Travel Poll: Guidebooks & Travel Magazines

[GilliC]

What do you typically look for in a guidebook? What is your favorite brand, and why?

Do you subscribe to any travel magazines? Which ones, and which are your favorites?

[GilliC]

What do you typically look for in a guidebook? What is your favorite brand, and why?

I tend to use two very different styles of guidebook for two very different purposes. When I'm planning a trip, I really like books with lots of pictures, so that I can flip through it and get ideas of what I want to see and where I want to go. When I'm actually traveling, I'd rather have a book with a lot of logistical details like bus/train timings.

The DK Eyewitness are probably my favorite for city-centric travel, because I love their sketch maps of walking tours and museum layouts. It's much easier to get my bearings and to locate points of interest, historic buildings, etc. When I need more logistics, I still fall back on Lonely Planet. I've tried a lot of other brands, and some of the LP books are pretty bad, but if you're traveling overland on the cheap, they're still very useful to have along.

Do you subscribe to any travel magazines? Which ones, and which are your favorites?

I currently subscribe to digital editions of Wanderlust, Lonely Planet India (because it's much cheaper than the original), and Afar (which I'm not planning to renew). In the past I've also subscribed to National Geographic Traveler. Wanderlust is definitely my favorite. I like to use travel mags as inspiration for future trips, so I like having shorter pieces about more destinations. I'm generally not a fan of the long-form travel article, which is why I let Nat Geo Traveler go.

[Susie]

Guidebooks: when I'm daydreaming and in early planning stages, I like books with lots of pictures. It helps me imagine it and get excited, but I tend to flip through them in the library or B&N and then put back on the shelf. I actually buy the ones that are the most useful references when I'm actually on the trip.  I'm in X city, where should I eat tonight?  I want a list of recs!

I also like authors that give you recommendations of what to do if you have X amount of time in a country/place. I get too overwhelmed by the ones that go -- in Ireland for example -- county by county saying what the best things are to do in each county. That doesn't help me narrow down which ones to visit, and I don't have time for all 32!

Recent favorites:
  
 

[v]

Guidebooks: I like books with pictures, so Eyewitness Guides are my favorite. They're heavy to carry around, though, so I tend to get the Top Ten books for when we're in a particular city.

For Europe, I tend to get Rick Steves guides as well, though I take his recommendations with a grain of salt. (I tend to like his guided and self-guided tours and his "If you have x days do y" ideas, but I don't have the same taste in lodging that he does, and can find him overly judgey about those who don't travel exactly as he does.)

Magazines: I subscribe to Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, and National Geographic Traveler. I like them in that order and probably won't renew Nat Geo.

[itsme]

I use the Revealed books for the Hawaiian islands.

[Wanderista]

I like Lonely Planet, partly because of nostalgia. It's probably my go-to for guidebooks (and I like the website as well). I probably wouldn't use it much in the US though. I like how you can choose a guide book for a capital city or for an entire country or for a region with them. I will say that I'm not much of a backpacker and I don't follow the guidebook religiously but I do like reading the descriptions. It does help me to get pumped up about a particular place. I do like how it caters to the independent traveler. 

I have read other random guidebooks but I don't remember all of the brands. I do like Rick Steves though I haven't used his stuff much. I tend to use guidebooks to gather information and I do like reading articles. I sometimes go away from the guidebook recommendations when booking hotels or restaurants, but I am someone who likes to do my own research and who likes to "discover" some things on my own or to make spontaneous decisions. I keep the guidebook as a reference and I really use the maps or in case I end up with random extra time.

No physical travel magazines right now that I can think of, but I do read plenty of travel websites and articles online.

[Deleted]

I like Lonely Planet. I use Rick Steve's in Europe and really like his self-guided walking tours. The Revealed series for Hawaii is great.

I'm pretty out of control with travel magazines. I currently get Nat Geo Traveler, CondeNast Traveler, Travel and Leisure, and Afar. I'm not sure which ones I will renew. I love sitting down with a stack of travel magazines on the weekend.

[shel]

For Europe, Rick Steves.  He can be a little, simplistic I guess, but when I'm alone and jet lagged in a new airport, I want as simple as possible.  His transportation suggestions have definitely saved me time and money and I've really enjoyed his almost conversational walking tours.  He and I spent a lovely, quiet AM in Pere Lachaise in Paris.   Rarely take his food or hotel recs, though, prefer this board for that!

[sporky]

What do you typically look for in a guidebook? What is your favorite brand, and why?


