FAQs

We get asked some things time and time again, so we hope these answers to our most common FAQs will give you a speedy response. What you want to ask isn’t covered? No worries, just get in touch and ask!

What is Rough Guides?

Back in 1982 four (mullet-haired, tracksuit-wearing, we assume) friends put the series together with a simple aim, to combine great writing with contemporary, opinionated information for the independent traveller. The result: Rough Guides. A series of guidebooks that not only give you plenty of cultural and historical background but will also tell you where the best beaches and the hottest clubs are, where to go for great local music and delicacies; in short, what it's like to live there today.

How are Rough Guides different to other guides?

There are many fine books out there. But we think we prioritise a few things that make us better than the rest. First, quality writing; a Rough Guide is not just a good guidebook, it's a good read as well. Second, a contemporary, journalistic view; a Rough Guide views a destination as more than a tourist never-never land. We treat it as a place where real people live and work and our readers get to participate in that vibe. Finally, updates that matter; we bring new editions out every 2-3 years because our researchers re-visit every place and thoroughly check out new information. And our state-of-the-art publishing process allows us to make amendments and additions right up until press time. When we call it an updated edition, you can be sure it is.

But it’s not all books, is it?

Gold star for you - no, we don’t just publish books nowadays. Besides the print guides and this website, we have a selection of super snazzy apps for Android and Apple devices, and we sell our guides in handy eBook formats.

And what’s this I hear, Rough Guides do more than just travel guides?

Our guides have always included our famous ‘contexts’ section full of thoughtful essays on a variety of topics, from the destination's wildlife and history to its art movements and indigenous music. From those essays on music grew our first non-travel project, The Rough Guide to World Music. The success of this guide inspired us to apply our unique Rough Guide perspective to any number of categories – from music and the internet to sports and much more. Check out our lifestyle offerings here.

What’s the best way of keeping up with the world of Rough Guides?

Check into the site regularly, for the latest feature, news and more, but if you’d like a dose of RG delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our e-newsletter – don’t worry, we won’t inundate you, we send about 1 email a month.

I’ve found information on the website I think is wrong, what do I do?

We do work as hard as humanly possible to keep the information on roughguides.com up to date, but occasionally things change or mistakes slip through the net – naughty Web Editor. But we’d really appreciate if you would drop us an email and tell us about the inaccuracy you found, so we can speedily fix it. Now, where’s that Web Editor *grabs thrashing whip*...

I think my business should be on roughguides.com – can that happen?

Our dedicated authors independently research all restaurants, hotels, clubs and other businesses that are listed in the guides – and that’s the information that ends up on roughguides.com. But if you send us your details, we’ll pass them on to the relevant author, who’ll try to stop by next time they’re in the area…

Why don’t you have information on the website on [your destination of choice here]?

We only cover our most popular guidebook destinations on roughguides.com, so if the place you’re looking for isn’t on here, it’s probably because it’s a little more off the beaten track – snaps for you. But we’re always reviewing our coverage on the site, so don’t be afraid to drop us an email and ask for your place to be included in the next site update.

Why don’t you publish a guide to [your destination of choice here]?

We produce guides to hundreds of destinations, usually where we feel travellers will get the most out of the destination by using a guide, based on our experiences travelling there. But we’re always reviewing our guide coverage, so again just drop us an email and tell us what guides you’d like to see us publish!

Why don’t you publish a guide to Burma?

In the past we’ve discouraged readers from travelling to Burma as revenue from tourism is known to have helped fund and sustain Burma's oppressive political regime. We’re greatly heartened by the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and hope this will ultimately help open Burma to travellers. At the moment we’re not planning to publish a guidebook to Burma - such a guide would really depend upon sustained improvements in the political situation as well as on a proven and robust travel infrastructure – but we'll continue to monitor events in the region.

Hey, I think you guys are pretty cool, can I advertise on your site?

We’d LOVE that, but we don’t manage site advertising in-house, so please contact our pals at Ad2One (UK) or TAN (rest of world) and they’ll arrange it all for you. Tell the Rough Guides sent you.

I think you’d think we’re pretty cool, fancy exchanging links?

We work with a select few brands and websites that we think are a cool fit for roughguides.com and our users. If you’d like to be one of the inner circle drop us an email and we’ll get in touch if we think we could work together.

How can I write for you?

We have hundreds of writers and contributors working tirelessly day and night the world over. But the good news is that we're always looking for talented, enthusiastic, present-giving (jokes) new contributors. Just take a look at our work/write for us page for more info.

Who works in your offices? Can I?

Our HQ in London is full of endlessly talented, smiley editors, cartographers, marketers and online gurus, plus a crack production team who put together and sell Rough Guides. They’re a tremendous group of people who work very hard, have an interest in travel, music, the arts or all of the above. From time to time, we do have openings in our offices – you can view all of our current vacancies here.

What are you guys doing with my data?

We’re a private lot here at Rough Guides HQ and we understand you are too, so we don’t generally disclose personal information we’ve collected from you to third parties. We may, occasionally, work with another site – but we’ll always tell you that the data we’re collecting from you will be shared if that’s the case, and you can let us know if you’re not happy for it to be. If you want to read more about this, check out our full privacy policy.

Can I make money on sales of Rough Guides?

Yes young grasshopper, you can. If you’re based in the UK, sign up to the affiliate scheme of Rough Guides' parent company, Penguin Books UK, and start earning commission on sales of Rough Guides through your website. Learn how here. Huzzah!

You guys seem to know what you’re doing, fancy making me a custom Rough Guide?

We’d love to! Head over to our business to business website to see what we’ve done before and chat to us about your project.