Staying Current with Travel
By Mirela Roncevic -- Library Journal, 8/15/2003
Americans may not be traveling as often as they did in the mid- and late Nineties, but the travel series market continues to grow rapidly. Owing to the proliferation of new travel series in recent years, the competition among mainstream travel publishers seems to be fiercer than ever. Not only have many series been expanded to include hundreds of titles but they have also been revamped and dramatically improved. It is rare, for example, for a travel guide not to include full-color photographs these days, even if only inserted in the middle. It is also rare for a guide not to feature easy-to-read foldout maps. Likewise, it has become almost mandatory for publishers to provide last-minutes updates to the guides on the web. In a nutshell, the bar has been raised high.
What follows is a rundown of the most prevailing travel series on the market, grouped by publisher. For a more comprehensive overview, librarians may consult "Have Book, Will Travel ," Part 1 (LJ 11/15/00, p. 32) and Part 2 (LJ 12/00, p. 78), which provides a detailed description of all the travel series and rates them in terms of writing, photos, maps, ease of use, insider info, etc. Since many of the series have since undergone significant transformations and quite a few new ones have been introduced, this article serves to update the previous one, though it's not a replacement.
AAA(www.aaa.com)
Since 1902, AAA has been a leader in all things travel, including the travel series market. Its list includes an impressive array of series focusing on everything from traveling with kids and pets to sports and leisure travel. It also competes with mainstream travel publishers in producing topnotch guides and a plethora of other related products, such as road maps and atlases. The various series include the handy Spiral Guides (featuring practical wire binding, color-coded maps, and the usual tourist information), the Essential Guides (providing quick travel facts on some 80 worldwide locations in a pocket-sized format), TravelBooksä (similar in structure to Fodor's, Frommer's, and Let's Go guides but somewhat thinner), Travel Snapshots (high-quality hardcovers designed to serve as souvenirs after the trip), TourBooks (AAA's most popular series, which focuses on cultural and historical riches of various North American locales), and many more.
New Summer 2003 additions to the Spiral Guides include Crete (1-56251-831-3), Malta (1-56251832-1), Morocco (1-56251-833-X), and Turkish Coast (1-56251-837-2), all $16.95. Major fall revisions include the North American Road Atlas (1-56251-383-4. $12.95) and the Interstate Road Atlas (1-56251-386-9. $7.95). Also noteworthy are the forthcoming revisions in the Essential Guides, which cover key destinations, including Amsterdam (1-56251-869-0), Egypt (1-56251-872-0), and Ireland (1-56251-873-9), all $8.95.
In a nutshell The AAA catalog is a mixed bag of choices for a variety of budgets, ranging from topnotch products to pocket-sized paperbacks not designed to stand the test of time or heavy use.
Avalon(www.travelmatters.com)
Avalon remains the largest independent travel publisher based in the United States. It publishes several series, of which three are most dominant: Moon Handbooks (now comprising over 100 titles covering North America, Central America, and the Caribbean), Rick Steves' Guides (a best-selling series written by the host of the popular TV series Rick Steves' Europe, which includes 40 paperbacks to various European destinations, along with videos, DVDs, and phrase books), and Foghorn Outdoors (a 34-title series comprising bulky recreation guides written by hiking, biking, fishing, and camping experts for outdoor enthusiasts).
New Significant interior and exterior improvements have been made in all the guides. Moon Handbooks, for example, now include an expanded table of contents, along with more appealing photos and more detailed maps, while Rick Steves' Guides now feature color maps. Foghorn Outdoors Guides tout a brand-new cover design as well as custom maps and easy-to-use icons. Recent additions to Moon Handbooks include the North America National Parks collection, which comprises guides to New York State (1-56691-544-9. $21.95), Yosemite (1-56691-623-2. $14.95), and Acadia (ISBN N/A), which is due out in Winter 2004. Also coming out in 2004 are first-edition guides to Buenos Aires, Cape Cod, Coastal Oregon, Four Corners, Louisiana, and Minnesota. Rick Steves' forthcoming 2004 additions include Best of Eastern Europe, Prague, and Provence & the French Riviera. Last spring, Avalon launched the Moon Metro series. These imaginative, pocket-sized city guides (covering, e.g., Amsterdam, Paris, L.A., and New York City) feature laminated foldout maps and loads of information highlighting key sights for short-term visitors. Moon Metro guides to Barcelona (1-56691-657-7. $16.95) and Boston (1-56691-478-7. $16.95) are on the horizon for the fall.
