Best Travel Magazine
 

I want to subscribe to a travel magazine (Conde Nast, National Geographic Traveler, etc.). Which one is the best? I would like one with good pictures and articles about places that are realistic destinations -- not Climbing Mount Everest, or Swimming the English Channel, etc.

I would not recommend Conde Nast Traveler. The only realistic trips in there are the advertisements. I have not found one that mag. that I like particularly well. Sorry.

You might want to check out Arthur Frommer's Budget travel magazine. The featured destinations are more realistic for us working class folk. I've also found some great travel consolidators through that magazine. If I think of another one, I'll let you know.

Conde Nast Magazine is an EXCELLENT magazine geared toward the upscale and affluent traveler, so if you can't identify with either of those, then don't bother with it!

Frommer's is the best!

I like Conde Nast, Travel and Leisure and Travel Holiday. I'm not particularly fond of Frommer's magazine as some of the "value" recommendations are pretty darn dumpy.

National Geographic Traveler is my choice.While Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure are nice to look at, what they feature are beyond what I--and most of you, I assume--can afford.

I've subscribed to CN Traveler for many years and I agree with most posts above...it features expensive and less common destinations and travel topics. So if you're travelling on a budget, it's not as practical as some other mags. It does, however, have lots of useful info about changing travel policies of airlines, online travel planning, and lots of tidbits about things you won't normally come across in casual reading, but this type of info trickles in over several issues. <BR>

National Geographic of course gets the prize for some of the best photos..Another magazine that I enjoy is called Business TRaveler..have not seen it on newstands very often, but quite often find it in the magazine selection when flying on Delta. Lots of great travel tips ..The Departure Magazine which is sent to certain AMerican Express Memebers is also excellent.

Jason:<BR><BR>CN is the best for me. Frommers is way too "sad" as far as travel for me.<BR>I like AAA Magazine and believe it or not National Geographic gets the travel engines churning for me.<BR><BR>Of course Town and Country's Travel edition, Oprah's travel edition and when Vogue, Bazar, Wine Spectator and Gourmet dedicate an issue to travel, those are "keepers".<BR>I do like Travel and Leisure too.<BR><BR>Hope that helps.<BR><BR>Happy Travels<BR>Oaktown

I agree with JJ on CN Traveler. It does have some good travel tips in it. It also has a plethora of ads- which lowers my enjoyment level. Since my DH &amp; I hike, we enjoy information in Backpacker and Outdoors. I also like the travel features in Sunset- even more so than in Southern Living, to which I subscribe. IMO, I don't think the perfect travel magazine has yet been created. This board has some of the best info I've seen!

Jason, i allow myself only one travel magazine per year, and i am sad to report that I let National Geographic Traveler expire in favor of Conde Nast. Can't wait for it to expire so can go back to National Geographic. But that's me, simpler tastes, simpler budget. How's about spending 45 minutes at the local drugstore paging thru the various travel magazines and see what appeals to you?

If you have found this board, then no magazine can top this as far as information. Frommers Budget Travel is by far my favorite, but I get really excited when Islands magazine comes out.CN and T&amp;L are a waste of time since I would rather go on two vacations than one extravagant one.

Travel and Leisure is by far the best, I think. I don't like Frommer's "best trailer parks to visit" magazines.

Try Travel Holiday _ good mix of affordable and splashier, mainstream and more unusual destinations. Plus, it doesn't seem to take itself as seriously as, say, T&amp;L and Conde Nast Traveler, which rarely seems to recommend a resort that costs under $400 a night. Frommers is just a little too dowdy for me, even though I definitely am a budget-minded traveler.

I subscribed to Condé Nast for a year. It was a total waste of money, because most of their readers, unlike me, seem to have incomes in the high six-figures.<BR><BR>I've found more useful information in regional magazines like Sunset or Hawaii.

International Travel News(ITA) is fantastic...from cover to cover, loaded with travel stories, questions, suggestions and information. It is a no nonsense, basic type magazine, black and white, not many pictures. There are loads of little ads of exotic or out of the way travel...they are fun to read. There is a section at the back of the magazine with ads of tour guides and apartment rentals from every corner of the earth. It publishes monthly and I think has been around for a very long time. They offer a free copy to peruse and then the yearly rate is very reasonable....fun and interesting 150 plus pages to read even if you are unable to travel. Subscriptions are $17.95 per year, [email protected], phone1-916-457-3643...try a copy before you purchase.....my friends/neighbors are all hooked on ITA.

I haven't looked at it yet, but something that has recently caught my attention is Blue Magazine -- more adventure-ish, so it may not be in line with what you're talking about, but it's a new contender. http://www.bluemagazine.com

I love National Geographic Traveler. Great photos and destinations of real interest. This issue even had my home area in it (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC). A few months ago, it had a good section on budget hotels in Paris.

My favorites are:<BR>1. Travel Holiday-- I like this best overall, mainly because it features a good mix of upmarket and more moderately-priced destinations and lodgings.<BR>2. National Geographic Traveler -- mainly for the photos.<BR>3. Travel &amp; Leisure -- great layout, very readable.<BR><BR>Conde Nast has some good features (my favorite is the Ombudsman column) but has gone downhill in recent years overall, in my opinion. Too many of the photos showcase fashion models rather than the vacation destination. Also, there are too many features on the latest $1000 ostrich-skin Gucci carryon and the like. I think it's becoming more of a conspicuous consumption magazine and less travel-oriented. I still get it on occasion when an article interests me, but would no longer subscribe.<BR><BR>I like Frommer's Budget Travel, but if you get it for a year, you never need to get it again because they rerun many of the same deals over and over. Also, a lot of its content is available online, so I don't see the point in paying for it.