lucky03

I am addicted to Fodor's as I see hundreds have also admitted. It is the only travel site I know of. I love it and am not looking for another one as I am very pleased with this one. But just curious...are there others as good as Fodor's??

Statia

Another good one for Italy travel advice and info is slowtrav.com. I think they also represent some other European countries, as well.

Frommer's had a message board, also.

I agree, however, Fodor's tops the list for me, too.

BrimhamRocks

Dunno about 'as good as Fodors'...

There are a myriad of travel websites/forums out there, and I think each one has its own character. Some Fodorites may stick strictly to this site, but I would guess that a percentage of Fodorites also participate in other websites, as well.

I think it all depends on what kind of information you are looking for, the tenor of the forum and how addicted ( )you are to travel and all its facets!

Calamari

No Two Timing!

dln

But Calamari, I only look! I don't touch!

Seriously though, I use Fodor's because to a computer nincompoop like myself, it's the most user friendly. I look at slowtrav but you need to pay $25 now to participate. Conde Nast and Frommers have sites, but compared to this one, they're cumbersome & slow.

Kristi

Virtual Tourist has a nice site. The forums aren't as active as this one but there are lots of tips and photos. Many of the members live outside the US so I also like it for the different perspective and tips on things that you can't find in the guidebooks.

Melnq8

There are certainly others out there, but Fodor's is the best as far as I'm concerned.

Frommers and Lonely Planet both have discussion forums. The Frommers site doesn't seem to get much activity, and Lonely Planet (Australia based I believe) is more geared towards the young, backpacking set and can be a bit sophomoric (Thorntree.)

Strangely enough, I much prefer the Lonely Planet travel books to Fodor's though (sorry folks).

GregPCM

Lucky,

There is no site I have found that is as open as Fodors. There are many others that have there own style, but they have more filters and rules to follow.

The other sites I visit are Rick Steves and the Travelzine. You will find other Fodorites on those sites as well.

I enjoy the immediate interaction I get on the Fodors site, that's why I'm a regular visitor, unless I'm traveling.

Have fun.

Greg

Statia

Dln, when did slowtrav start charging? I was just on there the other day and didn't notice anything about a fee. Bummer. I have to admit that's a good one for hotel/villa/apartment reviews.

Betsy

Huh? I've been a member at Slowtrav.com/Slowtalk.com for a long time but haven't visited the site for a while. Just checked over there, dln, and am unable to find anything about a $25 fee to participate on the site. Can you post the URL that explains this? Say it isn't so!

francophile03

Virtualtourist.com is another site but it's not interesting.

Calamari

dln

That's what they all say.

dln

LOL!

ira

Hi

Slowtrav.com is a very good site for Italy. Veeeeeerrrrrrrry experienced people, who are quite helpful.

You don't have to pay to participate. The $25 is a contribution to keep the site going without adverts.

dln

I'm sorry, everyone, I should have been more clear about the $25. It is a suggested donation that you can make to help keep the slowtrav website going. More information about it is found at the bottom of their page, under "paypal contributions." If you are like me, though, you'd feel guilty about using something for free when other people are contributing, so in a way, it's a "mandatory" contribution according to your conscience. I didn't intentionally mean to mislead anyone, though--sorry again.

grimmy

My preference for Fodors is based on the format, the variety of participants (from budget-minded to upper-end travelers), the liveliness of threads, and the great information I've gathered here.
I've tried frommers and find it very awkward to use. Slowtrav is great for Italy but again it doesn't have the participation needed to keep a board hopping.
Fodors is the best!!

Grasshopper

I'm surprised someone would say that Virtual Tourist is not interesting. While it does have message boards, it doesn't have the (silly) chat stuff that you find here. But I think it's incredibly helpful in planning. For one thing there are loads of pictures, which give me ideas for places I wouldn't have thought of.

But the thing that I like best is there really are members from all over the world. When I pick a place I want to go, or that I'm interested in, I can do a search for who lives there, and email them with questions (when you register you get a VT mailbox). I have had correspondences with incredibly interesting people from the most unique places. And gotten very good, first hand info from locals.

I love it.

SlowTrav

Hi! I run the Slow Travelers web site and Slow Talk message board. You do not have to pay to use the message board, but I do ask for a contribution to help me cover the costs. This is not mandatory and there is no difference currently between paid members and everyone else. There is a PayPal Contribute link in the lower right of the message board.

Up until this year I have paid for all costs for running the web site and message board - but now that we have so much traffic, our costs are rising and I have asked people to contribute.

SlowTrav/SlowTalk is not affiliated with any vacation rental agencies or travel businesses. It is an online community for people who travel slowly - staying in vacation rentals.

BrimhamRocks

'Silly chat stuff', Grasshopper? Sooo....would you define that for me, when you find time in between your posts on this 'silly chat' forum?

Unless, of course, that was a tongue-in-cheek comment, LOL.

Grasshopper

Geesh, Birmingham, relax... the parenthetical "silly" was not meant to be perjorative! Silly can be good. In fact, I do silly very well I think. What I was saying is that the message boards on VT tend to stick to the topic. OK? Peace! (or pace, if you prefer)