're only planning on visiting a few places in India, you can purchase and download individual chapters from the guidebook, in PDF format, on the Lonely Planet website. This is a really inexpensive and convenient option.
In addition to guidebooks, Lonely Planet also offers a great range of travel products including travel journals and maps.
Compare Prices on Lonely Planet products.
The Rough Guide
The Rough Guide to India is another very comprehensive guidebook that's filled with around 1,500 pages of interesting information. The appeal of The Rough Guide is that it contains a comparatively large amount of cultural information.
If you're looking for in depth knowledge about India's history and attractions, The Rough Guide is for you. The Rough Guide also has region specific guidebooks available, as well as a pocket-sized book on the 25 Ultimate Experiences to India.
Compare Prices on Rough Guide Guidebooks
Frommers
Frommer's India is another guidebook that's worthy of a look. While it's only got around 600 pages and doesn't provide as much detailed information as Lonely Planet or The Rough Guide, it is still useful.
Frommers targets itself more at the mid to high budget traveler. Therefore, those planning on backpacking around India would be better off with a Lonely Planet guidebook. A particularly useful feature of the Frommers guidebook is that it contains discussions and suggestions, with rankings, of what to do. This is really helpful in planning your time in India. On the downside, a common complaint about Frommers is its lack of quality maps, which can be a significant hindrance to travel.
