Which Guidebook -- Fodors or Frommers?
 

I am starting to plan a trip to Italy in June/July 2004 and trying to decide whether to use Fodors or Frommers as a general-purpose guidebook. I would appreciate any insights into the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. Thanks for your help.

Well...... Fodors of course!!!!!!!!
JoeG

Neither is so expensive that you have to choose. if you like them both. Check them out from the library first, peruse, and you'll know which one suits you better. It's all a matter of what style you like. Then buy one and mark it up with notes, underline it, etc. etc. When you're ready for your trip, rip out the pertinent pages and stuff in your luggage for handy reference while sightseeing.

Hey Stuart,
I have done a lot of touring over the last five years, both Fodors and Frommers are good, I prefer the Fodors. They are both kind of a "rich person's" guide book, meaning they lack a good amount of information for those on more of a budget. I have found that Lonely Planet/Moon travel are fairly detailed on things to do and have mucho information on the inside scoop. But, a trip is a trip and despite all the planning a guide book is good for ideas, but if you spend to much time reading you may not see all you came to. However if you are not on any budget, congratulations buy the Frommers and Fodors and have fun.

Neither. I prefer Cadogan, Michelin (green) and various other guides instaed of those two.

Some aspects of each are available for viewing on line through the respective websites. You might also try looking at those first. Otherwise, you can always page through them at the bookstore before you make a decision. Both are somewhat similar in outlook and in the "clientele" they tend to "cater" to. Lonely Planet and the Rough Guides are excellent alternatives but when you compare all four you'll see that the styles are somewhat different.
Many folks probably buy ALL four for comparison purposes..and we haven't even talked about Rick Steves's stuff...which i also find useful..but the one drawback to Steves IMO is that he decides FOR you what he feels is "the best" and gives short shrift, if anything at all, to the rest.

"They are both kind of a "rich person's" guide book"

I doubt anyone "rich" could make this statement and mean it. I find both books cater to the vast majority of people who can afford to buy a plane ticket and travel but both publishers often miss the mark in trying to satisfy anyone with truly discerning taste and style. That book isn't available yet.

I've been reading both since I started traveling but they're not without much limitation. I think Fodors has better art direction but I find a more clever writing style in Frommers. I'm a firm believer in cross referencing as much as possible.

Neither one is for rich people who probably wouldn't be perusing guidebooks to plan their trips. They both have a wide variety of accommodation and restaurant listings, for example, from 2* to 4*. I think they could only be viewed for rich people in comparison to Let's Go or something like that.

They have about the same purpose, so you just have to go to a bookstore and skim through them. You probably will get an impression which suits you. Look up something you are particularly interested in (limited) and see how they handle it). Look to see if they have a feature you especially want (like walking tours, etc).

I actually prefer Frommers when I've compared both because I think they do have a better writing style and more down-to-earth info and broader coverage, in general. Also, Fodors has real cheap quasi-newspaper print pages now and I just won't buy that, they are too hard to read.

For what to see and possible regional driving itineraries (1 day, two days, one week, etc.), the Michelin Green Guide can't be beat.

"Neither one is for rich people who probably wouldn't be perusing guidebooks to plan their trips."

Now this quote belongs in the thread on "travel myths." The truth is many New Yorkers in the nation's top tax bracket (I think it's safe to call them rich) refer to both when planning a trip, although they'll deny it until their second glass of wine. These same people read this board for research but they won't register and "talk." You should hear their reasons. I know all this because I've been doing my own survey for over a year.

Many wealthy people are inexperienced at travel and they're very protective about revealing where they do their research. Status exists in research, too, you know. And most wealthy people won't rely on travel agents used for business. I find this subject fascinating and I don't have time to say anything more.

Neither !
Get Eyewitness[Dorling Kindersley]for at home research and Michelin Green to carry with you.

Looking at my bookshelves, I can see 35 guide books, 3 of which are Fodors (and none Frommers)

I find Fodors helpful in background information; but their restaurant and hotel recommendations are nearly always out of my league financially.

I find Frommers's more accessible than Fodor's. It has much better hotel and restaurant descriptions. However, the best "guidebook" of all is word of mouth from people who've been to a place and have no commercial reason to recommend it--or not. That's why this forum, except for the occasional troll and obvious advertiser, usually works.

Good luck with your plans!

