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Databases & Websites by Subject

Booklists - Which Travel Series Is Best?

Most travel books offer general information such as recommended lodging, restaurants and places of interest to visit. Each series, though, has its own particular strengths.

Compass American, DK Eyewitness, Insight, and National Geographic series are heavily illustrated with photographs of sights and culture.

Fodor’s and Frommer’s offer listings of accommodations, restaurants and places of interest as well as some history of a particular area. They have listings for both upscale and mid-level hotels and restaurants. Each also contains suggestions for tours geared to the length of your stay at a destination.

Forbes Travel Guides (formerly Mobil Travel Guides) feature lists of hotels, restaurants and places of interest in American cities and small towns.

Fun with the Family offers ideas for fun places in the United States to visit and stay with kids.

Insider’s Guides cover accommodations, restaurants and places to visit in more unusual places or cities (rather than countries.)

Karen Brown’s include listings of bed & breakfasts and non-chain hotels in Europe and the United States.

Let’s Go is written for college students and is the best source for hostel information and cheap eats.

Lonely Planet series include background information on the history and culture of the place and offer a mix of inexpensive and more upscale accommodations and eateries. They often include information on uncommon destinations and offer alternative information not found in the general travel books such as listings for GLBT-friendly hotels and vegetarian restaurants.

Michelin Green Guides contain information on sights (with floor plans and diagrams) as well as driving tours.

Moon Handbooks are especially useful for sights in the United States.

Off the Beaten Path features information about more unusual sights and smaller towns to visit in the United States.

Rick Steves, the popular travel writer’s series, contain self guided tour information for many places in Europe.

If You're Looking For…

Bed & Breakfasts or Inns

  • Karen Brown’s

Budget Travel Destinations

  • Let’s Go
  • Lonely Planet

European Destinations

  • Rick Steves

General Travel Information

  • Fodor’s
  • Frommer’s
  • Insider’s Guides
  • Lonely Planet
  • Moon Handbooks
  • Rick Steves

Hostels

  • Let’s Go
  • Lonely Planet

Information about a Region, Province, or County

  • Lonely Planet

Kids Travel

  • Fun with the Family

Pictures Showing Life and Culture in a Country

  • Compass American
  • DK Eyewitness
  • Insight (Discovery Channel)

Regional Travel in the United States

  • Forbes Travel Guides
  • Off the Beaten Path

U.S. Travel

  • Compass American
  • Forbes Travel Guides
  • Fun with the Family
  • Insider’s Guides
  • Moon Handbooks
  • Off the Beaten Path

Prepared by Bonnie Reid, January 2011