Nancy

Hello all, <BR> <BR>I'm looking for some recommendations for a great guidebook to Wales. We're planning on going next Spring for a couple of weeks and plan to travel by car. I've heard Lonely Planet books are good but I can only find one that includes all of Britain. <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance.

KT

I spent a couple of weeks in Wales last year and loved it. I'm a compulsive guidebook reader, so I used a combination of books while I was actually on the road: the Michelin Green Guide to Wales and the Blue Guide to Wales for the historical and sightseeing aspects and the Rough Guide to Wales for the more practical aspects (though it can be a bit outdated and over-general regarding things like accomodation). <BR> <BR>Lonely Planet made its name with its guides to non-European countries, and I personally haven't found its European guides to be especially impressive, though of course, others' opinions differ. <BR> <BR>For pre-trip background on Wales (but too heavy to carry) you might enjoy the Pallas guide, Wales, by Peter Sager -- not particularly easy to find (it's on Amazon, but I'm a great fan of independent bookstores and try to avoid Amazon &lt;&lt; unsolicited political/personal statement). A couple of other ideas for background reading are A History of Wales by John Davies and The Matter of Wales by Jan Morris. <BR> <BR>If you want to go into depth about a particular region of Wales, there are a couple of series that I've used: 1) Jarrold publishes three books called A Complete Guide to Mid-Wales/North Wales/South Wales; 2) the Stationery Office in Britain publishes a series of Guides to Ancient and Historic Wales. Also, as I recall, the Pathfinder Guide series of walking tours with Ordnance Survey maps has a number for Wales, e.g., the Pembrokeshire coast. These books are available in the US, especially through travel bookstores (here's a gratuitous plug for my favorite local travel bookstore, Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, also at www.bookpassage.com; I have no affiliation except for the amount of money I've dropped there.) Or you can pick them up in Wales if you get really interested in an area once you're there. Often the local Tourist Information Centre, as well as the local bookshops, has these books and similar ones on sale. <BR> <BR>Have a great tri

Beth

I used the Rough Guide, but I believe that also covers all of Britain. Its a pretty fat guidebook, but it had lots of information. Agree with KT it was short on accomodation information, but had lots on history, culture, and things to see. <BR> <BR>You're just going to love driving in the mountains! The roads are so narrow, you don't have to worry about whether you are on the left or right, you just have to worry about oncoming traffic

KT

The Rough Guide to Britain does include Wales, but there's now also one just for Wales (also one just for England and one just for Scotland). It's harder to find than the Britain one, though.

wes fowler

Nancy, <BR>The Wales and Wales Regional Tourist Offices are extremely generous in the wealth of material regarding sights to see and accommodations available within Wales and its regions. Their publications are free and extremely comprehensive. You might start by checking the website: <BR>www.tourism.wales.gov.uk/index2.html If you then check the links "Things to Do" and "Tourist Info" you'll find a wealth of information including Email addresses from which you can order really informative travel literature.

nickie

Karen Brown's also has a guide, but its not just for Wales (covers all of Britain). Still, she has a nice drive outlined in Wales, and lists some nice accomodations.

bill

Sorry to mention the name on Fodors, but I just recently bought a Frommers <BR>"Britain's best loved driving tours". It <BR>has four tours specifically for Wales <BR>which are quite good, plan on using it <BR>in Wales and more this spring. <BR>Have a great trip <BR>