I like books that give plenty of information and have good maps. For pretty much every trip I plan, I consult both Frommer's and DK Eyewitness as those two are my absolute faves. Frommer's has so many attractions listed that often other guides don't and I've found lots of great lesser known sites in those. Plus they are super helpful for hitting smaller towns and areas that are less touristy. The DK books have great walking/neighborhood maps. And their restaurant suggestions have always been really good for us. Occasionally, I'll look up a Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, or Fodors, but I've found that they usually aren't as good, for my purposes, as the previous two. The only guidebooks that I've used before and will not use again are Rick Steves. I used his for a couple different trips and they were horrible. 


Do you subscribe to any travel magazines? Which ones, and which are your favorites?



Not currently, but in the past I've done National Geographic Traveler, Travel and Leisure, and Budget Travel. Of those I think I really liked Budget Travel the best. It gave a lot of decent tips. The others were mostly good for looking at pictures. 

[osumelissa]

For Europe, I use Rick Steves. I don't follow his lodging or most of his food recommendations, but in terms of self-guided tours or some of the history/background on certain sites, I really like it. My boyfriend likes Lonely Planet and Rough Guides - for maps they are better as well as food/nightlife recommendations. We were not steered wrong in Prague or Berlin when we went to a place in Lonely Planet.

I subscribe to Travel and Leisure.

[sicilygirl]

I love buying physical guide books. They're fun to flip through, and I like seeing the growing stack of them on my bookshelf. I'm not loyal to any particular series at this point though.

I currently subscribe to Travel & Leisure, which I really enjoy. I used to get Afar, and while it had beautiful pictures, I didn't care for it that much so I didn't renew. I might look into Budget Travel. That sounds more my speed, lol.

[alleinesein]

I very rarely use guide books. I might grab one of the pocket sized ones with a map to keep in my purse when I am out and about but otherwise I don't use them.

Magazines- I love Afar, Budget Travel and Nat Geo Traveler. Departures is great but you only get that if you have an Amex Platinum or Centurion card; my FWB keeps getting the previous residents copies so I get to read it when I am at his place.

[scout8]

I love Rick Steve's guide books, but he covers so few places. I wish he had books outside of Europe. I also like Lonely Planet. We are usually visiting multiple places and doing it on our own. I think LP does the best job providing transportation info.

We currently get Travel & Leisure, but I don't like it all that much. I would prefer a more budget minded magazine.

[daisypaloma]

Apr 27, 2015 15:12:02 GMT -5 GilliC said:

What do you typically look for in a guidebook? What is your favorite brand, and why?

Do you subscribe to any travel magazines? Which ones, and which are your favorites?

I typically look for the top places to eat, sleep, and sightsee.  I also pay attention to the pricing of cab fare, train/bus fare, etc so we don't get the 'tourist surcharge'.  I really liked Fodor's because I find it easy to understand.  (Lonely Planet I feel liked to pack too much info in their books).  They usually breakdown sections of the town/city and that really helps us understand if that part town is worth checking out or giving it a pass.  Like other PP's mentioned, I also liked when books mention the top things to do/see/eat if you have limited time.  I also liked the back language glossary for the local terms that I need to know. It has been awhile since I've purchased travel books, though.

I've subscribed to AFAR, Traveller, Travel and Leisure, but only if they are available as free when I have unused credit card miles.  Otherwise, most of those magazines feature places, restaurants and hotels that are out of my price range, so I easily lose interest reading those.    

[lilles]

Let's go guidebooks have been a favorite since my backpacking days.

[Myrrhine]

I also like Rick Steves, but I always get at least one other one because he just leaves out whatever attractions he doesn't care for. I often consult fodors.

I like to see lots of options, recommendations and a ton of logistical info about public transportation.

When I was backpacking I relied on lonely planet

[dorothyinAus]

What do you typically look for in a guidebook? -- good maps, decent suggestions on what to do, and a good overview of a range of hotels/restaurants in the areas

What is your favorite brand, and why? -- I prefer the DK guides, but also have a few Fodor's guides which I really like, especially for cities/areas the DK guides are not available.  I like mainstream guides more than the offbeat ones, because I'm a mainstream traveller.

Do you subscribe to any travel magazines? Which ones, and which are your favorites? -- not really.  As a past cruiser on Holland America, I get their in-house magazine, but I would not miss it if I did not get it.  Occasionally at the doctor's office, I'll flip through the travel magazines in the waiting rooms, but they are not something I seek out.