Customer Reviews

Explore Magazine's Montana Roadside Travel Directory and Trip Planner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just bought five books including this one on traveling in Montana. I almost didn't buy this one because of the price. That would have been a huge mistake. Not only do you get what you pay for with this, it's worth twice the price. This is the only book that gave me a complete selection of motels and places to stay. The way they organized the routes and indicated directly on the maps where everything is located is a huge help. We can pick our place to stay and plan where we are going to eat before we even get there. This is also the only book that tells us not only where gas stops are, but what they have for services. And marking the attractions directly on the map with numbers is a great way to see just where things are. I like the discounts too. Seems like we should get our money back in a couple of days. I'm not crazy about having to present the book for the discounts, but hey, nothings perfect. I thought this was close enough to give it the highest rating after comparing it to everything else available. And hey, if you like pictures, there are hundreds of them in here. Anyone planning a trip to Montana would be just plain stupid to not get a copy of this.

I have purchased 11 books to plan my trip to Montana. I do not wish to write reviews on all of them, but felt compelled to comment on this one. It is far and away the best book I have found for planning a driving trip through the state. It listed 3-4 times as many motels (apparantly all of them)as any other book. The same is true for places to eat. It listed every gas stop. None of the other books listed any. Its maps are much more thorough, and they have maps of small towns as well as the big ones. The quick reference charts are priceless, and it is the only book to offer discounts from the states merchants. A truly priceless book, and I highly recommend it to anyone even thinking of going to Montana.

We thought we had our vacation all figured out until we found this book the first day of our trip. If only we had it while planning our journey ...What a life and time saver. We never would have believed the distances. We went 85 miles on one stretch and didn't even see an occupied dwelling, let alone a place to eat or get gas. We found this book at a gas stop and it was like getting a Montana native in our car that knew every gas stop, place to eat, and place to stay. We're already planning a trip back there next summer, and will probably use this book until it falls apart in planning the trip. You can also bet it will be at the top of our checklist to pack along when we go. Thank you Champions Publishing for such an outstanding book. I can't wait to see the next one.

Awesome book!

As this was one of the higher priced books on Montana, I was leary when I purchased it. I noticed also, that amazon.com does not discount it as it does the others. Now I know why. It's worth every penny I paid for it and more. I love the "quick reference" charts for dining, lodging, and auto which make it easy to look up any of the businesses in that category. And unlike other guide books I have looked at, it appears to list every eating place, motel, and gas or repair stop, not just the ones the author likes. I never was crazy about authors telling me what places I should like and not like. This book just gives me raw information and lets me decide where I want to go. I also like how they number every business and interesting stop and put the numbers right on the map showing me where they are. And the discounts are real and abundant. I have paid more money for coupon books with less useful discounts. And these just come as a bonus. If you're even thinking about going to Montana--buy this book.

I just logged on to let your customers know what a great book I found the Montana Roadside Directory to be. My husband and I have been pouring over it for the past week and it's become our main book for planning our trip to Montana in May. I noticed the comments from the reader from Atlanta and wonder whatever that person was expecting. I don't know the Milepost, but can't imagine a much more useful book for planning a trip than this one. I found the charts to be extremely useful and the discounts are abundant. I found the layout to be a little confusing at first, but once I understood the flow, it became very easy to use. My husband would liked to have seen more fishing and hiking info. But I figure this is a book on the roads of Montana, not the wilderness. I guess there's only so much you can pack into a book. Maybe next edition. I also liked the way every restaurant, motel, and gas stop is marked directly on the map with a number. This makes it very easy to visualize the trip, and should be real useful in finding places while we're driving. I can't give anything a perfect score, but I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning a trip to Montana.

I have purchased several books on Montana to plan our Lewis and Clark trip. I can recommend without reservation this book. The publisher should print in large letters on the cover: "Don't leave home without it!" I guarantee anyone traveling without this book will spend too much money on their trip! This is the only complete source I have found for planning our overnight, dining, and gas stops on our trip. I only wish there was a book like this for the other states we have to travel through.

This is the most thorough, comprehensive travel guide I have seen for any state. The detail of the information was beyond my expections. Who needs a travel agent with this book? Easy to read, easy to use. The Quick Reference guides to dining, lodging, and auto are invaluable. This should be a required purchase for anyone even thinking about traveling to Montana. It saves you a countless hours in planning your trip, and the discounts will not only pay you back, but put money in your pocket the first day in the state. Truely exceptional. They should do this for every state!

I couldn't disagree more with the reader from Atlanta. I travel extensively throughout the NW states, Canada, and Alaska. I have used the Milepost extensively for years when traveling to Alaska, and find it to be the best available for that area. However, I picked up a copy of the Montana Directory last summer when in Montana. I found the things that were missing from the Montana book were the thousands of useless pieces of information that the Milepost includes at literally every milepost. What I want is useful information, like where to eat, sleep and gas up. I have found the Montana book to be extremely comprehensive and useful for that. I wanted to know points along the route that are of interest. I so far have not found a signal ommission on the Montana book publishers part, and I have used it on half a dozen trips to the state since I acquired it. Perhaps the Atlanta reader is mistaking quantity for quality. Yes, the Milepost definitely has more "stuff". But the MT. Directory has"~ far more useful information and presents it in a very concise manner."~ paid advertisements and does not show you where they are on the map, you have to figure that out on your own."~ and quickly pick out the places that have what I'm looking for. As I drive a deisel vehicle, I find the charts extremely useful to locate stops that sell deisel fuel. You won't find that info in the Milepost. minor inconvenience. I did find an advantage in this as a few of the merchants refused to void the discount and told me I could use it next time through. Overall, I calculate I've saved over $300 using the book. The only discounts offered in the Milepost are buried in ads here and there, and don't come close to those offered in the Montana book. I am able get free drinks or coffee at most of the gas stops. Quite frankly, the book is worth the price for the discounts alone. A person will do well"~ to buy it just for the money they will save."~ roadside information is thorough, and I still feel like I got my money's worth many times over. I can't give it a 10, but I will give it a 9. Since there are only five stars I had to round up. While there are more "fun" books to read on Montana, there are none that I have found as useful. I hope your customers don't take that Atlanta reader's comments seriously. I noticed they really didn't say what they didn't like about it. I wonder what it is he/she would do to improve the book?

I am retired and do a lot of traveling. While I like to find out as much about a place I am visiting before I go, I have a limited budget. After looking through all of the books available here, this one looked like a safe buy. I ordered it with high expectations from all of the comments here. I have to say my expectations were met. If you're looking for good solid information on where to eat, sleep, gas up, and play in Montana, you'd probably have to buy a number of the other books available to get this much information. I have planned my trip this Spring down to the minute using the information in this book. The only thing that disappointed me was that the discounts were expired. However, the publisher did include a form acknowledging that and allowing you to purchase the next edition for half price when it is released this Spring. Were that all publishers this honest. If you're even thinking about going to Montana, this is a must buy. I have traveled to most states and as a result have a fairly large accumulations of travel guides. I have to say, this is probably one of the best I have seen.

After using the Milepost extensively in Alaska, I looked for something similar for Montana. However, Explore! is not close to Milepost's detailed information. If the Milepost were available for every state, that's what I'd pick. Next time I go out west, I'll find something besides Explore!