The Guide and Its Audience. What is The Essential Guide to a Life of Travel ? First, let me begin by explaining what The Essential Guide to a Life of Travel is not. - It is not a book about how to travel on a shoestring. While I discuss costs and fees, the guide does not focus on the finance of travel. - It is not a book about trips or tours, such as what you find in a travel agency book. - It is not a book about travel in the United States. Rather, The Essential Guide of a Life of Travel attempts to provide everything you need to know to travel abroad, outside the United States. It is aimed at assisting all travelers, from those who only dream of travel to those who venture out frequently. And, because I am a solo traveler, I also include useful information for traveling alone. Maybe you think you want to travel, but don’t know how to begin or are generally fearful. This book is an excellent reference for you. Perhaps you are a frequent traveler. But, you have limited yourself to tours and now you want to get a more in-depth experience in a city, country or region. This book is an excellent reference for you. Of course, it is impossible to include everything there is to know, especially as more, new, and changing information emerges. If I waited to include the all up-and-coming information, I would never finish. However, to attempt to alleviate that conundrum, I include links to everything I discuss within the discussions and also in Appendices B and C, providing the resources for you to explore and research beyond the covers of this Guide. You can see from the Table of Contents, I attempt to be comprehensive and detailed within the variety of topics. It’s a lot of information and can be overwhelming. To avoid your getting bogged down, I include a check lists in CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Putting It All Together. And, to pique your interest in travel, beyond the details and facts, I include a series of vignettes throughout these pages. The word vignette comes from the French vigne, meaning little vine. The term specifically arose from the small vines drawn on the pages of printed texts. My stories, impressions, or vines are meant to entangle your imagination and entice you to travel. I hope you find this book both useful and entertaining. I also hope you enjoy reading and using the The Essential Guide to a Life of Travel as much as I enjoyed writing it.
