Frommer's Oregon (Frommer's Complete Guides) [Paperback]

Karl Samson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frommer's Complete Guides | Publication Date: April 21, 2008

Written by a longtime resident, Frommer’s Oregon is a highly personal guide, full of the author’s favorite finds and off-the-beaten-track discoveries. We’ll show you the best of Portland, and then take you along the coast to explore the most charming resort towns and hike past otherworldly rock formations on the beach. It’s all here: the unbelievably blue waters of Crater Lake; the world-class Oregon Shakespeare Festival at Ashland; hiking, mountain-biking, and skiing at Bend; art galleries and craft shops; microbreweries and fabulous seafood; and a host of incresingly renowned wineries. You’ll find a wide choice of accommodations, from romantic inns on the coast to wilderness lodges in the pristine forest. With Frommer’s in hand, it’s easy to design the Oregon adventure that’s right for you.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Frommer's. The best trips start here.

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer.

• Detailed reviews of what to see, including Willamette Valley wineries and the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.

• Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.

• Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget.

• Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.

Find great deals and book your trip at Frommers.com

About the Author

Karl Samson lives in Oregon, where he spends his time juggling his obsessions with traveling, gardening, outdoor sports, and wine. Each winter, to dry out his webbed feet, he flees the soggy Northwest to update Frommer’s Arizona. However, he always looks forward to his return to the land of good espresso. Karl is also the author of Frommer’s Washington, Frommer’s Seattle, and Frommer’s Portable Portland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 373 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 6 edition (April 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047016414X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470164143
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Oregon

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, exhaustive, great!, July 9, 2008

By 

John Malone "st john smythe" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's Oregon (Frommer's Complete Guides) (Paperback)

I took a trip with my family to Oregon a few months ago and we used this book as our guide, and it ended up becoming our Oregon Bible. We stayed for about a week and stopped in many locations: Portland, the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, Bend, Eugene, and all the way up the coast from Florence to Cannon Beach (and we still barely scratched the surface, it seems).

We did the recommended restaurants, attractions, parks, hikes, and lodgings and found the descriptions for each were spot-on and detailed. We mostly ate and stayed at the no-star/one-star places and even those were excellent. Of course, the 3-star system that Frommer's Guides use is subjective but we ended up mostly agreeing with them (one exception was the Oregon Aquarium - it was good, but I'd say 2 stars rather than 3).

We're first-timers and our trip was a bit of a whirlwind driving tour, so we learned a few things about Oregon and road-tripping in general:

- Driving, especially in vast places like Oregon, can take a lot out of you. By the time you get to your next location, you may be too tired to do much or it may be too late, etc. To fully appreciate a given locale, try to spend at least one FULL day in the same spot. We wanted to do a lot of hiking throughout the trip, but only ended up doing one excursion (although it was mind blowing!) due to time constraints/exhaustedness.

- Although Frommer's is good about giving you hours of operation and such for various locations, you should still call ahead to make sure it's open. And be careful - not all locations in the guide have the hours listed, especially if it's only mentioned in the middle of a paragraph (as opposed to having it's own separate entry). The Newberry Volcanic Monument south of Bend is an example... it ended up being closed on the day we were there. You never know when something will be closed for unforeseen reasons, out-of-order (ie. the elevator to Sea Lion Caves, rendering it inaccessible), or booked-up early (ie. Columbia River Gorge riverboat cruise). Also, when visiting any mountainous region, make sure the roads aren't closed due to snow (even in May or June!).

- And a short mention about the Portland Metro Tram: it's a good way to see some of the city and is cheap, but it takes a _long_ time to get where you're going, especially if it's somewhere outside of Downtown (like, say, Forest Park). A trip can take an hour on the tram as opposed to 15 minutes or less by car. We don't have public transportation like that where we live, so we were not aware of this fact.

- Don't rely on this guide (or any guide) to be your sole road map. I highly recommend buying a large, detailed map separately.

All in all, we found this guide to be enormously informative, accurate, and indispensable, really. The author really knows his stuff.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wide Range of Information For All Types of Travellers, November 26, 2006

By 

Gadget Girl (San Pedro, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Frommer's Oregon (Frommer's Complete Guides) (Paperback)

Frommers Guides provide a well rounded informational review of a particular area. The Oregon Guide is no exception. The reviews of restaurants that we tried were spot on. As well, the overviews of cities were written pretty accurately. It is great for all parts of Oregon, giving equal importance to each region - north, south, west coast, east, and Portland. This is not the book to get if you are wanting more back road information or fully off the beaten path and into nature facts. For that, the Moon guides are a bit better. Overall, definitely buy this one if you would like a full overview with well written and reviewed places to see in Oregon.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful, but want more!, November 6, 2008

By 

Robin A. (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Frommer's Oregon (Frommer's Complete Guides) (Paperback)

This Frommer's travel guide to Oregon proved to be very helpful for our trip. The star system for recommended hotels, restaurants and sites proved to be right on, as far as my trip was concerned. It was particularly helpful to use the star system when selecting wineries to visit/taste because the vast number of options in the Willamette Valley area would have otherwise been daunting. Where I found this book lacking was in only a few areas: (1) add smaller, less known wineries to your suggested places to visit; (2) add a walking tour to your section on Portland; and (3) add many more restaurants in all price ranges and types to the downtown Portland section.