2 to 22 Days. Muir.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Twenty-two day itineraries, with suggestions for shortening them. Many activities are physical - swimming, hiking, rafting. Selective. Succinct, clear directions, with minimal background information. Maps.

Access. Harpercollins.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Cities, organized geographically by neighborhood so restaurants, hotels and bookstores are all intermingled. Color code distinguishes hotels, shops and sights. Gives price codes, addresses, phone numbers. Detailed index. Limited number of titles. Maps, B & W photos, easy to use.

Active Travel Series. Bicycle Books.

US, EUR

For the cyclist. Contains lots of general health advice, and includes weather tables. Little detail about the countries covered. You'd need to bring along a more detailed map. Limited number of titles. Maps, B & W photos.

American Express. Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Mostly cities. Specific directions for metro, car rental, even bicycle rental. Clear, easy to follow but little description of why you're there. Symbols for entrance fee, children, mastercard, swimming pool, etc. Maps, sketches.

Away for the Weekend. Random House.

USA

Weekend itineraries an easy day's drive from a major city. Selective, subjective. The area is described in detail, but dining, accommodations and sightseeing are generally just listed with hours and prices. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Backroads. Gulf Publications.

Driving tours. Describes what you see along the road, with information about towns and their history. Interesting but vague. You'd need another guide for details but this one covers lesser known towns and sights. No hours or prices. Maps, B & W photos.

Baedeker's. Baedeker's guides, distributed in US by Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Mainly a guide to sights, for the independant traveler with an interest in history. No prices or contact information is given. A separate listing for hotels is just that - a listing - with addresses, phone numbers and prices. Good guide but it shouldn't be your only one.

Berkeley Guides. On-the-loose. Fodors.

USA, EUR

For the adventurous, budget minded traveler. Most information on lodging and food is based on their philosophy, "The more cheaply you travel, the more you usually experience." Lots of hiking and bike trails, but otherwise frustratingly little detail on what to do or how. For the ecotourist. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Berlitz Travellers Guides. Root Publishing Co.

USA, EUR

Interesting, out-of-the-way places for experienced travelers. Long, written in narrative style, but the index makes it easy to locate information on a particular place. Many detailed maps.

Berlitz Pocket Guides. Berlitz.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Small, brief and easy to use, with just a line or two on each site. Rarely gives contact information or prices, and no dining or lodging. Mostly cities. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Best Hikes with Children. Mountain Books.

USA,EUR, ASIA

Most of the hikes are covered in 2-3 pp., but you'd need to carry the book for commentary along the trail. Includes enrichment suggestions for children, distances, difficulty. Mostly east and west coast destinations. Maps, B & W photos.

Best Places to Kiss. Beginning Press.

USA,EUR

Romantic possibilities, mostly in the form of bed & breakfasts or restaurants. There are occassional locations for "outdoor kisssing," never the usual tourist attractions because they're too crowded for romance. Limited number of titles.

Best Places to Stay. Houghton Mifflin.

USA, ASIA, SA

Bed & Breakfasts, mostly in the United States. Accomodations only, with contact information, rates, restrictions (such as no children) and a one page description. Appendices list places by activity. Higher budget locations. Maps, illustrations.

Best Places. Sasquatch.

USA

Intended for locals, but will be useful to visitors too. Brief entries give ratings, prices, addresses and what to expect. Detailed index. 300 restaurants, 36 shopping categories, 55 lodgings. All west coast. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Birnbaum. Harper Perennial.

USA, EUR, SA

Exceptionally thorough, with detailed information about budget shops, last minute travel clubs, discounted fares. Subjective, well organized, written in a breezy style. Phone numbers, but no hours or prices. Maps.

Blue Guide. Norton.

USA, EUR

Long, with dense, small type. More easily read ahead of time or for the armchair traveler. Art, architecture, and history, and includes lesser known sights. Organized by activity (shopping, eating, hotels) and by walks. Maps, B&W photos.

