BOOK REVIEW

Cadogan: Well-written and researched guides focusing on the history and culture of a country. Listings cater to all budgets but that is not the focus of the book.

Culture Shock:
A guide to the customs of a country. This series is designed for travellers' wanting to make a sincere attempt to cross the bridge to the foreign culture. Excellent for those contemplating working or studying abroad.

Eyewitness: Highly visual and encyclopaedic series organized around 3D area maps and cutaway drawings of buildings. Informative to read and great souvenirs of your trip.

Fodor's: Updated annually a popular choice for those looking for descriptive text along with extensive lists of hotels, restaurants as well as shopping suggestions. The listings tend to shy away from budget travel.

Footprint Handbooks:
For the overlander who is looking for detailed information on all the places in between. The Footprint guide to South America is recognized as the ultimate resource.

Frommer's: Tried and true guides to almost everywhere; low end and moderate hotels and restaurants get extensive coverage at the expense of sights and activities.

Insight Guides: The "National Geographic" of guides. Lots of colour photos and descriptive text on things to see. Magazine style articles provide a personal perspective on the society and culture of the area. Great for students on exchange.

Lonely Planet: The current best-selling guidebook series. Great city maps, lengthy descriptions of things to see and do and how to get around. Country guides cover a broad range of accommodations. Shoestring guides cover a larger area and are budget oriented. Specific information can be outdated as they only are published every two or three years. However, updates are available on their website.

Michelin: The green guides come with fold out country maps, including touring suggestions. Set out in a gazette style, solid information on natural areas and extensive coverage of cities, towns and villages.

Moon Handbooks:
The most complete budget guides to countries in the South Pacific, Asia, and the USA. Their regional guides to Mexico with exhaustive background info on topics ranging from history and politics to flora and fauna are truly excellent.

Rick Steves: Guides to European countries with detailed itineraries of three weeks or less. Books combine logical groupings such as Germany/Austria; Spain/Portugal. Touring advice on making the most of rail passes.

Rough Guides:
Opinionated guides for the experienced cost-conscious traveller. Published in Britain, these guides appeal to those looking for an alternative to Lonely Planet.

Ulysses Guides: Guides for independent travellers intrigued by other cultures. Excellent source for less travelled areas of Central America - Panama, Nicaragua.

We also carry Berlitz language tapes, phrase books & dictionaries. Communicating is a critical aspect of world travel. Being able to speak a few phrases in the language of the country your are visiting is an expression of your respect and desire to understand their culture. Language tapes, phrase books and dictionaries are useful tools in bridging the communication gap.

Putamaya CD: For an audio memory of your next destination explore the world of Putamaya. These compilations feature some of the most exciting musical performers from around the world. Performers include the likes of Miriam Makeba, etc.

Maps are an excellent source of information for all types of travel. It is critical that you are able to relate distances, place neighbouring cities, provinces, and countries in context. Maps will help in developing your itinerary, making the correct decision on the road, and enhancing the efficiency of your voyage.

AND NOW FOR A LITTLE BRAGGING!

We have been mentioned in "Best Places Northwest" in the Courtenay/Comox section as the "Thought of Everything" Travel store!