Frequently Asked Questions

What browsers do you support?
We don’t know of any compatibility issues with any modern browsers. That means that we work with IE6, IE7, Firefox 2, Firefox 3, Safari, and Opera. If you experience trouble with your browser please tell us about it by visiting our Get Satisfaction page.

What should I put in the "where are you staying" step?
You can either enter your hotel name or the address of where you’re staying. By giving us this information, we can generate maps that are centered around your precise location.

What if I don't know where I'm staying?
This is an optional step so you can skip it and we will generate general, citywide maps for you.

I never got an email when I signed up/requested my password!
Try checking your spam or junk mail folder. We've tested our email system with all the major providers, however, it's possible some of our email may still be getting flagged as spam! If you find that our emails are getting tagged as spam, or you're not getting them at all, please let us know!

How many days does it take for the guide to arrive?
You should receive your guide in two to three days before your trip.

How many pages are the guide books?
Guide length varies by city. Highly traveled cities tend to be larger, while smaller, more obscure destinations tend to be shorter. On average, guidebooks are 100 to 150 pages.

What are the dimensions of the guide book?
The printed guides measure at 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, which makes them very portable! The PDFs are A4, which is slightly smaller than a normal 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of paper.

Where does your guide information come from?
We pull our information from dozens of locations and we're continuing to add more. Sources include Wikitravel, Wikipedia, Yahoo Finance, AccuWeather, Google Maps, and Eventful. If you run a site and would like to have your information included in our guides, please drop us a line at partners@offbeatguides.com. We're especially looking for folks who have really interesting live event information for cities or regions. It doesn't have to be worldwide to be worthwhile!

How up-to-date is the information in your guides?
The information is up-to-the-minute and constantly being updated.

I'm interested in contributing to your guides. How do I apply?
If you're interested in writing for us, please email recruitingauthors@offbeatguides.com with your resueme, two writing samples, and regions you have expertise in.

What if you don't have a guide for my destination?
If we don't have enough information to build a quality guide, we will let you know we are unable to build a quality guide and actually advise you against building it. Also, let us know you couldn't build a guide and we will research your destination. You can also go to sites like Wikipedia or Wikitravel and add information about your hometown, or other places that you know.

I've found an error in my guide. How do I notify Offbeat Guides about it?
Tell us of any errors or feedback you may have about our guides by going to our Get Satisfaction page.

I'm seeing a lot of bugs.
Yow, sorry! That's very normal for beta and we're in our beta program! Please bear with us and send us feedback on our Get Satisfaction page. We're fixing bugs as fast as we can!

I'm having log in problems. What do I do?
First, try to get a password reset email at the "Forgot your password?" page. You should receive a new password shortly via email. If that doesn't work, please email product@offbeatguides.com and we will get back to you as soon as we can with a new reset password.