Maps and Guides

There are many maps and guides to Thailand. We've listed our favorites below. A guidebook is probably a good idea for first time visitors to the country. There's so much to see that you need some idea of what might interest you beforehand.

Guidebooks to Thailand

There are some very good guidebooks and other useful references for Thailand. The Knopf guide is one of our favorites, closely followed by the DK "Eyewitness" guides. We highly recommend either for first time travelers. They're small and highly illustrated, so you can decide if something is worth seeing - for you - before you go. It's not as exhaustive as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides, but it covers every place you're likely to want to see on your first visit. Don't worry about the publication date. The guide is updated frequently. Of course, for maximum portability you can't beat electronic books, or 'ebooks', which can be stored for reference on your smartphone, tablet or ereader. There are several out now, including our own line of AsiaForVisitors.com eBooks.