In a nutshell Not as glossy or verbose as the other guides in the series, these are slowly finding their niche and becoming a serious competitor to Fodor's and the Rough Guides.
Dorling Kindersley(www.dk.com)
Although DK's Eyewitness guides date back to only 1993, they have made an unprecedented mark in travel publishing, selling 20 million copies worldwide in 26 languages. Also, although the market itself has only grown three percent, the number of Eyewitness guides has grown by 22 percent each year (the series already includes 70 titles). In addition to the enormously popular and instantly recognizable Eyewitness guides, the publisher also produces phrase books, travel packs (which consist of a pocket phrase book and a 70-minute CD), and Top 10 Guides, which highlights top sights for those combining business with pleasure.
New To celebrate the tenth anniversary, DK is republishing the entire series, giving it a new jacket design and updating all of the travel information. Recent additions include Brittany (0-7894-9329-2), Canary Islands (0-7894-9304-7), Corsica (0-7894-9340-3), Croatia (0-7894-9330-6), Holland (0-7894-9305-5), Norway (0-7894-9339-X), and Turkey (0-7894-8329-7), all $20.
In a nutshell Although more expensive than most series, DK guides exude elegance while providing detailed information with emphasis on culture. Well worth the price, they continue to be useful well after the trip.
Fodor's(www.fodors.com)
In total, Fodor's publishes 16 different series, plus a variety of special-interest and how-to guidebooks (e.g., How To Pack; Plan Your Honeymoon; How To Tip; Great American Vacations). The Gold Guides, Fodor's staple series, now comprises over 100 titles, covering all continents. Other notable series include Travel Historic America (a patriotic coverage of historic sights and attractions), Compass American Guides (historical and cultural guides to various U.S. locales written by local journalists), Around the City with Kids (traveling with children to major U.S. cities), Pocket Guides (traveling light), Citypack (highlights of sights not to miss in world capitals, accompanied by full-size color maps), Exploring (visually pleasing cultural guides that offer well beyond the basic info), and Languages for Travelers (phrasebook and CD/cassette packages offering quick overviews of key phrases in French, German, Italian, and Spanish).
New The Gold Guides have recently undergone a major overhaul. All 2004 editions, most of which are due out in Summer and Fall 2003, feature new covers, along with new two-color interior and a more user-friendly arrangement of itineraries, travel tips, and ratings. New fall additions to the other series include Compass: Massachusetts (0-676-90493-9. $21.95) and Fodor's the Lewis and Clark Trail (1-4000-1297-X. $19).
In a nutshell Fodor's continues to diversify by targeting specific travelers with each series. Although many are quite pleasing to the eye, the guides' commonsense structure and solid coverage of sights outweigh their visual appeal.
Frommer's(www.frommers.com)
The very first Frommer's travel guide, Europe on $5 a Day, published in 1957, set a standard for traveling on a budget. Almost half a century later, the publisher's many series continue to address a variety of needs and pockets. They include the well-known $ A Dayä Guides (aimed at the modest traveler looking for best values), the flagship Complete Guides (providing comprehensive overviews of each location covered), Portable Guides (easy to carry and quick to read), the best-selling and outspoken Unofficial Guides (aimed at the serious planner, of which the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is the most popular), and the regional Outdoor Guides (providing the adventure-seeking traveler with the nitty-gritty on a variety of activities and sports). All guides are updated throughout the year on the company's elaborate web site and are republished annually.
New Recent additions to the above mentioned and other series include Portable Charleston (0-7645-2556-5. $10.99), Rome Past & Present (0-7645-6610-5. $18.99), San Francisco with Kids (0-7645-6729-2. $15.99), The Unofficial Guide to Mexico's Best Beach Resorts (0-7645-6725-X. $19.99), and many others.
In a nutshell Although not as visually enticing as its competitors, Frommer boasts a direct writing style and abundance of hands-on traveling advice.
Hunter(www.hunterpublishing.com)
Founded in 1985, Hunter used to focus on off-the-beaten-path locations rarely covered by mainstream houses. Today, Hunter has broadened its horizons, and its list includes a spectrum of guides on a range of locations, from the very popular to the little known. With over 30 titles in print, the best-selling Adventure Guides remain the publisher's staple series that, like Fodor's, aims to deliver content rather than allure with full-color photography. Other noteworthy series include the Alive! Guides (highlighting unusual and upcoming locales), Nelles Guides (focusing on culture and history), the stylishly illustrated Hunter-Rivages Hotels Guides (offering detailed profiles of hotels and B&B's in Europe), and a few others.
