What's your favorite brand of travel guide book?

And why?

I'm talking about Lonely Planet, Frommer's, Fodor's, Rick Steves, etc...that kinda thing.

I want to buy a travel guide now that we know fo' sho' where we're going. (RIP, Pearl Jam honeymoon idea )

you should check out amazon reviews for the different guides ... i've found that every one of those travel books have some good books and some bad ... the reviews will help you a bit

good luck

get whatever is SPECIFIC to where you are going! when i went to sicily i got a bunch of books (HELLO NY PUBLIC LIBRARY CARD!!!). most were of italy with one measly chapter on sicily

but frommers had a sicily book that was AWESOME!!! and it gave suggestions on where to eat and stay with varying budgets. and which route to take to see the best scenery. it was great! loved it!

just research online...

trip advisor.

My favorite guides are Frommer's because they have amazing suggestions for detailed itineraries for 3-day, 5-day, or any other length of time. We've followed these exact itineraries in Vancouver and in Sonoma and they were amazing. (In Sonoma, they even told us where to pick up a brown bag lunch and which winery to sit and eat at!)

I'm sure other books were good but I always pick up the Frommer's.

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Posted by grkbarbie

just research online...

trip advisor.

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I want something to read on my commute to and from work

i didnt like rick steves because a lot of the info happened to be incorrect when i went to rome this summer (and it was the 2009 version).

i liked lonely planet and fodors

I love to travel and am a little bit of a travel guide junkie (my FH makes fun of me). Here's my lowdown:

Frommers: Probably the best overall. Easy to read, just the right amount of info, dead on w/ their hotel recs. Also check out the Pauline Frommer supplements she has on major cities on how to see more, pay less

Rough Guide: These are AWESOME but require a lot of reading. If you can take the time to read them though, you go in with an appreciation to see the whole of your destination, not just sight-jumping. They tend to be better for individual cities rather than regions though. They've changed the way I travel

Lonely Planet: Not enough info in them. My least favorite.

Rick Steves: Focuses a lot on museums and self-guides of museums, as well as just major sights. He kind of makes you laugh when you read b/c his sense of humor is so strange!

Eyewitness Travels: Great to see photos of stuff, but definitely not enough 'meat' . I sometimes get this in addition to a Rough Guides, but never on its own

Michelin: Short entries, it's OK

Fodors: Pretty good, but I like Frommers and Rough Guides better.

You can also pick up a small 'Time Out Shortlists' book (they come out yearly) that recaps the newest attractions and the in places to eat/drink

Wow, thanks for that breakdown! Very much appreciated!

I'll have to keep an eye out for 'Time Out Shortlists'...hope they do that for Nova Scotia!