The idea for A la Carte Maps evolved – where else – while traveling the world.
We have seen them all: The classical, the fancy, the stylish, the thick, the tiny, the pretty, the serious, the crappy, the expensive and the simple. All these guidebooks have claimed to offer “the best insider tips” – but, what does “the best” really mean? Does it mean the most expensive? The most visited? The one that has won the most awards?
And what exactly is an “insider tip”? Are we talking about the insights of a traveler? An editor with a functioning google search? A restaurant that has paid big bucks for a flattering review?
Conventional tourist guidebooks are boring, outdated and similar in their setup. Most of them are unpractical (you want to go out but the maps & addresses are in your clumsy guidebook) or too informative to be truly useful (80 restaurant tips may be a little overwhelming for a weekend trip…). Furthermore, most maps in guidebooks are too small – especially if there are 100 little numbers indicating recommended locations splattered all over them.
So for years and years, we spent endless hours researching, deciphering maps, sending our friends what-should-I-do-and-where-should-I-go-messages, drawing circles on ugly maps that fell apart after two days, tearing out pages of guidebooks and so on, and so on.
Until one sweet day, we decided: No more complaining about useless “insider tips”. No more browsing the internet for days. No more heavy guidebooks. No more circle-drawing. No more wasting time and money. No more waiting-for-somebody-else-to-fulfill-the-changes-we’re-looking-for.
That day, we re-thought the entire concept of why we travel and what we need.
That day, the idea for A la Carte Maps was born.
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