The Single Thing I Like Best About Fodors.Com
 

I like many things about Fodors.com - it is an amazing source of travel-related info on virtually anything obscure or not obscure thing you pose.

But The Single Thing I Like Best about Fodors.com is:

The ability to interchange ideas, not always strictly travel related, to Fodorites who live in Europe. Mainly it's the many erudite-sounding Brits i often pose questions to and learn so much from - but also from Germans, French and Swiss residents.

So that's my single fav thing about Fodors - the Europeans on this site

What's Your SINGLE fav thing about Fodors? Just curious. PalQ

Not a single thing, but...

That I constantly meet people who know more than I do
That I can learn about other cultures and challenge my own assumptions
That I can vicariously travel all over Europe through the eyes and words of others
That I can find people who are passionate about the same things I am.
That I can access some really excellent travel reports
That I can, minimally, help other people enjoy places I've visited.

The fact that for other Fodorites, like myself, travelling to Europe is much more than just taking a trip - it's the research, the sense of adventure once you're there, the food, the art, all the reading (fiction and non-fiction) involved before, during and after, in order to learn as much as possible about the places we visit. It's love.
I feel that we share all this here, and for me this is very moving.

It's free!

it's strangers offering time and information for free, due to the sheer joy they have in travel.
Pretty impressive.

The community.

I love the up to the minute information we can obtain here....worlds better than any guide book.

I am also blown away by the generosity of contributors on this board who live or have lived in some of the detinations about which others of us ask. They absolutely go out of their way to help us.

Instant gratification! One never has to wait for a response--

There are so many things I like, but if I must choose only one it would be making new friends. I joined this board a couple of years ago just to ask a couple of questions about Switzerland. I never dreamed that would result in so many new friendships, but what a pleasant surprise. :-)

I guess if it had to be a <u>Single</u> thing, it would be
<b>Fodorites.</b>

i love checking out the recommendations received, and reading/ helping on posts i feel i might be able to add something. the response speed is awesome.

for me it is a relaxing way to unwind and feel i am travelling the world from my desk at home!

i do hope one day to meet some of you.

i guess, like scarlett says, it boils down to the FODORITES.

Feeding my travel addiction!! Especially between trips it's a place I can read trip reports and feel like I am there.

Well put Michel_Paris. I'll second that.. :-)
-e

1. Information from knowledgeable fellow travelers or locals
.
2. The patience of fellow travelers or locals in dispensing this knowledge.

3. Pure entertainment.

My thanks to all concerned.

I second everything said and ad only this:
that when finding a corn starch substitute in Spain (this happened a few weeks ago) generates conversation, I know I am in the right place.

The single thing I like is the everything including the Minutia.

There is more vitality here than at any other travel site.

The information available for trip preparation.

Actually, at the moment, since I'm planning a trip to Barcelona, laclaire is my favorite thing about fodors.com.

For me, the single thing I like best is when folks local to the country you are interested in respond with wonderfully helpful information e.g. Sheila (Scotland), Thanos (Mykonos) and many others.

Like Blanche Dubois, &quot;I rely on the kindness of strangers&quot;. (Tennesee Williams-Streetcar Named Desire)

My faith in human nature has been restored many times over by the absolute decency of Fodorites.

The single thing I like best about Fodors is that asked a question like that, most people make a list (and, knowiing you lot, probably store it on your hard disc in case you need it again:))

In other words, it's the people.

And sometimes (tho' not often) that's what I like least too.

Now that I've specifically mentioned laclaire, I feel bad that I didn't mention maribel, too.

What a luxury to have them and others like them!

People !! :)

For me, it is that even when I'm staying at home I can enjoy travel experiences through someone else's eyes.

blushing.

The <b>travel tips</b> that I've received, in response to my questions - or those asked by others. My trips in the past year have been enriched by the little things I picked up from Fodorites and worked into our plans. Hotels, meals, transportation, shows, museums, and. . .

Without a doubt, the people.

Amen to all of the above.

I only found this site about a year ago but I have thoroughly enjoyed the interchange - even when it gets fiesty!

And it is truly a way to relax and escape to far away places for a while - priceless entertainment absolutely free!

I have a friend who is looking for an educational trip for her son (17)for summer 2007.His school is not going anywhere,he would like to join an exisisting group,any suggestions?We are from Texas,Thanks

can't single out, sorry

* the simplicity of the lay-out (user-friendly)

* the posters (and lots and lots of them ;) )

I'm with Noe...

The travel tips that make our trips that much better than they would have been. I am a bigger user of the US board and have had several trips out West great enhanced by advice from others about little things--good restaurants, great drives, what to wear, obscure places that are terrific.

And then the Fodorites themselves make the list. You're all terrific!

It feels like family.

The kindness of complete strangers who give so freely of their time and expertise and before long they seem like friends rather than strangers. So yes, the people do it for me.

The spectrum of experience from the most veteran (sometimes jaded!) oldtimers to the greenest newbie, brimming with enthusiasm and that hard-to-reproduce gee-whiz awe at learning, seeing and experiencing.

And... the almost certainty that you can find someone with <i>fresh</i> experience...

Travel information is so inherently perishable - - the observations from someone who was <u>just</u> there... are more valid than the most experienced traveler who hasn't been &quot;<i>there</i>&quot; anytime recently.

Best wishes,

Rex

The generosity of fellow travelers to share information. Most recently to Laclaire for her recommendations for restaurants in Barcelona. We had the best dinner on my husband's birthday at El Quatre Gats thanks to her.

We also stayed at a wonderful small hotel in Venice after reading so many praises from Fodorites.

This truly is a wonderful travel resource.

Thanks Fodorites.

The fact that I can get better recommendations here from people I “know” and trust than from any of the many guidebooks in my library.

I am a particularly fan of those wonderful people with a passion for Spain, both locals and travelers, who took the time to help me plan two incredible trips there this year. Thank you all - it would have been a poorer experience without your expert advice!

The discussion of many topics among people with diverse points of view but all of whom share an interest in travel and culture. This makes it likely that many of the discussions will be interesting to me, even when not travel related, because they are being conducted by people who already have some things in common but who can give the different viewpoints that come from living in different countries and having a wide range of experience.

I have learned more about cultural similarities and differences by frequenting this message board than from any other source of information.

I'd like to add that besides the posters who give us valuable information
on ALL the European countries and those who write such wonderful trip reports, my own personal feeling is that it is a CARING group.

The enthusiasm about travel and new things .

I like the fact that you can ask ANYTHING about travel and get an answer, almost immediately!