Great Britain Guidebooks help

You should get at least one book on London if you will be there more than two days. Also get at least one general Guide book on Britain in addition to Rick. Rick definitely omits a lot of the best towns and sights- Lets go, Frommers, Fodors. I also like one of the Good Food or Good Pub guides to find interestiung villages and interesting places to eat. There may also be guides to hostels and B&Bs I also get a lot from the "In Britain" magazine. There are excerpts on their web site, which are defijitely worth reading. (I think its now called "Britain")

I would recommend using your public library to check out a variety of travel guides and then decide which ones you feel suit your needs before you purchase them. Also check past questions and responses on this site as well as frommers.com to cull information given to others in the past. Have a great trip.

Pearl, I like travel books with lots of photos, either by themselves or to supplement other books. There's nothing like some photos to help you decide you need to visit a place you've never seen before. In addition to this site, the web is awash with information. Every town, church, castle, etc., that has any hope of attracting tourists and that's all of them has a web site. Some are good, some are awful. But, they can provide info that's difficult to find elsewhere. Here, Google is your friend. Congrats on finishing college and have a great trip.

The public library is the way to go. My favorite travel books outside of Rick Steve's are the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. I have the Great Britain book and the London book. They are all printed on full color glossy paper stock and are the richest visually of any travel guide out there. Definitely a worthwhile book to have on anywhere you are interested in traveling to. I found one the other day at the library bookstore on Hawaii for $1 and couldn't resist buying it!

Thank you guys for all your advice! I shall definitely go to the library and the local B&N to look through some guidebooks before buying them.

Pearl, One point to add..... The Great Britain Guidebook is probably the best one to use, since you'll be traveling in a variety of locations in the U.K. It provides a good overview of all the areas, but doesn't have as much detailed information. If you're planning to do a lot of touring in London, you might also have a look at the new Snapshot Guides, as those are less expensive and have more detailed information. If you'll be travelling with a Kindle or iPad (or other E-book Reader), you might have a look at the E-book versions Snapshot Guides (the London 2011 edition is available in a variety of formats). It can also be downloaded to an iPod Touch if desired (post another note if you need more information). Happy travels!

Don't forget to ask the locals where they eat, can give you great advice on cheap and good meals.

1."Time Out Shortlist" is a GREAT London guide. This book is small, packed with information, and put out by the "Time Out" magazine. It has close-up maps of all the sections of town, spaced throughout the book, with museums, attractions, restaurant, pub, and hotel info. The inside back cover is a fold-out map of the city. ISBN number: 1-846700-25-6 (for ordering from Amazon). $11.95 list price; I got mine at an "Anthropology" store on sale for $3.95. (Available used, on Amazon, for a penny!) Great size for carrying around in a backpack. 2.Another great small guide is Frommer's "London Day By Day" ISBN Number 978-0-470-38226-4. All of the features I described in the little book above, with a full-size map in a pocket on the inside back cover. Small is good if it has all the info you need, AND want to carry it around with you all day. 3.Lonely Planet's "London City Guide" is also very detailed, lots of good info, more "budget" suggestions than some other guides. ISBN 978-1-74104-712-7, $19. at the bookstore; $2.25 to $5. at the used bookstore. 4."London Photo Guide" by Monaco Books is good; lots of pictures and detailed maps of the city. ISBN Number: 978-3-89944-484-1. $18. at the bookstore; $9. at a used bookstore. Why do I include the ISBN Number? Because that's what bookstores or Amazon use(s) to find the book (Not the title; many titles can be similar.). You type that in the "search" and it pulls it up right away. I worked in the book publishing and bookstore business for many years, so I always include it. That way, you don't accidentally order the wrong book. Hope this helps!

Yes, I would get Rick Steves' London guidebook. It has the best information of all the guidebooks. It has suggestions for meals and hotels in all price ranges, with LOTS of budget and money saving tips. Also, it tells you which attractions are worth seeing and which are not, and lots more. It covers the hop-on-hop off buses (and boat rides) so you know which to choose. It gives pages of details on each museum, so you know what's in there, and what their hours are, and whether or not they have a good cafe inside. Includes a good map, and details about different areas of the city. Also snippets of history; WHO is this statue, and WHY are they famous. I meant to put this in my previous post. Rick's book is a must-have.