The Lonely Planet Guide To Experimental Travel

by Rachael Antony, Joel Henry, Andrew Dean Nystrom (Contributor)

Forget package holidays and classic travel routes. Wave adieu to predictable journeys and escape the clutches of tourist traps. The time has come for different travel rules and The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel is your passport to a new world.

Do you yearn for the glories of yesteryear? Pack an octogenarian guidebook and replace the subway with a penny farthing for an Anachronistic Adventure. Do you like to gamble? Taste the real thrill of adventure with Trip Poker or Monopoly Travel. Are you desperate for a holiday but strapped for cash? To undertake Budget Tourism low funds are not an obstacle but a prerequisite.

With over 40 experiments to try, an enthralling history of Experimental Travel, interviews with our expert authors - including the founder of Latourex, an organization dedicated to Experimental Travel - and reports by intrepid experimenters, you'll be perfectly equipped for the open road. It's just up to you to fly the flag, pick up the mantle and fire up your experimental engine. Good luck!

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Adventure, Guidebook

276 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I flipped through this book as I was shelving it in the library and got hooked.
I can't think of anything more fun than having random adventures in strange and/or familiar places. I just wish all my friends weren't always busy being grown-ups...

[Paul Dembina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed rereading this selection of alternative options to explore new (or sometimes familiar) places.
Unfortunately the passage of time has meant that some of the websites referenced no longer exist

[melydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gift from my sister, with the note "Long live your sense of adventure!" It's a marvelous collection of travel games, from the simple (take the first left turn, then the first right turn, etc.) to the complex (a couple showing up separately at a foreign place and seeing if you can find each other) to the plain old bizarre (traveling while wearing a horse head mask). Each game is accompanied by a description of "laboratory results" (that is, someone who actually did it), most of which are beautiful and funny. One day I'll try some of these. If nothing else, it's a very entertaining read, and makes me want to explore.

[Tomas Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zbierka nápadov na alternatívne cestovanie. Napríklad: v novom meste sledujte náhodnú inú osobu, navštívte úrady a nemocnice namiesto pamiatok, sadnite na vlak a odvezte sa na konečnú, namiesto dovolenky si na víkend vymeňte byt s kamarátom a objavujte jeho byt. Mnohé nápady sú výborné a párkrát som ich už použil, keď som v nejakom meste bol už toľkokrát, že mi došli zjavné tipy, čo tam robiť s voľným popoludním.
Sprievodné texty - zápisky z experimentov - sú skôr nudné, ale možno len pre človeka ak ja, ktorý nemá rád cestopisy.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super great ideas for anyone who wants to travel differently. Whether blindly exploring a city or being a tourist in your own city, drawing a heart on a map of the city and following the line, there should be enough for adventurous to recreate.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like this are why I love second hand stalls - I'd never have paid full price for a guidebook to nowhere, but I really liked it.
I bought this last year, then forgot about it. When I started reading it last month, I really wished I'd started at the beginning of the lockdown, because this could almost be titled 'lockdown travel' - many of the 'experiments' can be conducted without leaving your neighbourhood (and the others can be conducted without leaving your country if you live in a reasonably large one). It could also be titled 'travel for the broke', many of the experiments don't cost a cent.
Whilst some of the experiments are wildly impractical (and a few are dangerous and/or illegal), there are quite a few very practical ones that I plan to do. I haven't done them yet though (my area is now out of lockdown, I'm saving these experiments for if we go back in) I'll update this review when I do.
This book was published in 2005 and is based on the Latourex experiments of the 90s, so it feels quite anachronistic today - several experiments involve the use of a street directory (these do still exist, I know because I forgot the term and thus googled 'map book', I found a website selling them for $50!), I don't own one, but, like any good experimental traveller, I'll find a way to improvise.
Don't worry if you want to participate in experimental travel but can't find (or afford) a copy of this book, many of the experiments in it, and a few others, are outlined on the (charmingly antiquated) Latourex website.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light entertaining read with some very strange experiments that are bizarre and socially awkward. However, there were a couple of gems and the entire book has a good vibe - travel is what you make it and an essential part of being alive - whether you are travelling across the globe or around the block from your home.

[Tim Corke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is travel but not as you know it.
It’s a wonderful guide to changing the way you see the world full of inspirational theories that are presented in a clear and understandable way for you to implement.
So pleased to have had this given to me for Christmas a few years back..

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Recensione del 2013.]

Mi sono imbattuta in questo libro grazie alla sfida anobiiana delle letterature altre. Una lettrice ha detto che lo stava leggendo, il titolo mi ha incuriosita e la recensione ancora di più. Perciò me lo sono procurato ed ora eccomi qua con la mia recensione.

