I am absolutely addicted to travel magazines and read all the major ones from cover to cover almost every month and often clip and save articles for future vacation planning. They are all good in different ways and each has some great features. My current favorite is Travel Holiday, partly because it seems to do a better job than the others of featuring options in every price range rather than exclusively high-end or exclusively budget options. I also like the layout and font -- very clear and readable and well-organized. I would put Travel & Leisure right up at the top as well, for many of the same reasons, although it does tend to focus on more high-priced places than I would like (but great for getting ideas on destinations, and very good photography/layout). Conde Nast Traveller generally seems to have the most content, and I love the "Ombudsman" column. However, I do think it could benefit from better photography. And it too rarely focuses on low- to moderate-priced options, which is sometimes bothersome. And often it features fashion photography in showcasing a destination, which is irritating to me -- just show me the place; if I wanted to see Vogue models I'd buy that magazine instead. National Geographic Traveller tends to have some of the best photography in my opinion, and focuses on some less-well-known and more exotic destinations more than some of the other magazines, which is great. Frommer's Budget Travel is good for its cost-saving ideas. My favorite feature is the "10 little wonder restaurants of _____ (Rome, New Orleans, etc.). However, although I do have to say that it focuses more on promoting package deals than I would like, and in addition, some of its ideas just seem a little off-the-mark to me (it recently featured a big article on Oklahoma as a great low-cost destination; low-cost, OK, but who wants to go there for a holiday? No offense intended. And after reading the article I had no greater desire to go to Oklahoma than I did before reading it, which is a sure sign that it wasn't the best choice). Also, a lot of its content is available online, so I don't often see a great need to buy the magazine. In addition, I think it could benefit from more photos (particularly larger ones); and sometimes the magazine seems to churn out the same suggestions/features over and over. For that reason it feels a bit cheaply produced to me, which is a shame, because it really does have some great ideas and excellent contributors. I am not as crazy about "Islands" or "Caribbean" magazine; have bought them a few times but they're rarely worth the money.
I think Lisa's observations are quite good and I generally agree with her. I don't care for Frommer's because it tends to equate cheap with value, which isn't always true. Just recently, it listed a hotel in my hometown as a "top 10" bargain, yet no one here would DARE stay there! Cheap, yes. Nice, no.
In my opinion, National Geographic Traveler started off a bit weak, but has gotten better and better. I'd recommend it now. Conde Nast Traveler, on the other hand, used to be far and away my favorite but is getting worse. It still has some great in-depth articles by real writers ("literary" writers as well as travel writers), but as Lisa pointed out, it's increasingly irritatingly heavy on the Vogue models in $1,000 raincoats, articles on expensive moisturizers, etc. Gourmet, which is also owned by Conde Nast and used to have useful travel articles, is similarly being transformed into an upscale lifestyle magazine. I have several travel-holic friends who feel the same way. Obviously we're just demographically undesirable from Conde Nast's point of view.
I read Travel Holiday, though sometimes it seems like an extended plug for certain package tours. If I can mention a non-magazine, I usually like the Sunday New York Times travel section, and the "Sophisticated Traveler" supplement that it does several times a year.
I read Travel Holiday, though sometimes it seems like an extended plug for certain package tours. If I can mention a non-magazine, I usually like the Sunday New York Times travel section, and the "Sophisticated Traveler" supplement that it does several times a year.
I like National Geographic Traveler the most too. I used to like the Consumer Reports Travel Newsletter...but the library we live near now doesn't carry it (is it still publishing..anyone know?) I also like Oregon Coast magazine a lot and read every issue cover to cover.
