Doug Lansky on traveling without a guidebook

Travel writer Doug Lansky has a new book, "Travel: The Guide," mean to challenge readers to rethink their experiences when they leave home.

An excerpt:

By the time a restaurant or hotel finds its way into a popular guide, the prices may go up, the quality (or ownership) may change, and the guidebook author's experience may be hard to replicate. In such cases, it's better to have been there when the guidebook author passed through. Good news: you can. How? Travel like a guidebook author, not a guidebook reader.

The first guidebook authors who came through followed their noses, talked to other adventurous travelers, asked questions of the locals, and looked for tips in the local newspaper. That's how they found those cultural nuggets. It's not like Karl Baedeker, Tony Wheeler, Rick Steves, Arthur Frommer, and other guidebook authors are or were endowed with culture-finding superpowers.

Yes, there's some hit-and-miss, but that's part of the adventure. Or does having a "traveler's mindset" mean following someone else's recommendations the whole time?

Lansky joins The Daily Circuit to talk about his tips on traveling like a guidebook writer.