Frommer's Texas [Paperback]

David Baird (Author), Edie Jarolim (Author), Don Laine (Author), Barbara Laine (Author), Eric Peterson (Author), Neil Edward Schlecht (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frommer's Complete Guides | Publication Date: June 29, 2001

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go-they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Let Frommer's guide you through the sophisticated cities, glorious beaches, rolling hills, and dusty plains of Texas. Frommer's offers up-to-date coverage of all the Lone Star state's highlights -- hot music scenes, world-class museums, excellent bird watching, hiking in national parks, cafes, honky-tonks, small towns, sprawling cities, wineries, surf 'n' sand, and more. Inside you'll find candid, detailed reviews of the very best dining and accommodations; insider tips on shopping; information on Texas history and culture; and a "gloss'ry" to teach you how to talk like a Texan. We offer a wealth of sightseeing tips, outdoor recreation advice, and special moments--from highlights for the first-time visitor to off-the-beaten-track discoveries that will impress even the most seasoned traveler.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go-they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Let Frommer's guide you through the sophisticated cities, glorious beaches, rolling hills, and dusty plains of Texas. Frommer's offers up-to-date coverage of all the Lone Star state's highlights -- hot music scenes, world-class museums, excellent bird watching, hiking in national parks, cafes, honky-tonks, small towns, sprawling cities, wineries, surf 'n' sand, and more. Inside you'll find candid, detailed reviews of the very best dining and accommodations; insider tips on shopping; information on Texas history and culture; and a "gloss'ry" to teach you how to talk like a Texan. We offer a wealth of sightseeing tips, outdoor recreation advice, and special moments--from highlights for the first-time visitor to off-the-beaten-track discoveries that will impress even the most seasoned traveler.

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer. And avoid tourist traps. At Frommer's, we use 150 outspoken travel experts around the world to help you make the right choices. Frommer's. Your guide to a world of travel experience. Choose the Only Guide That Gives You:

• Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.
• Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip no matter what your budget.
• Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.
• The best hotels and restaurants in every price range, with candid reviews.
• The expert guidance you need to take charge and travel with confidence.

Great trips begin at frommers.com

• Book flights, hotels, and rental cars.
• Get free updates on attractions and prices.

About the Author

About the Authors Born and bred in Houston, David Baird now lives in Austin where he writes, edits, researches, and translates for a variety of projects. He has contributed to several works about Texas and Mexico, including Frommer's Mexico. Edie Jarolim was a senior editor at Frommer's in New York before she indulged her Southwest fantasies and moved to Tucson, where she now edits the travel and food sections of the Arizona Daily Star. She is also the author of Arizona For Dummies, and her articles have appeared in national publications ranging from Art & Antiques to the Wall Street Journal. Residents of northern New Mexico since 1970, Don & Barb Laine have traveled extensively throughout the West, spending as much time as possible in the outdoors, particularly the Gulf of Mexico and the Rocky Mountains. In addition to this book, they have authored or contributed to Frommer's Colorado, Frommer's Utah, and Frommer's National Parks of the American West. Eric Peterson is a Denver-based freelance writer who has contributed to numerous travel publications, including Frommer's National Parks of the American West and Frommer's Colorado. He also writes for several Colorado-based business and entertainment periodicals. Neil E. Schlecht was reared in North Dallas. He attended Plano Senior High School, returned for graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin, and married a Texan. Now living in rural Connecticut, he is the author of more than a dozen travel guides, as well as articles on art and culture. His Texas heroes are Lance Armstrong, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

Product Details

• Paperback: 466 pages
• Publisher: Frommers (June 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764562231
• ISBN-13: 978-0764562235
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,306,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Texas revisited - Is the new edition any better?, August 5, 2008

By 

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

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

I reviewed the previous edition of this book and thought I should see how the new one (the 2009 edition) stacks up. To provide some background, I live in Houston and I like to use travel guides like this to find new places to visit, restaurants to dine in, etc. - I've made a lot of nice finds so far. What follows is my detailed take (hopefully not too much so) on what it gets right and wrong...

Most of what I said before still applies... the previous edition was spot-on in its coverage of the big Texas cities but a bit lacking in details for the less-traveled, more scenic destinations.

Lo and behold, they actually have expanded those sections a bit (especially West Texas) and re-organized them to boot. I still say the Hill Country deserves its own chapter (and made mention of the spring bluebonnet blooms and certain personal faves like Natural Bridge Caverns and Lost Maples State Park), but the guide hits all of the high points. I also still wish they mentioned some of the more spectacular day hikes in Big Bend - The Window and Lost Mine Trails - and had more details on Big Bend State Park (at least it's mentioned this time), but those are minor issues - and coming from a total outdoors freak such as myself.

The other few minor quibbles I have is on some restaurant choices (no Taco Taco Cafe in San Antonio? Loma Linda is _still_ in there, for Houston?). The choices are certainly not bad and all the essentials seem to be there, but especially for Houston it would've been nice to see some of the more exciting new eateries that have sprung up the last several years (Feast, a British-style "tail-to-snout" eatery that I'd venture to say is unique in the entirety of Middle America; award-winners such as Reef, Cova, and Catalan; Danton's for Gulf Coast eatin' and its jazz brunch; Max's Wine Dive, Textile, Bedford, T'afia, Tony's... and this is just for Houston!). Here I actually give a tip of the hat to Fodor's. I could go on and on, but this review is already too long; I am sort of a food fanatic though, so take all that with a grain of salt if you're not. The hotel listings, on the other hand, seem adequately up-to-date.

In the end, though, I realized it's amazing how much is in this guide while at the same covering the vast, diverse hugeness that is Texas. It's hard for me to think of a guide describing the state much better without becoming absurdly huge, and there are really no glaring omissions that I can think of. Plus, they do a good job of giving you a feel for each destination. For the majority of travelers (even picky ones such as myself), this guide will be more than adequate - 5 stars.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent travel guifde for Texas, December 2, 2003

By 

Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's Texas (Paperback)

This is one of the few guidebooks one can find on Texas that is from a reputable company(the other is the lonely planet guide). I found this book wholly inferior in giving accommodation and restaurant choices in West Texas, particularly from Midland to El Paso and the Big Bend Area. Although some choices were provided it seemed that the book passed over many fine dining establishments. Nevertheless the book does have a wealth of information on Texas but it seems it needs some updating. Many of the phone numbers need new area codes. A marginal travel guide but one of the few choices.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lone Star State, October 22, 2005

By 

Shannon Deason (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

I found this guide to be quite thorough when it came to the major cities, granted it is not exactly a Rick Steves guide to Texas, but it did hit upon the most popular attractions and it got Dallas and Houston about right and I am very familiar with both cities, I really know very little about West Texas so I'll defer to the other reviewer on the guides shortcomings on accomedations and such out there, but if you are going to Austin, San Antonio, Houston, or Dallas-Ft. Worth, I think you will find this guide helpful, and easy to read.