Well if I had to choose between those two I'd have to say Frommers (for the guidebook, obviously Fodors is the best forum). But as you can see from the answers above, you really need to look at several. Go to Barnes and Noble and sit with some coffee and several books for a few hours till you find the one best suited to you. Also check out used book stores, they frequently have many travel guides for about a third the retail price (prices may be somewhat out of date, but everything else is fine). Finially, all the major guide books have web sites and you can download a ton of info and cut and paste to make your own guidebook. I don't think I've taken an actual store-bought guidebook in several years, I make my own - specifically for where I am going.

Well a big problem would be if you perused both at a bookstore. Peruse means to read closely, not to skim (although it's becoming common usage). Peruse at home, after you've bought the book.

FYI, I prefer Frommers...they are better at telling you how to get from A to B in clear specific steps.

Hi there - I have used all the leading Travel Guides; Fodors is great and contains good information and useful itineries - if you are American that goes double...as a Kiwi (which I am), other titles such as The Rough Guide are better because they are versioned for the region you travel from not just the country you are travelling to.

I use both Frommers and Italy for Dummys I have found that there tends to be quite a bit of overlap in all of the books however.Just go to a bookstore and look through them all and see which style you are most comfortable with. I also found Eyewitness to be very good. I would suggest that you buy at least two because you will find different things in each even with the overlap.

I read both, but prefer Frommer's a little bit more. Rick Steves gives a lot of very practical information, and his books are light to carry around. the Michelin Green guide is great for describing sites, but not much on practicality. Buy all, and have lots of fun reading before the trip. That's half the fun!

I usually buy one guide book, and take others out from the library, making notes from the library books in the one I've bought. I also add what I learn on the net and from friends.

Since I tend to obsess about travel planning, I often type everything about a particular location onto one or two pages, and just carry those pages when we're in that town.

These days, I never use Frommer's, and the only Fodor's guide I use is the Rivage Series "Hotels and Country Inns of Character and Charm."
I use the Michelin Green Guide for routes and sites, the Michelin Red Guide for hotels and restaurants, the Cadogan series for wherever they publish guides for, Alistair Sawday for B&BS, and the Guide de Routard for hotels and restaurants in France.All supplemented by copious material from tourist offices througout Europe.

Different guidebooks suit different ways of travel. Frommers are good for driving itineraries, if a little too filled with esoteric descriptions of architecture for most people's tastes. Fodors is more balanced and perhaps more easy to use. Lonely Planet is a young person's guide and sometimes a bit smart-arsed. Eyewitness, AA and DK are colourful but lack substance, and AA suffers from the same fault as Fodors - it thinks all we're interested in is architecture. Rick Steeves is very good, but as someone already said, he makes the selections for you - nevertheless they are good selections. Cadogan and Rough Guides are very readable. Blue Guides are scholarly. My approach is to browse through several and pick the eyes out of each, then hone in for finer detail on the one that appeals. My son is a very experienced budget traveller and he swears by Let's Go. I have used Let's Go too with good results, so I suppose I'd have to conclude it's a good allrounder.
Happy researching! Tony

Sorry - my message immediately above said AA suffered from same fault as Fodors re emphasis on architecture. I meant Frommers, not Fodors.
Tony

Got called away before I could summarise the above. As I said, it depends what you want a guide for.
For driving itineraries - Frommers, AA and Karen Brown stand out.
For things to see - Let's Go, Fodors, Rough Guide, Lonely Planet
To get a feel for a place - Cadogans
For accommodation - this is a hard one as most guides have no idea what budget means - Let's Go, Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, Rick Steeves, Close Up
For the first time visitor wanting something that hones in on the best - Rick Steeves

Neither! Lonely Planet is by far the best IMO. Sure, it caters to the backpacking crowd, but it offers more "off the beaten path" suggestions than other guidebooks. You may want to bypass their accommodation recommendations, but the other suggestions are excellent. It's our guidebook of choice and we currently have quite the LP library....

A word about that Rick Steve's guy - only follow his recommendations if you want to see a million other American travelers.....

Now that I've found this forum, I can't imagine ever again using a guidebook for hotels or restaurants. The information here is <i>current</i> and you can usually get more than one opinion about any given establishment.

I do use guidebooks for information on sights, activities, museums, etc. -- both practical info like opening times and in-depth info like historical background. I have found that any publisher has its stronger and weaker areas. For example, I really like the Rough Guide for Tuscany. It has a lot of fascinating background info.

Like BobtheNavigator, I like the Eyewitness series for pre-trip browsing and will even take it on the trip, but for carrying around on location I prefer something with a bit more meat to it.

I like Frommers maps better, Fodors book and of course Fodors forum....

Only follow Lonely Planet's recommendations if you want to see a million other American travelers with backpacks.