New Upcoming fall additions to Adventure Guides, which now feature full-color photo inserts, include British Columbia (1-58843-366-8. $17.99), Bolivia (1-58843-365-X. $19.99), Ireland (1-58843-367-6. $16.99), and Panama (1-58843-368-4. $16.99). New Alive! Guides also feature full-color photo inserts and include the second edition of Cayman Islands (1-58843-371-4. $16.99) and Vancouver & The Best of Victoria & Whistler (1-58843-372-2. $17.99).
In a nutshell Although their look is not changing as rapidly as their size, Hunter series have become instantly recognizable. Moderately priced and truly user friendly, they are packed with information that other series rarely cover (e.g., wildlife).
Langenscheidt(www.langenscheidt.com)
The name Langenscheidt used to be synonymous with yellow dictionaries with the big blue letter L on the cover. Today, the name signifies a premier publisher of a variety of travel resources: maps, atlases, travel guidebooks, bilingual dictionaries, foreign-language reference materials, and even handheld translators. Insight Guides (www.insighttravelguides.com), which the publisher acquired in 1992, is the world's largest line of travel guides, comprising some 450 titles and several subseries, most of which were launched in the last four years. These include the staple Insight Guides, Pocket Guides, Compact Guides, FlexiMaps, Museums and Galleries Guides, the recently launched Shopping Guides, Phrase Books, Travel Dictionaries, and Pocket Travel Dictionaries. The Discovery Travel Adventures series, which Insight Guides and Discovery Publishing launched in 1999, aims to "explore a passion, not just a place" in titles like Haunted Holidays, Birdwatching, Dinosaur Digs, and more.
New Latest additions to the Insight Guides series include Asia Best Hotels & Resorts (9-8141-2038-3. $23.95), Great Gardens of Britain (9-8123-4870-0. $23.95), Shanghai (9-8123-4962-6. $23.95), and Tanzania & Zanzibar (9-8123-4831-X. $23.95). The new Shopping Guides series was just launched with guides to New York (9-8123-4878-6), Paris (9-8123-4876-X), and Rome (9-8123-4877-8), all $9.95.
In a nutshell The chatty tone of the writing may not suit all tastes, but the guides' evocative covers, high-quality design, and insider's perspective are usually worth the steep price.
Knopf(www.randomhouse.com)
Although not specializing in travel publishing, Knopf continues to expand its well-known country and city lines, which now cover 30 locations (e.g., Amsterdam, Istanbul, London, and San Francisco), along with a few other additions. Charming and lavishly illustrated, the city and country guides provide basic information on what to do and see in each place and feature a distinctive foil jacket made to last. The smartly designed Knopf MapGuides (formerly known as CityMap Guides), launched in 2001, include six to eight foldout maps and numerous photographs and are ideal for short term trips.
New Recent additions to the MapGuides line include Athens (0-375-71011-6), Berlin (0-375-71010-8), Marrakesh (0-375-71008-6), and Provence and Côte d'Azur (0-375-71009-4), all $8.95.
In a nutshell Not as detailed as DK's Eyewitness Guides, which they most resemble, the Knopf Guides are alive with colorful images and vibrant language.
Lonely Planet(www.lonelyplanet.com)
With 640 travel guides under its belt and many more on their way in 2004, Lonely Planet has come a long way since the time it only published guides about a certain type of travel. Today, it produces a variety of travel content in both print and electronic formats. Its many series are varied, from the flagship Lonely Planet Guides, Condensed Guides, and World Food Guides to the colorful Diving & Snorkeling Guides, Phrasebooks, and City Maps, to name a few. The publisher has also ventured into the terrain of armchair reading and road atlases.
New Earlier this year, Lonely Planet launched its National Park Guide series with four titles: Yosemite (1-74104-117-1), Yellowstone & Grand Teton (1-74104-116-3), Grand Canyon (1-74059-561-0), and Banff, Glacier & Jasper (1-74059-562-9), all $19.99. Later this year, the publisher will unveil its Road Trip series, which will include laminated foldout maps and information on places to see while on the road. The three inaugural titles focus on the West Coast (California Highway 1, Route 66, and Napa & Sonoma Wine Country). In 2004, several major enhancements to all the guidebooks will be introduced, such as alphanumeric maps, cross-referencing, one-of-a-kind trip-planning pages, and more criticism throughout.
