cherie

Interested in this site after prompt from....Dr. Abate! Becoming addicted, however. Travel lots. Moderately well off but have good advice, if needed or wanted. This is not a prompt Mauro! Im not in the travel industry, either.

Jan

I also stumbled onto this forum while looking for information about St. Lucia. I wish I had known about this when we planned our trip to England/Scotland a few years ago. I look at this forum 2/3 times a day just to see if I can help someone else or get useful info for myself. I used to say "see America first" but since my first trip to England and Paris 4 years ago I am hooked on Europe. We have now been to the UK 3 times and I can't wait to go back. We are now planning a trip to Italy and next year we will return England/Scotland.

Monica

Hi! I been at this web site for about 2 years now and love check the site out several times a day. I have learned so much from everyone and enjoy the tips and suggestions. I LOVE to travel and love to correspond with others that love to travel too. It's been a fun experience these past two years. I have one friend from Canada and we correspond often. He has sent me up to 8 postcards from his trips and I plan to send him one from France (I fly out tomorrow!). This will be my trip to 7th Europe since 1990. <BR> <BR>And I'll say again, I'm traveling with my Mother on this trip (my husband now can't make it) and we are still planning to meet a bunch of others from this site for drinks on the 16th at Café Deux Magots. Anyone can join us!! <BR>

Trina

I got hooked about 2 years ago after noticing the "www" on a Fodor's book I'd bought. I am an avid fan of the Internet and love the idea of communily sharing information for free (most of the time). Since I'm stationed in Germany, I consult the forum quite often for tips on daytrips, vacations, and places to take visiting relatives. I also enjoy helping others with the limited info I have. I now check in a few times a week (had to cut back from 2-3 times per day).

Mary Ann

I'm relatively new to the forums, only since February.I probably check at least once or twice day. (It's nice to know I am not alone). We will be traveling by car this fall to Eastern and Western Europe to 6 countries and driving about 2200 miles. This is our 3rd trip and the forums have been great for filling in blanks on hotels, sites and roads (i.e. chamonix tunnel closed for a year). I think when you enjoy traveling you also love sharing your experiences and helping others and thats exactly what this site accomplishes. It would have been nice for each one "counted" to indicate where there were from. I guess thats another question elsewhere in the forum. I agree with previous remarks, about fodors and hotel prices. We did get their book on Budapest and am looking forward to using it.

Becky

<BR>I found this site nearly 2 years ago when planning a trip to England. Subsequently, I have used Fodor's sites to assist planning trips to Prague and soon, Italy. <BR> <BR>Often I tune in to see what is going on, and just to contribute where I can. It is great fun and I have learned a lot. Ciao for now.

elvira

I found this forum by accident about 6 months ago. It has provided great info (thanks to all the Paris restaurant posters...I'm always looking for something different and you've come up with some great ones) as well as a chance to share information with others (if I can make sometimes trip easier, or encourage someone to take a trip, I'm delighted). I never buy guide books (I rent them from the library) but I did plonk down real money for a Fodor's guide to France just last week.

Rich

I was looking for some travel information for my upcoming honeymoon in Italy after receiving less than thrilling recommendations from local travel agents. This site is the best that I have found. I have made a whole new travel arrangements by myself on the Internet using some of the advices I've read. Now I check back every other day or so.

Diane

I love the forum. Before unlimited web access days, I used to frequent CompuServe's Travel Forum, and got hooked on using the net for travel planning. After a while you can figure out who else shares your tastes and interests, and it makes a big difference in what you do with your Valuable Vacation time! My husband is a Reader (lifelong) and haunts libraries like I haunt the net. We get the best of both worlds when we plan. <BR>Fodors is an excellent resource,in both forms!

Joanna

I try to visit the site either in my lunchtime or after work (it's work's internet than I'm using) and visit every day if I can.

Lamar Patan

I stumbled across Fodors one gleefully soggy New England day. Thank goodness for the rain, or I would have been busy outside, living life to the fullest. <BR> <BR>Instead, I now check Fodors 3 times per day for the insight I glean from these prodigious boards.

Eliza

I read this site about once a day. It is very helpful to read about people's comments and input on towns and restaurants; and to provide and receive feedback on experiences. It is especially benefical if you are planning a trip in the near future.

Alan Cole

Ok, count me in as an addict. I check out the site at least once a day. I started in February planning my honeymoon to France and Italy, and without the hotels recommended in this forum, I would be lost. I just purchased the Fodor's Italy guide, but most of my information has come from this forurm.

