Karen

During a family gathering over the holidays we all were talking about travel plans for the year. Of one places I mentioned, mom says &quot;I have something on it,&quot; and went through the files. I think the guide is from the late 50's, maybe early 60's. I thanked mom for the info and put it aside, thinking, I might find something more current at the library. <BR><BR>I have kept guidebooks from a trip to Arizona I took in the mid-90's and have a few I purchased at the library sale for places I might like to visit one day.

Rex

I have my &quot;Lets Go: Europe&quot; from 1969. It has ads in it almost like a magazine.<BR><BR>Airfares are as cheap now as they were then, in many cases.<BR><BR>But cars were routinely advertised for a &quot;dollar a day&quot; - - this was usually a reference to $240 for a 60 day rental (suitable for 4 people, and thus a dollar a day per person).<BR><BR>Many cities list(ed) an assortment of lodging for $5-10 per night per room (or sometimes per bed), in dorm-style hostel-type accommodations.<BR><BR>Some huge changes, some only incremental.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

flygirl

amazing Rex, no wonder the airlines are not doing so well - among many other things, the prices are similar to what they were 35 years ago. hope the increased volume makes up for that!

xxxxxxx

I buy a new Red Michelin giude for France every year. I can't do without it.

Marilyn

I like to hold onto my old guides. Let's face it the Coloseum is still great to see and when it comes to covering history it remains the same year to year. However, I usually also buy the newer Fodors, etc., or go to the library to see what new hints I can use. M.

Rex

follow-up to flygirl:<BR><BR>I have commented on this many times here; people simply don't realize that air travel costs about one-tenth - - in time to earn the money - - as it did 30-40 years ago.<BR><BR>The first airplane ticket I bought with my own money was in March 1970; it was Louisville-San Francisco, and I think it cost about $160 and I had a job that paid $2.10 an hour.<BR><BR>Today, you can (sometimes) get a ticket from the midwest to California for about the same thing - - and I wonder how many people on Fodors make $2.10 a minute - - on a BAD day.<BR>

uhoh

We pick up old (usually 3 years) guides at library sales for about 25cents. Reading is fun...then if we decide to really go to one of the places, we'll hit the library for all the newest ones and pick the two that we like the most to purchase from Amazon or at a Borders or B&amp;N sale. No matter how many places you track down on the 'net, sometimes you just feel better having a book in your bag to use for an address or phone number. (or even a rough map)

Myer

I keep hearing about this one.<BR><BR>My Switzerland Michelin guide was about 15-20 years old.<BR><BR>We were in Lucerne and I decided to take a bus and then a little train up to a small town just outside of the town.<BR><BR>We we got there I noticed that there was much grass growing around the tracks and the station seemed desserted.<BR><BR>A passerby told us that the train had stopped running about 10 years earlier.<BR><BR>Oh well.<BR><BR>

old guides

Have &quot;Europe on 5 Dollars a Day&quot;, 1964-65 edition by Arthur Frommer. Bought it while living in Germany in 64. It was out of date and off the mark (no pun intended)before it hit the book sellers. Every time we used it we got fouled up-the pension had closed or the gasthaus had relocated etc. We still laugh about some of the wild goose chases we took when trying to adhere to it. Didn't work! but is is a classic. We buy updatedguides yearly for the area we are planning to visit.

ron

That's interesting what you say, old guides, because a couple of buddies and I did 6 weeks in Europe in 1966 using the then current Europe on $5 a day. While the recommended B&amp;B or guest houses were always booked when we arrived, because everybody was carrying Frommer's bible, they were invariably located on a street with a bunch of other, identical choices. The one exception was Koblenz, where the &quot;Reader's Choice&quot; recommendation had a sign on the gate, &quot;No More Hotel&quot;. We ripped up and threw away sections of the book as we finished with them.<BR><BR>I remember the air fare from Montreal being $420, nearly one months pay for a recent university graduate. And while we didn't stick religiously to $5 a day, I think meals and lodging averaged under $7 per day.