Let's Go really gets you around
Oct 01 '00
My experience with traveling on the cheap stems mainly from a three-month solo backpacking trip I took to the UK in 1995, armed only with a copy of Let's Go, a BritRail pass, and a huge borrowed backpack. Having not done much preparation before the trip, I decided to follow Let's Go's recommendations for the most part and let them lead me around the UK. For the most part, I was very happy with the results.
One of the most helpful things about Let's Go is that they send researchers back to the same cities every year to check whether their previous year's recommendations are still valid. The majority of the hostels and restaurants listed were still open, although I found that once I ventured past the YHA listings the accommodations could be a bit dodgy. Let's Go didn't tell me, for example, that the YMCA in Swansea was home to several "dole boys," who stayed up watching SKY-TV all night in the common room (great fun to hang out with, but murder if you're trying to get a good night's sleep on the other side of the wall). Nor did they tell me that the YWCA in Chester also functioned as a halfway house for women recovering from substance abuse. These places were cheaper than the youth hostels, but it would've been nice to have all the information up-front before booking a bed.
Another good thing about Let's Go is that you can tear out the pages of the places you've already visited and leave them behind to lighten your load, which can be important when you're facing long hikes with your backpack. Alternately, you can simply tear out a chunk to take with you (Ireland, for example) if you only intend to visit a particular area.
Let's Go was also helpful in giving me ideas for what to do locally as I visited different regions of the UK. They give listings of festivals (Jedburgh's Border Crossings), hikes and trails (Offa's Dyke Path), and even shopping districts (Camden Lock, Covent Garden), so that the traveler can experience a variety of activities. Assuming one had a laptop or computer access (which many youth hostels offer these days), it would be helpful to have these things listed in a searchable database so that the traveler would not be limited to only the listings for a current year. Let's Go also offers pointers on where to find more up-to-date entertainment listings, such as Time Out in London.
In sum, I would use Let's Go again, and I would definitely recommend it to students and others looking for travel bargains.
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Epinions.com ID:
MTB0001
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Member: Marianne
Location: Austin, TX
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Ph.D. in music theory; freelance copyeditor/proofreader; erstwhile clarinetist
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