MOST of my friends are plotting an escape to the tropics and I’ve had a lot of calls asking for advice on what kind of book is the best. The best way to highlight the different collections is to pick a specific destination. Given the attraction of Mexico and its ill-fated currency, I’ll use it as my framework.
To begin with, it’s important to distinguish between the large American series beginning with F: Fodor’s and Frommer’s. Fodor’s are the ones with the simple gold cover and the arty photos spread across front and back. These are “straight-ahead” guides, with a good mix of practical and cultural information and a consistent style from book to book.
The writing in the body of the guide is neutral and measured, which makes the reading a little dry, I find. In recent years, though, they have made more of an effort to include opinions and personal touches, with spicy essays (in the guide to Acapulco, there’s a short piece on cliff-diving reprinted from Playboy) and the “Fodor’s Choice” section at the beginning. The layout is a bit dull, but the quality of the information usually makes up for that.
Fodor’s guides are designed for people moving with money: their idea of an inexpensive night in a hotel in the Acapulco area is less than $55 U.S.
The Frommer’s guides, which have black covers, tend to be for the traveller with a more moderate budget. The famous $-a-Day guides, which give suggestions for fairly low-priced places, are probably the best known. In 1995, they suggest travelling in Mexico on $45 U.S. per day, which is not rock-bottom but certainly won’t break the bank.
Frommer’s also give a solid assortment of both practical and cultural information, but the style is much more chatty than Fodor’s. The layout is a little less cramped than Fodor’s, making the information easier to find, but there aren’t as many cultural details. Shoppers and families travelling together will find all sorts of useful pointers.
Now, these two series are fine if you know exactly where you want to go and are happy with a list of places to stay, eat and be merry. But what if you’re not even sure where to head? If this sounds like you, the Insight series is the one to buy. These beautiful books are slightly larger and heavier than the usual guides, because they are printed on glossier paper, with stylish photographs. They are well written and colorful, and are great for giving you a feel for a spot before you board the plane. The series is in paperback, but they cost a little more than the others.
So far, I’ve mentioned fairly mainstream guides, for the average traveller with a couple of weeks to spare. These are really only the tip of the iceberg, though, as there is a whole genre of wanderers out there who travel to find their souls and stretch their imaginations, for as long as possible, with as little money as possible. For these travellers, and you know who you are, the options are multiplying.
For many years, the only real reference was the Australian Lonely Planet series, which includes both the budget title On a Shoestring and the wider-ranging Travellers’ Survival Kits. These guides have an incredible variety of low-budget detail, both cultural and practical, and make exploring both beaten and unbeaten tracks exciting. Each book is set up in more or less the same way and the informal style makes it easy to find details you need.
Unfortunately, Lonely Planets are too popular for my taste: what the book describes as “untouched” often ends up being overrun by gritty backpackers pretending not to see each other. Still, the thick book on Mexico is worth its weight in traveller’s cheques.
Another good option for the curious with moderate-to-low budgets is the Moon series, published in California. Anyone interested in the ecological side of tourism or the great outdoors should take a look at these books. Again, they cater to those with limited finances, giving extensive tips on how to travel, what you’re seeing, and how to get out and camp, hike, bike, swim, canoe, surf. The text is sprinkled with pictures and photos, like the Lonely Planets, making the books easy to read and flip through. Mexico is extensively covered, with separate books on each area of the country.
Any look at a travel bookshop’s shelves will tell you this is only a tiny fraction of what is available.
