One for the Road: Frommer’s Expands Guides for South America

by Kelly Amabile on

As travel to South America continues to grow in popularity, so do the guidebooks! Earlier this year Frommer’s released new versions of guides that were formerly combined in one book. Frommer’s Argentina and Frommer’s Chile & Easter Island are two first edition guidebooks, that were previously packaged together.

Both books are organized by regions, and include a practical planning section and a collection of suggested itineraries. Several must-do experiences recommended by the team of authors: try the tango (of course!), raft into Iguazu Falls (just 90 minutes from Buenos Aires), snowboard in the Andes, trek along Chile’s “Southern Highway” and fly to isolated Easter Island. There’s loads more included in these two new releases, so be sure to check them out if these popular destinations are possibilities for your future travel plans.

One for the Road: MTV Roadtrips USA

by Kelly Amabile on

Like yesterday’s pick, here’s another guidebook series that I’m not going to review because I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. Actually, Neil first told us all about this series when it was launched last fall. MTV’s travel guides first hit bookshelves last fall, published in partnership with Frommers. The latest title was released earlier this year: MTV Roadtrips U.S.A. is a detailed tribute to roadtripping across America, courtesy of the reality-tv-lovin’ music video generation.

This collection of road trips is organized by themes, with a slew of suggested itineraries: visits to wine festivals in Virginia, Bonnaroo in Tennessee, Jersey Shore excursions, a Vegas to Baja getaway and a Southern BBQ roadtrip are just some of the cruising suggestions offered in this team-written guide for trendy young travelers. Sounds like it is a hefty guide at 800+ pages, so you may just want to poke through it for ideas at the library or your favorite bookstore.

Street Food: Better than Your Hotel Dining Room

by Catherine Bodry on

In any country, street food is usually fresh, cheap, and authentic, especially if you get away from touristy areas. While your pristine hotel dining room may seem cleaner, busy food stalls where there’s a high turnover are actually a better bet than a kitchen where food might sit around for hours.

The folks at Frommer’s describe their top 10 food stall choices, and offer the following suggestions when choosing a vendor:

  • Make sure the same person isn’t handling both food and money
  • Check to see that the food is covered
  • Most importantly, follow the locals. If they’re queued up at one stall, they’re probably on to something good.

My favorites? Sugar cookies hot off the griddle in New Delhi, pho in Vietnam, and fish tacos in Mexico. Oh, and reindeer sausage dogs in Alaska.

Thanks to jascha on flickr for bringing back memories of street-side dining in Saigon.

2007 Webby Award Winners Announced

by Justin Glow on

The winners of the 2007 Webby Awards have been announced, and while Gadling didn’t take home a trophy this year (though we were named an “Official Honoree“), several other great travel-related websites did. Here are the nominees and winners in the travel category of the 2007 Webby Awards:

Maybe next time we can take home a Webby!