Cadogan. Globe Pequot.

USA,EUR, SA

Covers regions rather than whole countries. Gossipy and fun, taking you through the city explaining what happened here, when and why things are like they are. Read before you go, or in your hotel at night.

Cadogan City Guides. Globe Pequot.

USA, EUR

Rambling, subjective narrative filled with history. Fun to read even if you don't go there. Sights have hours but no prices. Hotels do have prices and even Metro stops. Organized by activity. Cities only. Limited number of titles.

Country Roads. Country Roads Press.

USA

Driving through different states. Usually gives anecdotes about the area or the author's trip. Verbal directions rather than maps. No hotels or restaurants. Illustrations.

Culture Shock. Graphic Arts Center.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Not a guide to sights or accommodations, but to the whole country; customs, attitudes, how to eat, how to bargain, how to avoid offending anyone, simple phrases. Good for relocating as well as traveling. B&W photos.

Destination Guides. Seven Hills.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Beautiful photographs, interesting historical and sociological commentary. Not much use as a travel guide. Disney World, for example, gets five inches of text. Mostly cities. Maps, color photos.

Discover America. Compass America. Fodors.

USA

Mainly the western US and Canada. Current descriptions of destinations digress into quotes from Mark Twain or Capt. Cook. For armchair travelers. Practical information is at the back, and too brief to be useful. Maps.

Essential Travel. Passport.

USA, EUR, ASIA

For budget travelers. Pocket sized, succinct, easy to use. Gives hours, addresses and prices. Arranged by activity. Maps, color photos.

Exploring Rural. Passport Books.

EUR

Written in a narrative style as a seriees of tours, with emphasis on the little known or unexpected. Hard to skim; sights and hotels are buried in the paragraph. Gives atmosphere and phone numbers, no prices. Maps, illustrations.

Eyewitness Travel Guide. Dorling-Kindersley.

USA, EUR

More pictures than text, in a Richard Scarry format. Mostly cities. Read before you go. May also be good for residents. Gives phone number, address, history, price, hours, all with codes to disseminate more information in less space. Limited number of titles. Maps, color photos.

Fielding. Fielding Worldwide.

EUR, SA

For the seasoned traveler. Uses 48 icons (ie, crafts, by rail, homey) to help you pick out your interests from the rambling paragraphs. Includes lodging, food, sights, with a rating system. Little detail. Maps, B&W photos.

Fodor's. Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc.

USA, EUR, ASIA, SA

Succinct, well organized, covers everything briefly. Gives prices, hours, highlights, suggested tours. Index. New edition each year, completely revised every four years. Maps.

Fodor's Affordable. Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc.

USA, EUR

Typical Fodors, with lower priced activities, for travelers with "champagne tastes and beer budgets." Selective. Arranged by prechosen sights. Illustrations are only for chapter headings, not sights. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Fodor's Exploring. Fodor's Travel Publications.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Covers regions and cities. Differs from most Fodors, with beautiful color photos on every page and an emphasis on sights rather than accommodations. Information brief but easy to locate. For the independant traveler. Maps.

Frommer's Budget. Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR, SA

Also called "Dollar-a-Day" guides. Gives very specific information on prices, hours, phone numbers, and local transportation, with a one or two sentence description. Minimal history and culture. Maps.

Frommer's Comprehensive. Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR, ASIA, SA

For the independant, budget-minded traveler. Lists of accommodations, restaurants and shopping, annotated, with price ranges and addresses. Arranged geographically. Even the index is geographical. "Frommer's City Guides" are a subseries. Maps.

Frommer's Walking. Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR

All cities, arranged by walk. Gives transportation, best times, amount of time to allow, refreshment stops, and one or two paragraphs of history. There are enough details to make you feel you're an insider. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Gault Millau's Best of Guides. Prentice Hall GR & T.

EUR

Old series reinstated in 1994. Candid, witty, subjective one paragraph reviews of restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, and shops. The guides themselves state, "The only guides that distinguish the truly superlative from the merely overrated."