L’idea di base è che non si debba sempre per forza viaggiare in modo lineare e consono al turismo di massa. Si può decidere di farlo anche in altri modi, che molto spesso sono (o almeno appaiono da questo libro) più divertenti. Oltre che più inventivi e meno banali. Più interessanti sicuramente. Modi di viaggiare che a volte ci portano a scoprire cose che non avremmo mai pensato di scoprire. E si tratta di viaggi che molto spesso possiamo fare anche nelle vicinanze di casa nostra, senza dover per forza spendere un patrimonio. Scoprendo angoli e cose inaspettati.

Fondamentalmente, l’idea di base è quella del gioco, come mostra anche la copertina, e quella di viaggiare per divertirsi. Il tutto nasce da un’associazione francese fondata da Joël Henry, chiamata Latourex. Vi consiglio di visitare il sito, c’è in varie lingue fra cui anche l’italiano e propone idee interessanti presenti anche in questo libro. Ma il libro le sviluppa ulteriormente e ne propone anche altre, oltre a presentare i risultati degli esperimenti condotti.

Fra le idee che mi sono piaciute di più, il viaggio automatico (Automatic Travel), che penso di aver fatto più di una volta quando ho viaggiato da sola: lasciarsi portare dal subconscio, viaggiare senza pensare. Ma anche il viaggio letterario (Literary Journey), che consiste nel viaggiare fra le pagine dei libri, andando da una destinazione all’altra, ed è un po’ quello che stiamo facendo con questa sfida. Ma ce ne sono tanti altri davvero carini, mentre alcuni sono un po’ assurdi ma belli da leggere.

Un libro che consiglio a tutti quelli che hanno voglia di viaggiare in modo diverso, a chi ama giocare e mettersi in gioco, a chi sa divertirsi, a chi vuole qualche spunto per il suo prossimo viaggio vicino o lontano.

[Krzysztof · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oulipians, Surrealists, Dadaists, Travelers. All of these can be just so self-involved and annoying. But I still like them and try to join their ranks from time to time.

Some of the travel ideas in this book were good, while others made me aware of how obnoxious I must have been as a gob-smacked traveler - and how precious some of my travel gimmicks. Thank god I didn't walk around with a broken clock when I went to Japan, instead going the Esthetourisme route, writing poems in Brautigan's style while there - (do you see how precious this gets? I couldn't resist using Latourex's French name for Aesthetic Travel).

Some other experimental travel ideas:

Type your zip code into this Little Free Library Finder. It's taken me to parts of my own back yard I never knew existed.

Organize an urban scavenger hunt.

Listen to or record a one minute vacation.

Go to the top of a high rise. Spy a body of water. Descend. Walk until you reach water (it can be a lot farther than you think).

Eco-tourism. Organize or join a local cleanup. If you do this on Singapore's island Pulau Ubin, you can get a bit of ghost hunting in, too.

[Hunted Snark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bloody love this book.

It's field notes and lab reports from 'experimental travellers'. Complete with abstract, method, and results. And anyone can play. Time does not weary the concept, it just provides us with more lab materials.

It's not just for keen, barking-mad travellers, though.
At least as much for lazy weirdos like me, who prefer conceptual travel to the real thing.

Or, in the rare event that you do go somewhere, you:
* might relish an hour in a supermarket as much as an hour in a gallery.
* might prefer to sit in a park than go to the main local tourist attraction
* might wander aimlessly instead of planning
* or only turn left all day
* or turn a walk around the block into a grand adventure,
* or a grand adventure into a footnote (scaled the Eiger Thursday; was quite chilly at the top)
* are the kind who enjoys parallels, digressions, substitutions, mild disappointments and knows the meaning of serendipity.

The really great thing is that you don't have to leave home or spend any money, other than buying the book.
Voyage in your mind. Invent a game. Text someone currently in Brussels and discover a world of interesting street furniture at your leisure. Travel around the world in 80 biscuits. The oyster is your world!

** Not recommended for people who take their travel 'seriously'.
Or who'd go to a theme park unironically.

[LINDA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really bizarre book about many different approaches that you can take to make travel a little more interesting and a lot more memorable!

I love the cover, I love the format, I love the tidbits of strange information that are sprinkled through the book, I love the strange graphics, I love the interactive yellow sticky arrows on the inside of the back cover, I love that this book was so creative and really got me thinking about all of the other approaches to travel that I may have never dreamed of...

The most notable parts were:

The ones that I would most like to try are:


Ariadne's Thread p. 56

Confluence seeking on p. 96 www.confluence.org

Ero Tourism p. 120

Exquisite Corpse Gad About p 138. First person writes down the name of a destination, the second person writes down an activity, and so on for the remaining categories: dress code, budget, duration of travel, theme, item to bring, snack, etc.

Travel Pursuits p. 230

The Travel Pie: p.260

[Audrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique, quirky approach to travel... focused on the adventure and fun experienced during transit rather than the final destination. In fact, you could end up at a sewage treatment plant and still walk away with a new perspective. You just need a wandering attitude and the desire to try something new.

Example:

'Alternating Travel'

Hypothesis: Discover your own or a foreign town by following alternating travel directions.

