Types of Travel Guide #4: Special Interest Travel Guide

All about The Special Interest Travel Guide

In this article we’re going to look at the definition of a Special Interest travel guide, and look at some example of some published guides.

Definition of a Special Interest Travel Guide

Rather than having a broad focus, a special interest travel guide provides an in-depth look at a specific location or interest within a destination (or even many destinations).

Special interest guidebooks can inform readers about their existing, or new, area of interest. You can also look at the special interest magazines at the newsagents, and see which topics are covered (vintage cars, doll collectors, cookery, interior design, etc.).

Usually, people who are passionate enough about a special interest to buy a magazine about it, are the very same people who want to immerse themselves in the topic by organizing a trip around it.

Examples of Special Interest Categories

The following is a list of some of the most popular special interest category niches, and a couple of examples of the variety of travel guides already available:

Local History & Historical Sights

Writer’s Tips: Rather than creating a chronological account of a destination’s history, you should approach the topic on the basis of themes and subjects, which will be much more interesting and engaging than a chronological progression.

Read this article about top tips that help you approach writing about local history in the best way. See how themes, context and an open mind are the building blocks of a good historian and how vital it is to organise your research material carefully. Source: Dr Alan Crosby

The Maya Sites – Hidden Treasures of the Rain Forest		The 25 Essential World War II Sites: European Theater: The Ultimate Traveler’s Guide to Battlefields, Monuments

Shopping

When writing your shopping travel guide, a theme is important to help you confine your content scope and attract a target audience. In the three examples below you’ll see three different approach for setting the scope. The first is Paris Markets, the second is a list of shops in Milan, and the third is a general shoppers guide to four Italian cities. Each one has taken a different approach to setting the scope and theme, but it’s evident from the book’s title what the travel guide contains.

Markets of Paris, 2nd Edition: Food, Antiques, Crafts, Books, and More	111 Shops in Milan That You Must Not Miss: Unique Finds and Local Treasures	Made in Italy: A Shoppers Guide to Florence, Milan, Rome & Venice

Museums & Art History

If you’re planning on writing a book for culture vultures you’ll need a fresh approach to the topic to attract your audience. Most museums and historical monuments have extensive websites full of historical information and interesting facts, so your job as a travel guide author is to identify how you’re going to approach your topic that will entice tourists to buy a book rather than relying on websites. The key benefit a book provides is that it presents key information about multiple sights within a centralized location. So your task is to make the content easy to navigate, and interesting to read.

Discovering Ruins and Rock Art in Brazil and Peru		Free Museums? Yes! (Leisure for Less – Budget Tours and Budget Places to Visit in Barcelona Book 3)

Public Gardens & Parks

As well as the horticultural aspects of garden and parks travel guides, you can also include historical background that helps to put this locations development into context. Just as architecture can be tied to a specific period in history, so too can gardens, and this information helps to provide a deeper appreciation of them. Adding personal interviews with the gardeners who are responsible for maintaining them, also helps to create a personal connection between the gardens and your reader.

The Best Gardens in Italy: A Traveller’s Guide		Behind Adobe Walls: The Hidden Homes and Gardens of Santa Fe and Taos

Volunteer Vacations/Working Overseas

There are a myriad of global volunteering opportunities available, and if you have first hand experience of volunteering there are three key ways to approach the topic. The first is to create a general volunteering resource guide, which provides an overview of the different opportunities available. The second is to choose a theme (e.g. teaching English, building schools, etc.) and write an in-depth resource guide about the opportunities on the theme. The third is to write a travel memoir about your volunteering experience, and provide a shorter resource section for people looking to replicate your adventures.

Wide-Open World: How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family’s Lives Forever		Adventure Philanthropist: Great Adventures Volunteering Abroad

Activities (e.g. Golf, scuba diving)

If you’re focused on writing about a specific activity, you’ll need to have more than a general understanding about the sport or activity you’re writing about in order to write confidently about it. Not just so you can use the right terminology and phrases that are familiar to enthusiasts, but so you know what ancillary topics are essential to include.

Aqua Expeditions: Great Global Hot Spots for Suba Diving and Snorkeling		100 Classic Hikes in New England: Maine / New Hampshire / Vermont / Massachusetts / Rhode Island / Connecticut

Eco-Tourism/Slow Travel

Before you start writing a travel guide with an eco-tourism or slow travel foundation, you’ll need to make sure you understand the fundamentals of these travel movements. Both have societies and organizations that define their philosophies and principles, and as well as understanding them yourself, you should also assume your reader doesn’t know these essentials either. Related to slow travel, is the Slow Food movement, which provides a great opportunity to narrow the scope of your slow travel book by just focusing on food.

Costa Rica: The Complete Guide, Eco-Adventures in Paradise	The New Brazil Travel Guide: Eco Tourism, Social Entrepreneurs, and Inspiring Adventures through all five regions	Slow The Cotswolds: Local, Characterful Guides To Britain’s Special Places

Budget Travel

People are always looking for ways to save a little money.

Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget	Nomadic Matt’s Guide to New York City: A budget guide from the budget travel expert	159 Free Things to do in New York City: The Best Free Museums, Sightseeing Attractions, Events, Music, Galleries, Outdoor Activities, Theatre, Family Fun & Tours In NYC

Considerations When Planning a Special Interest Guide

For a more extensive list of specialty travel topics, a thought-provoking resource of interests and activities is available on www.specialtytravel.com. Scroll through the list (you can even select a specific destination) and see if there’s a special interest that you’re inspired to write about.

This reference tool could be just what you need to write a guide book from a completely different perspective. By choosing a specialty travel topic you can approach this destination from a targeted viewpoint. Often, special interest travel guides deal with more than one destination within the same geographic location.

If you try and wing a special interest guidebook, your writing may come across as “stiff” because of your lack of knowledge, understanding, or correct use of terminology. The key to writing special interest is being able to present yourself as a credible information source.

Want to learn about the other types of travel guides? Here’s the full list of this article series:

In addition to these articles, I also wrote the following articles about writing a Local Travel Guide (which is a sub-genre of special interest travel guides):

Want to know more about the Special Interest #travelguide niche? Here's some tips and examples of specialty travel guides to help you plan your book. #amwriting Click To Tweet

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3 thoughts on “Types of Travel Guide #4: Special Interest Travel Guide”

Lewis Johnson says:

August 31, 2018 at 3:19 pm

These travel guides are a must-have for anyone planning a trip. Thank you

Aaron Smith says:

September 5, 2018 at 5:09 pm

I highly recommend Adventure Philanthropist.

Luna Anderson says:

September 12, 2018 at 8:24 am

These books are great and I love the 100 Classic Hikes in New England.