Hidden Series. Ulysses.

USA

Good for ecotourism. Adventurous activities are listed, including addresses for rentals or guides. Includes parks and campgrounds, hotels & restaurants, but no prices. Historical background is in an interesting, narrative style. Maps, illustrations.

Hippocrene USA. Hippocrene Books.

USA

Older books in this series are US regions; newest are aimed at ethnic groups. Gives directions to sights, phone numbers, hours. Some volumes give prices. Sights and brief history only, no lodgings or food. Arranged by state. Limited number of titles. Maps, B&W photos.

Insider's Guide. Hunter.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Culture in depth. Gives names but not addresses of hotels and restaurants. Sometimes includes prices. "Authoritative distillation of the best a country has to offer." Maps, color photos.

Insider's Guide. Insider's Guides.

USA

Tells you not only where to go but what to do once you get there. Many long anecdotes. Hotels are described thoroughly, including history and atmosphere. Also includes information for new residents. East Coast only. Maps, B&W photos.

Insight. APA, distributed by Houghton Mifflin.

USA, EUR, ASIA, SA

Excellent photographs and narrative descriptions make this a guide to read before your trip, at your leisure. The last 35 pages contain tourist information such as medical help, transportation, customs. Maps, color photos.

Insight Pocket. APA.

USA, EUR, ASIA, SA

Not really pocket sized but smaller than regular Insight Guides, appr. 5" x 8". Really unusual destinations worldwide, and major US cities. Arranged geographically by itineraries. Subjective, brief. Maps, color photos.

Knopf. Alfred Knopf, Inc.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Several pictures on every page; some fold out. Maps include interiors of some buildings. Hours, prices, contact information listed in the back. These guides would be good companions to a novel or a history class. Maps, color photos.

Let's Go. Harvard Student Agency. St. Martin's Press.

USA, EUR

By and for student travelers on a tight budget. Well written and frank. Work/study and volunteer programs included. Hours, prices, phone numbers & some directions. Lots of information and a meager index. All sites may not have been visited. Maps, color photos.

Lonely Planet City Guide. Lonely Planet.

EUR, ASIA

Cultural and language tips, even shopping tips like how to bargain. Long, thin book will fit in your pocket. Specific directions, prices, some shops and even contact persons named make this a useful guide with a short shelf life. Limited number of titles. Maps, color photos.

Maverick. Pelican.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Lively, subjective prose includes all sorts of amusing,helpful tips (such as how to use a public restroom in Prague, or how to order in a restaurant.) Descriptions are detailed. Incudes prices and advice. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Michelin Red. Michelin Travel Publications.

EUR

Frequently in native language. Objective, lists sights, hotels, restaurants. No narrative. Maps.

Michelin Green. Michelin Tires.

USA, EUR

Classic tourist handbook. Itineraries, charts, history. No accommodations. Information is easy to find, with boldfaced headings, charts, and practical information highlighted in blue. Unique 5" x 20" format. Maps, color photos.

Mobil Travel Guides. Prentice Hall Travel.

USA

For driving. Arranged by state, then alphabetically by town. One succinct paragraph on each sight. Includes motels and restaurants, with a rating system. Gives hours, addresses and a price code. Short shelf life; new edition every year. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Moon Publications Handbook Series. Moon Publications.

USA, ASIA

For the adventurous and the ecotourist. Covers less traveled areas on the pacific rim. Succinct; name, address, price range and one or two sentences on hotels, food, entertainment, services. Cultural advice, annotated biblliography. Limited number of titles. Maps, color photos.

Nelles Guides. Nelles Verlag, distributed by Seven Hills.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Beautiful photographs, more artistic than useful. Subjective. most acccommodations and restaurants are just listed, with phone and price range. A few are described in the narrative portion. Read before you go. Maps, color photos.

Off the Beaten Path. Globe Pequot.

