Frommer's San Antonio & Austin

We used this book a LOT during our week vacationing in San Antonio. I found that their recommendations were right on the mark, for places to see and things to do, and restaurants. We'd already done our airline, rental car, and hotel reservations, so we didn't need the book for that. But we did their recommended downtown walking tour one day, and it was just like having our personal tour guide with us as we read about each stop. The first night we found our way to a Tex-Mex restaurant that they recommended, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Other days we drove to outlying towns that were also recommendations, and we never would have discovered them on our own without that book. This book is a Must if you are going to vacation in San Antonio and/or Austin and haven't been there before!

This book was very helpful on my recent 3 day trip to Austin. I used many of the suggestions (Austin Motel, Duck Adventure, Bat tour) and found them to be right on the mark. It was a good investment and made the trip much more organized.

These Frommmer guides are very good, and this one on Austin and San Antonio is no different. I am very familiar with these two cities and I find the suggestions in this guide to be on the whole very accurate. Though the hotel and restaurant sections are top loaded with the most famous and expensive, some smaller properties and resturants are not included. The sites section however is perfect, the guides descriptions and ratings are close to perfect. What I really appreciate about the Frommer guides is that you really feel like they have researched the subject, granted that should be a prerequisite in a travel guide, but unfortunitely in my experience that is not always the case.

This is at least our 6th Frommer's book. We simply won't travel anywhere on vacation without one. Mainly we use it for restaurant recommendations to avoid the tourist traps and to find the (good) local museums, zoos, etc. We have yet to be disappointed. The maps are also very helpful in planning the day's out so one can get the most out of each destination. In addition to the San Antonio & Austin guides, we have also purchased and used (in no particular order): San Francisco, Arizona, Europe, Washington DC, and France. The best thing one can say about all of the Frommer's books is their methodical order. All of the books are essentially built upon the same template. First they tell you how to get there (airlines, airports, trains, train stations, etc.); then where to stay. Once you're there where to eat. And now that the essentials have been taken care of they get into the attractions and shopping. Simply a wonderful easy to follow format. And physically they easily fit in any small carry case and do not weigh a ton so you can carry it around with you. If travelling abroad (and you do not speak that country's language very well), I also recommend getting the "Jiffy Phrase Books." They give you enough to make an intelligent sentence or two, which is all it takes to gain the respect of the local merchants.

I took this guide on a first time visit to San Antonio and found it invaluable. Not only was it up to date with info on the latest hotels, attractions, and restaurants, but it contains lots of asides containing interesting information on the different sites that added to our enjoyment at visiting these sites. A first rate job!