Apparatus: The ability to tell your left from your right.

Method: Leave your home on foot. Take the first road on the right, then the next on the left, then the next on the right, then the next on the left, and so on. Carry on until something - a no-man's land, a building or a stretch of water - blocks your path and you can go no further.

"I'm cruising the estate, walking confidently, with no idea where I'm going but knowing exactly how to get there." ~Experimental Tourist Etain O'Carroll

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/experimen...

[Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting concept, but poorly executed. Premise is ideas for making travel more random and therefore more interesting. Based on some French experimentalist (Latoure??). They have a series of ideas - going from the first street "A" in a guide to the last street "Z", rolling dice to see where to go, etc - to add chance to travel. And each idea is accomopanied by one or two short stories from people who have tried it. Some of the ideas, just didn't work - like switching houses and lives for the weekend (everyone backed out) or going to the youth hostel in your own city.

Some ideas are interesting - like going to tourist "trap" attraction and take pictures of the other tourists - like going to the Eiffel tower, turning 180 degrees and taking a picture. Or contacting a stranger to provide 10 random locations in their city and you explore them - great way to see a new city.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous crazy book! There's plenty here to enjoy for us types who do not have a full beaten-up collection of Lonely Planet Guides to Here, There and Everywhere and who haven't been nearly enough places to begin to feel jaded about travel. There's vicarious fun and things anyone could do for all but the genuinely house bound (Thalasso Experimental is particularly fine for anyone not much beyond that)

The background to experimental travel was fascinating (although I did appreciate references to 'underemployed artistic types'), each experiment was well explained - in summary and more expansively and then one or more 'Laboratory Reports' are provided for each. Illustrations are suitably electic.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book of unique ways to find your next vacation destination, even if you only make it as far as your couch. For example, the Literary Journey. (how appropro!) All that is needed is a bookshelf, preferably w/ numerous books adorning it. Choose a book, read until a foriegn country is mentioned and then find a book about said country and continue...until voila!, you've traveled around the world!

[Saima · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become my new favorite travel book! The entire book is basically different ways to totally forget about the packaged deals and typical travel experiences. Rent yourself out as a tourist and experience life as a local. Let a roll of dice decide your next destination. Travel while wearing unusual or absurd item (like a horse's head) and make note of people's reactions. I don't think I am brave enough to try any of the suggested travel plans but I enjoyed reading about them tremendously.

[Sonja Isaacson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that doing these things would sort of make a waste of a vacation. I wouldn't want to spend the time and money to go somewhere, then miss what I came to see. However, some of these would be more practical (and less expensive) to do in your local area or state and would allow you to get to know areas you wouldn't have an excuse to visit otherwise.

[Ann Addley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book full with different travel ideas. Some where not particularly practical or hard to access, but overall the book introduced some fun new ideas on how to approach travel and see the world from different view-points. Easy to follow structure and fun quirky illustration make this a great gift for the adventurer in your life.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed reading this. There are a lot of inspiring ideas for different ways to approach travelling or even just exploring your own city or region in here. Our current project of visiting all of Sydney's beaches in alphabetical order would fit right in here (sundaysthebeach.wordpress.com).

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost bought this several years ago and then it went out of print. Lonely planet helped me with the title from my description and gave me the link to second hand copies on amazon. Definitely worth reading. As someone who instinctively plans holidays I liked the idea of being a bit more wacky. It did give me a few ideas of things to try at least in my home town.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though published by Lonely Planet, this book is not a travel guide. It is more of an art book recording different people's travel experiences and an invitation to try it for yourself. As such, I found the introduction to and history of experimental travel to be quite interesting. I also appreciated that many of the "experiments" are easy to complete without traveling to far-off locations.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a while back, although I've consulted it numerous times since then. Would be a great title to own because its a timeless travel guide that isn't tied to any particular destination. Basically a literal "Choose Your Own Adventure" book.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever find one of those books that you feel was written specifically for you? Well this is one of mine - a confluence of travel, Situationism and Surrealist games applied to innovative travel concepts, with a spirit of community and adventure. Hell yes.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of "experimental travel" and I was hoping the book would have more suggestions that were feasible/realistic for one person without much money, but there were still a few that I might be able to do.

[Evangeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what I was expecting exactly but I had hoped the ideas in this book would be more inspired than they were. Still a fairly enjoyable read though, and I think I'd like to try some of the experiments in my local area to see what I can find.

[Iah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books of all time. Given to me as a gift, loaned out n lost I found a second hand copy never to lend again.
latourex . org has a simple list of the experiments which is ok but the book is really well presented.

[Dana Jerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

my brother stole this from me, it was so fun! Didn't do any of the exercises, but wish I had!!
Good luck!

[Tobias]

I am going to try some of these ideas out. Would like to get a group of people together to do this in London and SE England.

[Steig · Rating 4 out of 5]

more reasons to travel, like i need that