- Organized by travel topic
- More than 500 entries
- Each entry is a short, digestible take--no longer than a page.
- 250 b&w photos
- Arthur's style is personable and engaged--his personality shines through
Amazon Exclusive: Q&A with Author Arthur Frommer Q: How has technology changed the travel landscape in the last 50 years?
A: It has given us the tools to be our own travel agents. By devoting a small effort to ferret out the best airfare and hotel search engines, we can snare bargains and discounts in travel that used to go unused. We can lower the cost of travel—and thus travel more frequently.
Q: What is your favorite travel destination and how many times have you been there?
A: Paris leads the list; I can’t get enough of it (have vacationed there dozens of times). I find it occupies the frontiers of art and culture, history and cuisine, political discourse and literary events. The Parisians have become excellent, courteous hosts (contrary to a popular misconception), and the city itself is, to me, a place of enchantment that never grows stale. A runner-up: the island of Bali.
Q: You seem to be unhappy with many aspects of the American travel industry. What bothers you most, and why?
A: The shortness of the vacation time enjoyed by average Americans; we urgently need legislation mandating a minimum of three weeks per year of paid leave; the failure of our newspapers, magazines and television outlets to provide Americans with useful facts about affordable travel, in place of their fascination with deluxe facilities that only the wealthy can enjoy; the mindless quality of so many vacation resorts and tours that treat their guests as ignoramuses. I’ve devoted much of my travel career to disclosing the reverse of what most of the commercial travel industry recommends.
Q: What are the top destinations for travel within the United States? Where do you recommend that we go for our vacations?
A: First and foremost, the U.S. National Parks, especially Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Great Smokey Mountains. Second, I recommend the non-tourist neighborhoods of New York, especially its world of provocative, mind-enlarging, off-Broadway theaters. Third, Boston, New Orleans and San Francisco, the Oregon coast, the southwest coast of Florida (especially Sanibel Island and its “Ding” Darling Nature Preserve). There are many more.
Q: How has the current economic climate changed the way we travel?
A: It has forced us to consider the use of “alternative” lodgings in place of standard (and far more expensive) hotels: guesthouses and B&Bs, hostels, student residences, convents and monasteries, vacation homes and apartments in resort areas, vacation “exchanges” (you live in their apartment or home while they live in yours), the extra rooms and beds offered by “hospitality clubs”. By using such facilities, you not only save money but enjoy a far more authentic travel experience among actual residents. And I am proud that the Frommer guides have always devoted more attention to these excellent alternative accommodations than any other travel book series.
MILLIONS OF TRAVELERS HAVE LEARNED TOASK ARTHUR FROMMER
Ask Arthur Frommer is a condensed encyclopedia of smart travel.It answers nearly every major question, discusses every majorissue, covers every step of travel, reduces every travel expenditure, and shows you:
How to get there in the most efficient and economical way, whether your destination is at home or abroad
Where to stay and where to eat in whatever city or other location you select
How to maximize the enjoyment of your trip and reduce your expenses
How to overcome scores of obstacles or problems
How to make the best, most cost-effective use of travel literature and the Internet
The book also contains Arthur Frommer's outspoken (andentertaining) comments on travel issues and controversies. Like any encyclopedia, it is a standard reference work to beconsulted every time you contemplate a trip or are lookingfor vacation suggestions. Ask Arthur Frommer is an indispensablepart of anyone's travel library.
