suec1

Is this inquiry going to bring on the Fodor's police? Just wondering what travel magazine the folks on this board subscribe to? I have taken Conde Naste for several years but am getting tired of their 100 best of something list in every other issue - and they are so geared to the wealthy traveler. So I think I will try a different magazine, which one do you like and why?

isabel

I like Budget Travel and National Geographic Traveler. Much more geared to independent travelers of moderate means.

Dori

Frommer's Budget Travel - Why? Because they are vacations I can actually afford.

bettyk

For the budget traveler, Frommers Budget Travel mag is pretty good, though I don't know if any of them are worth the money. I usually check out the different magazine websites and see what interests me that I can read or download for free.

tcreath

I subscribe to Conde Nast and I, too, am getting annoyed by the "100" best in each issue. I like Budget Travel, National Geographic, and Travel & Leisure. I also subscribe to Bella Italia, which I'm not sure is a travel magazine but includes travel information for Italy along with other Italy information.

francophile03

T & L is like CN Traveler as there are mainly high-end accomodations featured and Budget Travel is good for lower-end places, but I really like T & L's articles and photographs the best.

BTilke

For France, I swear by the magazines Cote Est, Cote Sud and Cote Ouest. They also fit great tips about Paris into most issues. Gorgeous photos, faultless restaurant, shopping and hotel recs. (I understand you can get them in the U.S. at Barnes and Noble.) For rural UK, I like (British) Country Living.

elaine

The one I always read cover to cover is International Travel News. It's not slick and not in color, but the articles, many written by readers, have good info in most cases. A lot of the readers are retiree age, so there are lots of suggestions for good value hotels and restaurants.

I also like Frommers Budget Travel, because when they do European destinations the info is helpful.
The special deals in the magazine don't usually pan out (restrictions, add ons, etc) but they lead to good resources.

National Geographic Traveler has gorgeous photos as you might expect, and the info on cultural subjects (operas, museums, sightseeing) is very good, ditto the hotel info when they have it.

Two of my cooking magazines, Bon Appetit and Gourmet often have great travel articles, especially for restaurants.

I gave up on T & L years ago, didn't find it useful.

KT

Several years ago, I cancelled my subscription to Conde Nast Traveler. The hotel and restaurant recs had always been aimed at higher-end travellers than me, but at least the travel lit articles had been good. When they went downhill and were largely supplanted by the 100 best lists ("100 best toadying concierges," "100 best resorts where you'll never have to speak to a local&quot I quit.

I subscribe to National Geographic Traveler and Frommer's Budget Travel, both of which I can actually use sometimes. I then pass them on to a friend who gives me her copies of Travel & Leisure (like, CN too upscale for me, but I think it has better articles), National Geographic Adventure, and Islands. BTW, Islands can be pretty neat and defines islands rather broadly to include places like NZ and the British Isles.

I also sometimes buy Bell'Italia, the French edition of Geo (the English edition stopped publishing years ago), or various other odds and ends. And I read the travel sections of several British newspapers online.

Not that I'm obsessed or anything....

SuzieC

I get Travel & Leisure.
I also get a UK publication called "France"...it is geared towards buying a place (and ads with all the attendant services to do so) but there are great articles...and discussions of out of the way places...and oh my...the pictures and descriptions of homes for sale. (otherwise, I'll confess, I buy a huge latte and read the mag's at Borders and Barnes & Noble)... I gotta save money to travel, after all.

capo

Like others here, I read both Frommer's Budget Travel and National Geographic Traveler. I especially enjoyed Reid Bramblett's "Little Wonder Hotels" and "Little Wonder Restaurants" articles during the past year in Budget Travel.

I only read Condi Naste when I want to learn the salacious secrets of our National Security Advisor.

m_kingdom2

Conde Nast Traveller is a full of pretensions - ridiculous destinations, silly little hotels, places that required a million flights to reach. Save the money to spend on your holidays, a glass of champagne is better than this rubbish!

bobthenavigator

I agree with Isabel--and others.
Conde Nast is not my cup of tea---I sometimes wonder how they survive appealing to the jet set crowd.
Frommers Budget and NG Traveler for me.

Christina

I subscribe to Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic. I like both of them okay considering they are dirt cheap, which is the main reason I continue getting them. Advertisers pay for the ads mostly, so I only pay about $1 an issue for each.

I do like COnde Nast and think their travel articles are still very well-written and interesting, and I really like Wendy Perrin's articles on consumer stuff. I don't use them too much for hotel advice etc, but I will admit now that you all pointed it out, I also am getting pretty sick of the 100 best whatever lists. I think they are getting really lazy editorially or just cheap. It's still worth $1 to me, so I haven't cancelled.

I actually still find Conde Nast a little more useful than National Geographic, as NG's articles don't seem very good to me. They just seemly pretty short and simple and don't tell me much of anything new. They have occasional good ones, and it's also cheap.

I used to subscribe to Frommers Budget Travel some years ago, but they recycle articles and I got tired of them even more than the others. Sometimes they were too cheap for me in their articles or advice. Most of it was online for free, anyway.

I've never read T&L much, maybe I should give it a try.

Grinisa

Since I mainly go to Italy, my favorite magazine subscriptions are Italy Italy, BellItalia and Gambero Rosso. I also get Conde Nast and Travel and Leisure but rarely read them. National Geographic Traveler is pretty good and American Express' Departures sometimes has excellent in-depth coverage of a destination (I still keep a 1997 issue devoted to Italy) but is geared to the luxury traveler. However, none of these compares to the no longer published "European Travel and Life" which was excellent in every way.

jody

Oh Grisina,

I have a closet with loads of European Travel and Life that I've saved ever since it was first published and I still flip thru them every so often.That was one magazine I really hated to see fold.

I get CN , and I don't know why..I've never subscribed or paid for it. Several friends told me they get it also and have never paid. we must be on some list. Good thing too, as I wouldn't spend a penny on it. I pick up France if I'm in Borders and get In Britain at home, though it is not nearly as good as it used to be.

Ardfert

For travel and historical information on Ireland I subscribe to "Ireland of the Welcomes" which is published every second month.You can get a taste of it at www.irelandofthewelcomes.com

cigalechanta

Btike, I subscribe to all of those including the homeland of my heart, "Pays de Provence."These are what I ask for my birthdays and Christmas. I have stayed at the places I have read about and restaurants suggested, and found places to shop that have my interests. They are my travel guides.

Underhill

"European Travel and Life" was a fine magazine, and I wish someone had the sense to bring it back. The only travel magazine I now subscribe to is the "Condé Nast Traveler," which I read for Wendy Perrin, the Ombudsman column (worth its weight in gold at times), and the actual travel news. The 100 Best lists I ignore, as I do most of the articles, although occasionally there are some very good ones.

"Saveur" magazine frequently has travel articles and information along with the food stuff.

cigalechanta

Saveur is great for telling you the country's fete or whatever is special that month.