Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter

I run my own travel blog which I'm not going to mention not to make this review sound like a self promotion. Though I must say Arthur pleasantly surprised me with his clean, straight to the point and at times controversial writing style and enormous amount of useful tips on how to travel, where and most importantly at what price. The depth of his knowledge is indisputable and I was amazed on how many possible different ways he knows that can save you heaps of money on your cruise, car hire, hotel reservation and more... What I like about it is that it's not your "main steam" type of read. His advise is always full of new ideas, factual research and it makes me wonder why haven't I thought of the things that he's talking about, and which would ultimately be lots of fun - Trains, Safaris, Camping you name it. He's actually travelled the entire world and so he presents an objective view of various destinations some of which are now on my travel list. Now, since I have my own travel blog, I thought that I know of most websites that can save you money, but I was wrong! The internet is ever-changing and now there are new amazing websites that can save you hundreds of dollars and he reveals them all. So, if you thought that Expedia or [...] or TripAdvisor are the ones to visit you will be surprised! Below I'll give you just a few examples that I hope Arthur won't mind me disclosing. [...] - gives you a huge selection of resorts in the tropics and beyond for a third of their cost, and it's reinforced by their best price guarantee. [...] - Search all major travel sites simultaneously and find lowest hotel prices instantly on single page. I was travelling to Europe few months ago and found this site to have much better rates than [...], and TripAdvisor doesn't even come close.. [...] - This site tells you exactly that, how to travel to turkey, where to stay, what to do etc.. I wish I would have knows about it before. It's certainty the best site for turkey travel info and I would have never known about it if I wouldn't read this book. Anyway, I'm really happy with my purchase and I felt compelled to write this review as indeed I think it's the best travel book that I've read in a while!

On my first trip to Europe in 1966, of course I used Arthur Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day--as did every other American traveler I saw during that trip. Over a half century after first publishing his world-changing guidebook, Mr Frommer is still going strong, publishing books, magazine articles, a nationally-syndicated newspaper column and radio program, and even a popular blog. I think I can safely say that there is no one in the entire world who knows more about travel than Arthur Frommer. It's not merely that he knows the best places to go, the most enjoyable things to see and do, and the tedious tourist traps to avoid. More importantly, he continues to steadfastly advocate the kinds of travel that educate, edify, inspire and delight. Far from "It's Tuesday, this must be Belgium," the Frommer traveler actually does go off the beaten path--even along the route of that path. Unaware travelers will be browsing the touristy souvenir shops on the main square while those following Frommer's advice will be in an artisan's workshop only a few blocks away enjoying a thoroughly authentic and unforgettable local experience. Well, then. Imagine taking that half-century-plus of travel wisdom and experience and distilling it into one 484-page book. That's what Frommer has done with Ask Arthur Frommer & travel better, cheaper, smarter: the ultimate travel guide that answers every major question. No matter where you've been, no matter where you'll go, Ask Arthur Frommer can truly help you to travel "better, cheaper, smarter." It contains a wealth of up-to-date insider tips on how to get the lowest fares on flights, ships and trains; exhaustive and detailed information on the best accommodations worldwide and how to get them for the best price; adventure and special-interest trips and treks throughout the world; shopping and saving anywhere at all; how to get the most and best from travel industry agents and staff; and a shopping list of great destinations from Amsterdam through Turkey to Vietnam and even Washington, DC. The benefit is obvious: you can't possible know all this, I can't either, so the book is a no-brainer buy. It pays for itself by Page 10. Surprisingly, the book's best feature is not its encyclopedic, practical and highly useful tips and information. The book's best feature is Frommer himself: candid, eloquent, entertaining, enthusiastic, opinionated and outspoken, Frommer revels in his role as advocate for honest, down-to-earth, life-enhancing travel far removed from the Mandarin-elitist, photo-stylist $1000+-a-night vacations described in breathless prose by the glossy travel magazines. Frommer made the point in his very first book: budget travel, in which one engages the world and truly learns about, is superior to luxury travel in which the real world--and its infinite beauty--is kept at a "safe" distance and one's preconceptions and prejudices are never questioned, let alone challenged. If you love travel--as you must if you are

I agree heartily with Cochran, Schwartz, and other previous reviewers here, that this is Frommer at his best -- which means it's the savviest, most knowledgeable, and handsomely helpful travel advice available anywhere. This author has strong opinions on behalf of US travellers, VS. the elite of travel writers, editors, and "hospitality industry" marketers. He shows you how to go beyond being a tourist to being a true traveller, who brings back not just trinkets, but great experiences and an enriched MIND. And he has an eagle eye for the inauthentic, the over-priced, and the pernicious. This book lives up to its sub-title: "Travel Better, Cheaper, SMARTER!"

This is Arthur Frommer's best work, in my opinion, because it's his voice and it contains much more than the usual guide book, even the usual Frommer -- tours, hotels, airline tickets, websites and every conceivable category, all with an eye to your budget.

Actually, contrary to another review I have read on this site, this book is one of the most plain-talking, no-holds-barred travel books I've ever laid my hands on. This guy isn't afraid to say stuff that could get him in trouble with the rest of the travel industry. Like this, on page 410: TripAdvisor.com is "virtually useless" and its rankings "have no value at all." On page 76, he says modern cruise ships look like they were "gigantic, metallic, orgone boxes of the sort envisioned in the 1920s by hallucinating psychologists." (That description is pretty hilarious. But then he goes on to tell you how to get a discount on one.) On p. 450, he calls for a wholesale change of guard at the Department of Homeland Security for the sake of the country's future! It's very fast-moving, with fact after fact coming right at you in between those opinions, and lots of websites worth bookmarking, so if you can't find something to use on one page, the next page is likely to help, and what's more, you get the feeling he really has tried all the things he's writing about. The book is chatty and dishy at times, and always opinionated, but no one can argue that this guy doesn't know his stuff. I don't know any other book that has all these details in one place. For example, Frommer's book mentions an airfare booking website called Yapta twice and it takes three pages to explain the ins and outs. I also have Peter Greenberg's recent book, and he gives Yapta just five lines. There's simply more meat here. There's also an index in this book, which makes finding what I need really easy.