USA

Five hundred unconventional things to do in your homestate. Approximately ten volumes are being released each year. Twenty-one are 1993 or newer. Maps, sketches.

On a Shoestring. Lonely Planet.

EUR, ASIA, SA

For the independant traveler. Subjective, flippant, with history here and there but very definitely for use on the spot. Thorough table of contents, skimpy index. Includes health precautions and a brief language lesson. Maps.

Real Guides. Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR, SA

Began in 1989 as a spin-off from the European "Rough Guides." Gives phone numbers, approximate prices, advice on bargains. Forty-two pages of basics, mostly practical information, with some history and culture. Maps, illustrations.

Roadside Geology. Mountain Press.

USA

Solid foundation for understanding the natural environment. Describes what to look for and explains how it got that way. Information does not date rapidly. For the layman interested in geology. Maps, B&W photos.

Rough Guides. Rough Guides.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Detailed, sophisticated. Gives hours, prices, contact information. Better for sights than accommodations. Narrative is rambling with lots of history. See Real Guides.

Sierra Club Adventure. Sierra Club Books.

USA, ASIA, SA

Where to find the best hiking, skiing, canoeing, river rafting and wildlife viewing. Very detailed ("Park your car here.") Includes practical information, ie, avoiding bears, purifying water. Some history. Maps, B&W photos.

Shopping and Traveling. Impact Publications.

ASIA

Comments on local transportation, language barriers, bargaining, hiring interpereters, what type of things to buy in each region. "Where to buy" is usually general (types of vendors) rather than specific stores. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Travel Bugs. Prentice Hall.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Cultural guide, with some history. Full of photographs and subjective but entertaining prose. Only thirty pages of what to do and even that is mostly about the experience itself and not where to do it. Maps, color photos.

Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet.

USA, EUR, ASIA, SA

Covers unusual places and gives unusual advice such as how to hang a mosquito net. Along with hotel recommendations, includes people to talk to. In more civilized areas, hours and prices are given. Maps, color photos.

Travellers World. Passport Books, division of Prentice Hall.

ASIA

Hard series to identify. Titles read "Caribbean Islands Handbook," South American Handbook," etc. Approximately 1000 pages with lots of detail on history, flora & fauna, currency, health. Thorough index, small print, quality binding. Limited number of titles. Maps.

Ultimate Guides. Chronicle Books.

USA

Mainly a guide for sites and activities, but hotels are listed objectively. Gives information on parking, transportation, jogging. Very practical approach. The best times for activities are given as well as the hours available. Mostly cities. Limited number of titles. Maps, illustrations.

Unique Travel Series. John Muir.

USA

Fun to browse, with lots of quick tidbits and a picture on every page. Covers a range of subjects - history, food, people, myths - with little depth. Limited number of titles. Maps, B&W photos.

Virago Woman's Travel. Ulysses.

USA, EUR

For women traveling alone on business or pleasure, or with children. Interesting reading, with many anecdotes. Even descriptions of tourist attractions have more history than current description. Addresses, but no directions or prices. Bibliography includes fiction set in that locale. Cities. Limited number of titles. Maps.

World Traveller Series. Hunter. Moorland Publishing Co.

USA, EUR, ASIA

This series used to be called "Visitor's Guides." Narrative style with information throughout - it's difficult to pick out what you're looking for unless you read the whole section. Symbols in the margins identify parks, churches, etc. Maps, color photos.

World at It's Best. Passport books.

USA, EUR, ASIA

Brief. Most of the guide is a listing by category (where to stay, what to eat, what to see, etc.) with one or two sentence descriptions. Minimal details or background. No phone numbers or addresses. Formerly "A-Z Series." Maps.

Your Passport to Great Travel. Open Road Publications. Passport Press.

USA, SA

Well-written, enthusiastic narrative, with a few personal asides. Destinations vary from Las Vegas to Belize, making it hard to determine if there are any guide criteria. Thorough. Limited number of titles. Maps, B&W photos.