I have a Frommers book for the last trip we have been in on for the past 5 years. I do like them a lot.

But, I LOVE this forum!!! :)

I can't stand most other travel forums!!

AAA books are the best - they are FREE!! so I don't think twice ripping them up. I tend to take with me as little as possible.

As for "destinations" on the websites I prefer Frommer.

Fodor's discussion board is faster, the format is better. And would you ever imagine a GTG on Frommer's? No, unless it's the Israeli forum, there are GTGs with frequent posters.

There are other message boards with good formats, just slower then this one.

Nither !
e.g. i've found (after comparing) that the best guide to Hawaii is the MOON Guide...
I was very disappointed, after ordering by mail, FROMMER's "Banff & Jasper National Parks" i thought that such a epecific book should be more serious & useful...
About LP: if u r a backbacker maybe it is a good source for cheap places, i prefer, in 4 different continents, the ROUGH guides & FOOTPRINTS guides over LP.

Best in the category of "User Friendly" is a spiral guide by AA Britain. i had the Vancouver guide but there is a whole series. The organisation of info is superb !! anything mentioned quotes a page number to another section (this is revolutionarily user friendly !!)

For all my big trips (and often just my "dream trips") I usually end up buying at least two books. This is after spending a couple of lovely hours in Barnes & Noble perusing.

Books??? (Good one, Kal!)

I rarely use guidebooks myself. If I do just check out a pile of whatever the library has to offer. Most of my information comes from various internet forums and websites.

The few times I have felt the need, I find different ones are better for various destinations. I used Let's Go for Amsterdam. Would use Lonely Planet for Mexico. Like that.

the Fodor's forums are so much superior to Frommers. I only go there if I am looking up something specific. On Fodor's I scan the US and Europe forums almost daily and usually find something to respond to at least weekly.

I use both books as well as Michelin and AAA guides in my planning. Years ago I planned two major trips for my family using just Fodor's and they were great trips, but I also remember a couple of great tips concerning Toledo Spain that I got from Frommers.

I like Frommers guide (and Budget Travel magazine) , and Fodors message board. Also, TripAdvisor forum is good. Ditto on Lonely Planet and I like some of the Insiders Guides. Some of the "Idiot's Guides" aren't bad either.

I use Frommers too, even though they have disappointed me on some hotel and restaurant choices recently.

We find the "Best of.." section at the beginning of each guidebook to be very helpful in planning trips. This information is also available at no cost on the Frommer web site.

When traveling in Europe, Rick Steves' guides are the most up-to-date.

I suspect you already know that the moderator of the Frommer's Europe "board" used to be a frequent poster here. Too bad she coulnd't "improve" their board or format.

I have been truly disappointed a couple of times by Frommer recommended hotels, and always have been happy with Fodor recommended ones. That and the forum make it Fodors all the way!!!

Not that either are my usual choice, but between the two - Frommers. It's more budget minded, and I generally like the layout. I don't care for Fodors sense of organization, which isn't laid out the way I travel. Worse for organization though are Michelin Green Guides. With those, you really do already have to have an itinerary before you know what to turn to. But before you can have an itinerary, you need a guide book...

Again I'll say, it really depends where you are going. For Mexico and Hawaii I have found Moon Handbooks the best.

I will say that, though I don't like the small print in the Moon guides, I found their's one of the best for North Carolina, for instance. Was looking up stuff on Wilmington and the coast at Border's one day, and found Moon's to be very current and detailed. So many of the guides are re-hashed, mostly general info but you get the feeling that the Moon writers were actually "in town" recently.

exactly!