If you want a real guidebook, as opposed to hotel and restaurant recommendations which those millions of others have also read, then go with Michelin Green

No one has mentioned Spiral Guides, which seem best to me. The main downside is that they are a little shallow.

Of Fodor's or Frommer's, I much prefer Frommer's because, as someone already said, it is more accessible. Fodor's also seems more for the straight (and I don't mean sexually) middleclass traveller who doesn't want to risk anything unusual. That's not necessarily bad.

I also like Rick Steves to a point. His hotel suggestions are notoriously iffy. The think about Rick Steves is that you need to understand his point of view in order to read between the lines and understand what he is really saying. Is he merely touting some friend or suggesting a place that is a ramshackle hole? Beware comments such as, &quot;it's like staying with an Italian family.&quot; But at least he is willing to be critical, which most guides aren't. I find it amazing that some people get upset that he is opinionated.

Let's Go, Rough Guides, and Lonely Planet are for kids, although they are worth consulting if you want to go cheap for part of a trip.

No one book is completely reliable. How could it be? Every person has different tastes.

Rough Guide/Lonely Planet only for kids? I don't think so. Rough Guides are great for browsing/reading - they have good culture sections to get you into the mood before you go, and to read while stuck on a bus while you're there. I do find, however, that their recommendations for accommodation don't provide enough details for upscale options. I usually travel buy one of these, and travel with it, but ...

for pre-trip accommodation-shopping, I use tripadvisor.com, because it gives you hyperlinks to a lot of different web-based reviews (e.g. Fodors, Concierge.com, newspaper articles), plus very current web comments.

Sandra (not entirely sure of first time) Gustafson's &quot;Cheap Sleeps in Italy&quot; series is very good for inexpensive hotel options (but only covers a few Italian cities: Rome, Florence and Venice, I think) - but she covers them in almost room-by-room detail. Karen Brown's books give you that kind of detail, but only for very upscale hotels.

I'm with Marilyn &amp; use www travel BB's (Fodors &amp; Lonely Planet are the most active).

Rather than randomly search the net or reference books looking for a hotel recommendation or activity/site, transportation options, you can specifically ask (and usually generously have answered quite quickly!) your question.

Pre-trip only occasionally I use guidebooks from the library or purchased, but never pack them on the trip. Instead I pick up local maps and information upon arriving in a new place - especially in cities good current local info is pretty easy to come by.

I cast a vote for Eyewitness travel guides; they've worked well for us in Italy, at least. They are a good addition to Michelin Green Guide
(pictures!)

FoodSnob-if you would like to update your survey, I am a native New Yorker, registered on this board, and have been 'chatting' frequently for about 6 years now, and buy at least 5 guide books for every trip. I don't lug them all with me, I rip out the pages I need, and toss them as I go along. I chuck the books right after the trip because they get outdated so quickly. I imagine that I fall in the higher tax bracket, but that doesn't matter when I buy the books. I like to visit upscale and laid back places when I travel and grab a little from each book.

I would lean toward Frommers for my style of travel. Its low to moderately priced hotel and restaurant listings are very accurate. But I still refer to Fodors for better historical/cultural/arts info. However, I bring neither guidebook with me. Before the trip, I make notes from several guidebooks...Fodors, Frommers, ETBD, and the Knopf series. Then I buy one or more locally produced guidebooks in English at my destination, and keep them as souvenirs.

All of the guidebooks are good. Buy or borrow (public libraries) the guidebooks, peruse through all of the books and just photocopy the pages with the information you need. Lugging guidebooks around is a pain!

Does anyone know what happened to the Fielding, Birnbaum, and Fisher guides? They were among the best.

ok, anyone want to SEND me their Michelin Green Guide to borrow.. wink

Dear bugswife1,

I just spotted your post and must remind you we're in the minority here. When you consider the number of traveling New Yorkers whose annual income exceeds $300,000, it's easy too see we're barely represented here.

I, like you, have all the books (minus Lonely Planet and Rick Steeves), but I shudder to think of ever destroying one. I scan the info I wish to take with me and actually make my own travel booklet. I've been utilizing this method for years and it serves me really well. I have an entire library of travel books dating from the 70's. Yes, much is in storage but easily accessible. It helps to have a staff of assistants, too.

You can't imagine how often I refer to old restaurant info. Some of my favorite places are in the old books and never appear in the new, which makes me suspicious of the methods used to keep restaurant listings up-to-date.

No surprise to me, I do find Michelin in many home libraries among Manhattan friends. I like Michelin, too. I just wish they used a larger font size but then they'd have to enlarge the book. There's always a compromise.

Thanks for being here.