Travel guidebook

Independent Travel Awards 2015 - your chance to nominate

Herb Lester city maps

Lonely Planet took the travel guide to its ultimate conclusion by unveiling The World. While the global compendium wasn’t to everyone’s taste - some reviewers regarded it as ridiculously skimpy - it does provide a single-volume guide to the planet’s 21st-century wonders.

Smaller UK publishers continued to make the running, with Cicerone offering The Book of the Bothy by Wanderlust editor, Phoebe Smith. She provides an accessible introduction to her favourite “stone tents” in remote locations across the UK, and explains the etiquettete of using them.

Trailblazer’s Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook has reached its third edition, and the new book is better than ever - with particular focus on women’s cyclists in an activity that has previously been largely the preserve of men.

Bradt’s close-up focus continues with its new guide to the Alentejo: “the raw, beguiling heartland of southern Portugal”, written by Alex Robinson, he says, as a penance for all the great times he has enjoyed in this much overlooked corner of Europe.

Other publications that have caught our eye include Monocle's new array of stylish city guides, written by writers based in New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Herb Lester's playful map-guides continue to delight (Barcelona at Ease, An Appetite for Melbourne, A Velvet Underground Map of New York) while Victionary's Citix60 guides offer an alternative snapshot of our favourite cities, with tips from 60 local creatives.