Best Travel Guide Publisher

DK Travel Guides

"Irresistibly seductive" is how Michael Palin described them - and he's obviously not alone in his view. The DK Eyewitness Travel Guides have won numerous awards thanks to their distinctive presentation and comprehensive information.

What sets this series apart from other travel guides is its striking illustrations. DK describes the books as "showing you what others only tell you", and claims the books have more maps and photographs than any other guide. They are full of 3D maps, plans of guided walks, cutaways revealing the insides of major buildings, and floor plans of major sites. Three quarters of the photographs are taken specially for the guides, and the street-by-street illustrations and cutaways are drawn by artists in pencil and watercolour. 

The series covers more than 100 destinations - countries, cities and regions - and was voted the top guidebook series in the 2009 Wanderlust Travel Awards. It has also won the Daily Telegraph Readers' Best Travel Guide Award and the Observer / Guardian Travel Guide of the Year Award.

Tell me more …
DK also produces a series called Top 10 Travel Guides - 66 pocket-sized guides which break a destination down into top 10 lists - museums, events, nightspots, and even the top 10 things to avoid. The Pocket Maps and Guides list recommended sights, hotels, restaurants, shops and bars, and contain a pullout map and transport information. 

Each book in the Eyewitness Back Road series features 25 themed drives around a country or region, along with recommendations for activities, hotels and restaurants, maps and information about road conditions, parking and opening hours. DK also publshes the Eyewitness Travel Phrase Books and Language Guides, visual bilingual dictionaries, atlases, the Monuments of India series and the British Bed and Breakfast guide.

Who is DK?
DK - formerly Dorling Kindersley - started life as a book-packaging company in 1974. The firm moved into publishing in 1982, and has always produced works that are copiously and strikingly illustrated. It publishes reference books for adults and children, including cookery, history, gardening and parenting books.
The Eyewitness Travel Guides were launched in 1993, with just four titles. The books have since been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2007 the company launched its traveldk.com website, which allows travellers to create, customise and print their own travel guides using content from the Top 10 Travel Guides. 

Who are the DK Travel Guides aimed at?
The guides are great for everyone - particularly those who enjoy looking at impressive illustrations and seeing what their destination looks like before they get there. The Eyewitness Guides are great for travellers taking a long break, while the Top 10 Guides and Pocket Maps and Guides are more suitable if you're taking a short break. The Back Road series is aimed at travellers who are taking a driving holiday and want to get off the beaten track.