In a nutshell Offering the right blend of background and practical information that doesn't overwhelm, Lonely Planet Guides are not heavy on imagery but provide trustworthy recommendations.
National Geographic(www.nationalgeographic.com)
As the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization, National Geographic hardly needs an introduction. But perhaps it is less well known that in addition to its many products and publications, it also publishes quite a few travel books. Its flagship series, the National Geographic Traveler, currently comprises 40 volumes to top tourist spots and continues to grow. In addition, the National Geographic Directions series includes a variety of armchair-reading titles, such as John Edgar Wideman's Martinique, Francine Prose's Sicilian Odyssey, Susanna Moore's I Myself Have Seen It: The Myth of Hawaii, and many others.
New Recent additions to the Traveler line, which now features a fresh new cover design, include Cuba (0-7922-6931-4) and ample updates of Costa Rica (0-7922-7946-8), Hawaii (0-7922-7944-1), New York (0-7922-7430-X), and Rome (0-7922-7566-7), all $22.95.
In a nutshell These stand out for the superb artistic images scattered throughout and the articulate writing style. While useful as traveling companions, they make for ideal supplemental reading to the more practical guides on this list.
Rough Guides(www.roughguides.com)
When the original Rough Guide to Greece was published in 1982, it was intended for budget-conscious students wanting to spend as little as possible but immerse themselves fully in the culture of the land. While this philosophy is still valid today, it is only part of the "rough" equation. The series now addresses a spectrum of traveling needs, from the very modest to the topnotch, and has undergone a dramatic transformation. By the end of 2003, there will be close to 300 Rough Guides on the market, of which 180 are travel guides. The rest consists of references to a variety of subjects (e.g., music, sports, literature, and science) and dictionary phrasebooks. Besides the flagship line, other series include Mini Rough Guides, Chronicles, and Histories.
New In partnership with the World Mapping Project, a group of German cartographers, Rough Guides will soon launch a new series of Country and Regional Maps, which will be printed on waterproof and rip-proof Polyartä paper. Each of the 20 inaugural titles is priced at $8.95. Locations covered include Baja California (1-84353-221-2), Cuba (1-84353-209-3), Egypt (1-84353-210-7), Morocco (1-84353-215-8), Sri Lanka (1-84353-226-3), and more.
In a nutshell There is hardly anything rough about these guides with their modular layouts and thorough introductions to destinations. They continue to enhance their exterior and interior, while their confident writing style and nitpicking perspective are an ideal match for fussy travelers.
St. Martin's(www.letsgo.com)
The ubiquitous Let's Go series, which now includes over 60 titles, has been around for 40 years and remains the source for budget travel. After 43 revisions and translations into seven languages, Let's Go: Europe reigns as the world's best-selling budget travel guide and remains the American student's Bible to the old continent. The philosophy here is simple: to provide the budget-savvy traveler with all the necessary travel information without overwhelming him with "expensive" detail. Unsurprisingly, then, 70 percent of Let's Go readers are between the ages of 16 and 35.
New All 2003 updates feature vibrant new covers, new backpack-friendly size, cultural essays, interviews with locals, safety advisories, firsthand accounts from Let's Go correspondents, and 15 percent more maps throughout. New additions include Chile (0-312-30560-5. $19.99), Costa Rica (0-312-30570-2. $18.99), and Thailand (0-312-30596-6. $18.99).
In a nutshell Although the writing gets slightly pretentious at times, this series' upbeat tone and simple, accessible design will continue attracting students and free-spirited travelers.
Time OutFor 13 years, Time Out Guides have accommodated travelers seeking to explore popular culture sights and nightlife. Although the coverage of hands-on tourist information is ample, the uniqueness of the series, which now spans 40 guides and comprises several subseries (e.g., Time Out Guides, Cheap Eats, Eating and Drinking Guides) is precisely its focus on entertainment. No other series offers as many reviews of shops, bars, restaurants, and clubs.
New This fall, Time Out is taking on the African continent for the first time with Marrakech and the Best of Morocco (0-14-100891-1. $16.95). London Eating & Drinking (ISBN NA) and Paris Eating & Drinking (0-14-101356-7. $16.95) are due out later this year.
In a nutshell While the ads scattered throughout often irritate, these guide include lively photos and innovative design that make them most suitable for younger adults and independent travelers.
| Author Information |
| Mirela Roncevic is Associate Editor, LJ Book Review |
