It's probably a long time since most travellers have carried a guidebook around in their suitcase. Most have moved on: to online guides, apps or trawling the internet before leaving to find some of the cool, new spots at their destination. There is nothing more helpful, though, than a few beneath-the-radar tips from someone who lives there. If that someone also happens to be able to access amazing tables in hotspots and sold-out tickets for shows, even better.

For this issue, we've tracked down concierges from some of the coolest boutique hotels in our favourite cities around the world to find out about the hidden gems they'd recommend to inquisitive travellers. Want to eat a Turkish breakfast while looking over the minarets of Istanbul? Fancy a hardcore, old-school workout in New York City? Eager to try the best tonkatsu Tokyo has to offer? Simply turn to our special feature, the Concierges' Black Books, and all will be revealed.

“First of all, we had to get the neighbourhoods right,” says get lost publisher Justin Jamieson of compiling the 18-page feature. “Then it was about matching a hotel in that part of town to the get lost mindset. We've ended up with six hotels anyone would be happy to stay at, and 67 tips for places to eat, drink, visit and even workout – most of them within walking distance of the accommodation. It's about delving into a single quarter rather than darting all over a huge city – and when you're talking about London, New York, Istanbul, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and Paris, as we are, they really are big – and never getting below its skin. These concierge tips are guaranteed to make you want to book a plane ticket and a room as you read them.”

There's plenty more inspiration in the rest of our new issue, too. We take a journey by dhow around Oman's Musandam Peninsula, drive Scotland's new northern touring route, SUP Cambodia's Tonle Sap and discover the tropical wonderland of Tonga and its infinite shades of blue.

For those who don't mind a jar, there's a guide to a night out in Dublin, as well as a craft brewer's tips for her neighbourhood in Québec City. One of our favourite photojournalists, Flash Parker, shares his personal tale of spending Día de los Muertos in a tiny Guatemalan village. Plus, there's a 10-day itinerary for Sabah, the world's best zip-lines and a German culinary specialty you might find a little hard to stomach.

You'll find all this and more in the new issue of get lost magazine. On sale now at newsagents and online from Apple Newsstand and Amazon.

For more information or to organise an interview, contact Justin Jamieson on (03) 9486 0550 or justin.jamieson@grincreative.com.au.