Mary Jayne

<BR>Here goes my two cents worth, ;and hope it is worth much more. I think that most of us travelers enjoy sharing our experiences with others and we learn so much from each other. Only thing I did learn many years ago is to give your opinion as being your very own feelings as one time I did find that one persons cup of team ;just might be someone elses poison. However most folks, especially those who know and love Europe are very enthusiastic folks and it spills over and hope it ;will continue to do so, on this websits and thanks so much for it. I gobble everything up about London and the British Isles and also have gone to Spain and Portugal many times with Grand Circle Travel and love to share experiences with those who like that kind of travel. Happy traveling to all.

Bill Irving

I am one of those who checks this forum about 1 per day. I enjoy the stories & various opinions I read here. I also enjoy giving of my travel experiences, & the Emails that may ensue. But when I read post from others, & when I post, I always do so with the thought in mind that these are opinions, & everybody is entitled to their's. Things I post, are how I like to do things, & in my opinion things I liked or disliked. Everybody has to discover what is best for the way they travel, but this forum is a great place for information & entertainment. We were not planning a trip to Europe at all this year, but reading this forum earlier this year gave me the travel bug - big time. So we found a way to get to London for 5 days in June. I also check in to the United States forum once in awhile. Also check Rick Steves infrequently, it doesn't compare to this 1. I purchase Fodors, Frommers, Rick Steves, or whatever guides hit my fancy at the time I am looking for books. <BR>

Marcel

Just new to this site. I would have planned my trip to Italy differently if I had known this kind of info was available. ?You can be sure I will be a frequent visitor. <BR> <BR>

Carl

I discovered this site about 3 months ago and checked it out at least twice a week. Now that we are going to Europe this May I've used it daily to help plan our trips and to supliment the guide books we use. We use Frommers, Rick Steves and Lonely Planet. Fodor's guide's seem a bit dated and their recommendations for accomodations seem to run on the high side of the scale. I mainly come to the site to get advice on our vacations and to help people who need advice on where we reside which is Florida.

Spanky

Okay, I admit it! I lurked at this site for about two months before I posted. It took me that long to get through the volumes of fantastic information that Fodor's site is packed with. I check (while at work, shame on me)at least 3 times a day. That amount will probably change one I return from my trip to Firenze and the hilltowns, but then again I'll want to chat about my experiences. <BR> <BR>I've used Fodor's books (some purchased and some from the library) each time I've traveled. While I haven't always used their recommendations, the information and city descriptions are invaluable. My husband and I take 2-3 trips per year, with one being a "big" one and the others long weekends. We did a long weekend in Belgium in January and loved it--once I realized that you don't have to travel in the summer to enjoy a country. This site and the participants are top quality!

cheryl

I check this forum several times a day when I'm at work. (I don't have web access at home). I think it's great to be able to get advice from others who like to travel the way I do. In some ways I find this forum more helpful than any guidebook, because after a while you start to get a feel for the different individuals and know whose opinions are most like yours. I also check the US forum, but primarily to answer specific questions, I just don't find it anywhere near as interesting as the Europe forum. Too many questions about Disney and Las Vegas. However, I could practically go into business just answering the e-mails I get directly about Boston now! <BR> <BR>As far as Fodor's guidebooks, they are the only ones I actually buy. Since I need to stay on a strict budget when travelling, but don't like to feel as if I'm on a budget, I find that their books suit us the best. The other "budget" guidebooks seem geared for students who don't seem to mind a lot of things that I would hate (a lack of privacy, a lot of wasted time, etc.). We have stayed at Fodor's budget hotel recommendations in at least 8 cities, and would stay at all of them again. For our upcoming trip, however, we are staying at one Fodor's pick and one hotel that I heard about on this forum. I'll let everyone know how it was when we get back.

wes fowler

Elizabeth, <BR>I first visited the forum about 18 months ago and now normally visit it twice a day. My initial visit intended to seek information for a planned trip, my eleventh to Europe. In looking at many of the queries on my first visit to the forum, I realized I could offer suggestions, recommendations and observations that might be meaningful to the questioners. I now find myself doing just that. Planning a trip, either for oneself or vicariously for others, is one of the joys of travel, almost on a par with the travel itself. I find myself now responding not only to Fodor's queries, but to anywhere from three to five Emails directed to me daily, and I thoroughly enjoy sharing whatever knowledge and expertise I may have. Retirement gives me the luxury of time to do the research of personal journals, notes and an increasingly growing library of travel literature, from brochures provided by national and regional tourist offices to the major tourism publications including the New York Times. I've used Fodor's "Exploring Guides" finding them almost on a par with the Eyewitness and Knopf guides, though I prefer the formats of the latter two. Rather than Fodor's A to Z listings, I prefer a format that deals in neighborhoods or districts. Prime resources are personal journals seconded by Michelin Green guides, Baedeckers, Blue Guides and an eclectic mix including the Insight Guides, Phaidon Cultural guides, Berlitz guides and Hallwag and Michelin maps, all augmented by many, many bookmarked websites. Personal rewards have been many. There is great delight in learning that one's recommendations have been appreciated.