Follow the leader: a guide to good travel guides

By Craig Tansley
Updated February 7 2015 - 1:08am, first published 12:15am
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi

The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. 
www.mottvisuals.com
Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. www.mottvisuals.com Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
Horsedrawn carriage, Pyin Oo Lwin, also known as Pyin U Lwin and Maymyo, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma). Photo: Melvyn Longhurst / Alamy
Horsedrawn carriage, Pyin Oo Lwin, also known as Pyin U Lwin and Maymyo, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma). Photo: Melvyn Longhurst / Alamy
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi

The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. 
www.mottvisuals.com
Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. www.mottvisuals.com Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi

The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. 
www.mottvisuals.com
Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. www.mottvisuals.com Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi

The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. 
www.mottvisuals.com
Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals
The Datai Langkawi rresident naturalist Irshad Mobarak - discovering Langkawi The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Images by Mott Visuals. Hotel and Resort photography and films by Mott Visuals. www.mottvisuals.com Photographer | Justin Mott Photo: Justin Mott/Mott VIsuals

A good tour guide can make your whole holiday,  but a bad tour guide can sour your impressions of a destination forever.  A guide can have a key role in shaping our memories (and that's some responsibility). Before we visit them, every destination can be just a scene from a movie, or a photo we saw in a magazine or a book, or perhaps a recommendation from a friend or family member; or a story we read in a travel section like this one.

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