Wikitravel Press

Frequently-Asked Questions

Why should I choose a Wikitravel guidebook?: Wikitravel guidebooks are written by travellers like you and updated every single month. Your copy is printed to order, meaning that you're guaranteed to get the newest information possible.

How is this different from traditional guidebooks?: Traditional guidebooks are revised every two to five years, meaning that they are already hopelessly out of date by the time they hit the bookstore shelf. They're also written by harried editors who probably never even stayed in the hotel they write about, making them unreliable as well.

How are Wikitravel guides written?: Travellers from around the world work together create and maintain destination guides on our parent site Wikitravel.org, which (as of October 2007) includes over 30,000 travel guides in 18 languages. The best of these are selected by Wikitravel Press for publication and passed to carefully selected local editors, who polish and fact-check them before publication.

Aren't wikis notoriously inaccurate?: This is a common misconception. Not only are wikis in general as accurate as any other source of information, but at Wikitravel Press, we add an extra layer of confidence as each Wikitravel guidebook is carefully screened by a dedicated editor for factual accuracy, clarity, and style.

So everything in these guidebooks is also available online at Wikitravel.org?: That's right.

So why shouldn't I just print out the web pages instead?: Sure, you could. But our guides aren't just printouts, they're books. That means:

Compact size. At 4.25"x6.875"x0.5", a 200-page Wikitravel Press guide literally fits in your back pocket.
Easy to use. A table of contents and bold page headers make navigation a snap.
Indexed. Every Wikitravel Press guide comes with a complete index for quickly finding every attraction, restaurant, nightspot and hotel listed.
Cross-referenced. Every time the guide refers to a place, we include the page number so you can quickly find the full description.
Formatted for clarity. We make sure every map is printed at a readable size.

Where can I order Wikitravel Press guidebooks?: Right here at this website.

What forms of payment do you accept?: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and PayPal. (Please note that Maestro and Visa Electron are not accepted.)

I'm already in Destination X, can I just pick up the Wikitravel guide to X locally?: Yes, most of our guides are also distributed locally. See the guide's page, or contact us directly at sales@wikitravelpress.com.

Do you offer bulk discounts?: Yes, our print partner Lulu offers automatic discounts for orders of over 25 copies. For orders of over 100 copies, please contact us directly at sales@wikitravelpress.com for an extra-sweet deal.

Where do you ship?: Wikitravel Press ships to over 200 countries. See the full list here.

How long will my order take to arrive?: Guidebooks are printed and shipped out within 3-5 business days. Shipping times vary depending on your destination and chosen shipping method. For customers in the United States, we recommend USPS Priority Mail, which delivers anywhere in the continental US within 2-3 days. For customers elsewhere, we recommend Standard Shipping, which delivers anywhere in Europe in 5-10 days and (almost) anywhere in the world within 10-20 days. Expedited printing and express shipping are available for a surcharge; see here for details.

I have a problem with my order, who do I contact?: Billing, shipping and handling of Wikitravel Press books is handled by Lulu. Please contact them directly at Lulu Help.

What is Wikitravel Press?: Wikitravel Press, Inc. is an independent corporation created by longtime Wikitravel community leader Jani Patokallio with Wikitravel founders Evan Prodromou and Michele Ann Jenkins. Its purpose is to publish Open Content travel guidebooks based on Wikitravel content.

What is Wikitravel?: Wikitravel is a community-based wiki site operated by Internet Brands, Inc. with the goal of creating a free, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. It was founded by Evan Prodromou and Michele Ann Jenkins in July of 2003, and as of August 2007 it includes over 30,000 travel guides in 18 languages. Wikitravel won the 2007 Webby Award for Best Travel Site. Wikitravel's guides are written, illustrated and edited by tens of thousands of Internet users across the globe. The contents are available free of charge under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license.

What is the relationship between Wikitravel and Wikitravel Press?: Wikitravel Press was founded by the same people as Wikitravel. We have licensed the Wikitravel name and logo from the current Wikitravel owners for worldwide exclusive use in selling travel guidebooks. Wikitravel Press is not owned or operated by Internet Brands.

What is the relationship between Wikitravel and Wikipedia?: Wikitravel is not operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that runs Wikipedia. The two sites use the same Open Source software and Wikitravel maintains a friendly respect for Wikipedia.

Why make guidebooks based on a travel Web site?: Wikitravel is not just a travel Web site. Its goal, since the beginning, has been to create travel guides that can be used on- and off-line, printed or on-screen, individually or collected into travel guidebooks. These articles, carefully organized, fact-checked, and copy-edited, make excellent travel guidebooks.

Will you distribute profits to all wiki contributors?: No. It is not the responsibility of Wikitravel Press to pay contributors to share their knowledge and experience with the world. It is impossible to do fairly, and would be deleterious to the Wikitravel community and project. For more information, see Paying wiki contributors. Profits from the sale of books pay for book editors and corporate expenses. Profits are also shared with Internet Brands to support the continuing development of the Wikitravel Web site.

Do you contribute information back to the Wikitravel Web site?: Where guidebook content is compatible with the Wikitravel manual of style, it is contributed back to the Wikitravel site.

How can I get involved?: People familiar with travel destinations and the Wikitravel Web site, with exceptional skills in writing, fact-checking and editing, are encouraged to submit proposals for new Wikitravel press titles. See contact for more information.