Bookstore for Tour Guides

TripSchool offers a whole library of training manuals for the travel industry. Our books are written specifically for professionals in the travel industry. Currently we offer tour guide destination manuals, and soon a whole range of industry learning topics.

Destination Training Manuals for Tour Guides

Everything you need in one book. No fluff.

Sick of buying a guidebook, only to discover that they skimp on information, while offering hundreds of pages of hotels and passport agency phone numbers? Our handbooks are 100% commentary & logistics material, crafted specially for travel professionals.

Tales Trivia, & Tidbits

Of course you get all the dates and architects you need to answer pesky questions, but the focus is on great stories, trivia, and fun facts. Telling you the sparkly details that make a place interesting, with tidbits from history, pop culture, movies, and more.

Designed to help you learn quickly.

A format fit for guides. No fluff. Quick, sharp sentences filled with only the most interesting information. Bold text and bullet points to help you get to what you need quickly, and craft your own commentary.

What you need to succeed.

Tour Director Tammy was suddenly allocated a last-minute tour to the National Parks, and didn’t have the opportunity to visit and learn the routes beforehand. Listen to this 2 minute story of how her TripSchool Southwest National Parks commentary & logistics handbook helped her succeed!

Just some of the unsolicited praise we’ve received…

“Your books are great!!!!! Love them!” -Jakki
“The books arrived yesterday. Wow! Opening the cover was like opening the lid to a treasure chest. Thank you for sharing your expertise with the rest of us. As a newbie I just gained a lot more confidence by having these resources. I can’t wait to get out on the road!” -Michelle
“I started looking over the DC book and I am so impressed! So much information-wow!” -Suzanne
“Got the book today, and, even after a very brief review, I know that your interesting morsels of information will help me craft a really good first student tour to Boston. So happy to have your books, and your wonderful information has already added pizzazz to my commentary.” -Debbie
“I just finished your Boston training book. Outstanding. Just what every TD needs.” -Frank
“The books are fabulous! You have really filled a need with so many great facts, stories, and trivia.” -Carol
“Thank you so much, they are amazinggggg! They were worth every penny.” -Skye
“I was thinking I need to email you and let you know how much I enjoy learning new information from them. Thank YOU for doing this.” -Ann
“Thank you for taking the time and writing all of those and sharing all of your knowledge, I use them all time!” -Jen
“Greetings again Mitch! I wanted to let you know how wonderfully helpful your books on DC, Boston, and New York have been! Thank you for putting them together.” -Joseph

Books all include free shipping via USPS Media Mail. The printing & shipping speeds of the book printer and the USPS are both unpredictable right now, we thank you for your patience. Current shipping speeds range from 1-3 weeks. Please contact us in advance of ordering if you have specific deadlines or shipping needs.

U.S. East Coast

  • $39

    NYC I – Essential Manhattan

  • $39

    NYC II – Further Afield

  • $39

    Washington, D.C.

  • $39

    Boston

  • $39

    Alexandria & Mount Vernon

  • $39

    Virginia’s Historic Triangle

U.S. West Coast

  • $49

    National Parks I: The Southwest

  • $59

    National Parks II: The American West

  • $49

    San Francisco

Other Locations & Topics

  • $35

    NYC Tour Guide License Study Guide

  • $35

    The Civil Rights Trail

  • $35

    Christian East Coast Tours

  • $39

    Chicago

Frequently Asked Questions

Shipping is free! But only to addresses in the US.

Books are sent via USPS Media Mail. If you’d like your book shipped by Priority or Priority Express Mail, that cost is on you.

Contact us for a quote if you’d like the books shipped elsewhere.

If you’re going to be in New York City, you can also arrange to pick up the books. This needs to be arranged ahead of time, pending availability.

Please keep in mind that we are not a huge operation like Amazon.com, and cannot ship with the speed of their Prime service!

Books ship within a week from the order date. US Media Mail takes anywhere from 2 to 10 days. If you’re in a hurry, contact us to arrange faster shipping!

These aren’t guidebooks like you find in a bookstore; they’re training manuals meant for professional tour directors and guides. Traditional travel guidebooks are light on content, and include a lot of “fluff” that doesn’t concern the working tour guide/director. These books are just the meat! They are the result of decades of research and on-tour experience delivering the material. The market is flooded with books that fill the pages with (sometimes useful) pictures, or thousand-page history books. These are books written by tour directors and guides who have the experience to choose the information that is the most engaging material for groups. You’d have to spend hundreds of dollars and hundreds of hours to recreate what’s inside. Think of these more as professional training manuals than just another Frommer’s.

We’ve priced the books at the average cost of one hour’s pay as a local guide.

Sure! Every single sight takes a different shape but here’s the Plaza Hotel in case you’re curious.

Yes! But not in the book; I’ve made online versions that you can easily access on your phone, computer, or tablet, so that you can orient yourself through your current location.

The maps are found at thetripschool.com/maps, which you can bookmark and add to your phone’s home screen for easy reference!

New York is vast and overwhelming! We are even working on a NYC Vol. III. Right now, the first volume focuses on 75% of the sights that every groups sees, student or adult. The Financial District, 9/11 memorial, Central Park, Times Square, Fifth Avenue, the big stuff. But just covering that alone yielded nearly 80,000 words. So Volume II covers all the extra “spice” that we add to our tours: a Greenwich Village walking tour; Chinatown, Soho, Brooklyn Heights & the Bridge, Harlem. You get the idea.