We are planning to spend 2 months in Europe in 2008.I have been following this forum for last few months. We have been to France, Italy and UK.

We like to visit Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France atleast.

Which travel guides are recommended for above countries? What about Common Europe Guide as well?

Have a look at the Fodor's selections. I'm sure it can provide whatever you're looking.

Blackduff

guides are aimed often at certain types of travel, expense account, etc.

need more info - most guides give the basics on sightseeing but may dwell on expensive hotels, middle or low, etc. ditto for restaurants

Let's Go europe is for youthful and or real budget travelers

Lonely Planet for independent travelers on a higher but still not extravagant travelers

Rick Steves' Backdoor books who lots of devotees and turn off others for being too prescriptive - but if you want an itineary laid out check it out

Fodors and Frommers seemed aimed at what i think are the typical American travelers - quality for a good price

and there are guides like the Michelin green guides that are great for motorists and history and sights but have a paucity of practical info for on your own travelers.

Free sources include the National Tourist Offices of each country - good on glossy brochures and specific info like hotels too; www.ricksteves.com for good things on trains, buses and cheap flights; www.budgeteuropetravel.com for on their home page the free European Planning & Rail Guide - a good primer on rail travel but the best source i've seen is FodorFriends on this site who constantly amaze me with their wealth of great info.

Keep asking questions and whatever esoteric thing you're interested in you'll find an answer.

I looked at Lonely Planet. Amazon.com has got reasonable prices. Since we are living in Middle East at the moment Shipping charges are US$12 per book.If I want to order 10 books how to minimise shipping charges?

We are budget travellers. Never mind staying in Youth Hostels.
Thanks in advance

I am a budget traveler though even that can have wide ranges of what budget means - i have found Lonely Planet, though a wonderful guide with the most practical info for independent travelers i've seen, for my budget had a paucity of info on budget accommodations.

Let's Go covers hostels yes but also lots of budget pensions, hotels, etc. and also has a wealth of practical info.

But for accommodations i now do it all online so depends what you want a guide for.

Fodor's itself are great guides for folks looking for medium but not low budget hotels and luxury hotels that are well priced. It's as good as any for accommodations.

Personally speaking, DH and I don't go anywhere (especially city breaks) without a DK Eyewitness guide. But its very personal which style of writing etc. that one prefers

We also use EyeWitness Guides for all our trips.

The library in my home town has many current travel books, including all mentioned so far.

Check em out and see which one is best.

I may even copy stuff from several and make my own guidebook - different slants, etc.

Hi
Have you considered Insight Guides for great background information? I usually use that and Cadogan and/or Rough Guides. I also found Fodors helpful, depending on where you are going. It's subjective and based on your needs for the trip. I don't care much for Lonely Planet and DK. If you plan to drive and visiting France check out the Michelin Green guides. Another great place that I use to compare most travel guides is www.globecorner.com. When you get to the home page click on guide books. It's a great site owned by the Globe Bookstore in Boston. It lists publishers in alphabetical order and you can search each individually. It's owned by the Boston Globe. Check it out

aeiger, Insight Guides are the best! I just discovered them on my latest trip (to China). The Beijing guide had all the info my until-then preferred Rough Guide did - plus really useful restaurant, bar and hotel info, all of which I ultimately found lacking in my Rough Guide.

On my recent trip to Vienna and Budapest, Fodor's was the best when you wanted to get directions for some day trip in the car. They include the directions after every site. I had been a big fan of Insight and Eyewitness (the photos are wonderful) but they were not as good on directions. As someone who was driving, I really appreciated good directions. Of course, I always double checked the directions on a map, but Fodor's never steered me wrong.

Since I almost never stay in hotels, I cannot comment on hotel sections.

I think with so many places to visit you should not carry guidebooks. It is expensive to buy so many and they will be heavy. You may want to buy a couple for countries that you will be exploring in more detail. PalenQ's advice is good. When we plan to visit multiple destinations, for smaller areas I just photocopy some pages, print out info from various sources online and combine all the info. I can then throw out these materials after we visit the place.

Nicso,

Which country in the Middle East are you living in?

Which guidebooks did you use on your previous travels? What are your opinions of them?

What does this mean? <i>We are budget travellers. Never mind staying in Youth Hostels. </i> You do stay in hostels or you do not?

How do you plan to travel, auto or train?

DK Eyewitness. The best!!!

Thanks for all replies,
We are in Kuwait at the moment.

In previous travel was from 1989 to 1994. I did not use travel guides as most of the time organised by the company.

We are looking for value accommodation for the family (2 adults and 2 children 12 and 8)

Still not decided whether to use eurail with Hostels or hire a motohome.
Please provide comments on this regard as well.

When we finish in Kuwait we are looking 2 months travelling in Europe.

train or motorhome - depends on where you want to go - how much you will be traveling each day, etc.

motorhome can be very expensive - costs a fortune to rent and then $6-7/gal gas plus camping fees could rival hostel costs.

For short daily drives, etc. fine but if going to large cities such a vehicle is a liability and just hard to negotiate many ancient urban streets.

tough decision - perhaps a large car and tent camping would be much cheaper.

Just to clarify: Other than posting here, I have no connection with Fodor's. While it would be lovely to be employed by them and to be paid to travel, they haven't offered me a job.

I was simply making an observation based on my experiences. The Fodor's Vienna guide book was purchased by my girlfriend, who pointed out how good it was on specific directions--and it was. It proved to be invaluable for that.

Just ignore Idaho Jaane's drivel - she's like the class clown - wants a laugh at any expense - in reality the rest of the class is laughing not with her but at her.

path-et-tic

I don't know if you are looking for romantic and charming hotels and such..if so Karen Brown's guides have been great!

I would second jbh's suggestion of the Karen Brown Guides. Uou can get the Karen Brown Guide for Bed &amp; Breakfast or Small Inns - her books also include itineraries. I like her books because she (or the editor of the book) has personally stayed in each of the places they recommend.