Mexico Guidebooks: Frommer's Mexico

I almost didn't buy Frommer's Mexico, by David Baird and Lynne Bairstow, as I already had Lonely Planet Mexico and the Rough Guide to Mexico. But then I remembered that two years ago, when we roamed Mexico in our RV with just the Lonely Planet, I had wished I'd had more Mexican guidebooks.

I've been very glad of Frommer's Mexico. You do have to be aware that it covers the more popular locations of Mexico, leaving out a lot of places -- like much of northern Mexico, or central Mexican cities that are not the main tourism attractions.

The subtitle of Frommer's Mexico is "With the best beaches, ruins, and resorts," and this reflects its approach, to describe for you what its writers find to be the best of Mexico. This distinguishes it from the other two more comprehensive guidebooks, and also gives it plenty of room to be quite thorough on the places it does describe.

For example, in Guanajuato, one of my favorite places in Mexico, I really appreciated the details. I'm hardly a world-class shopper, and I saved some time by seeking out a few of the shops from Frommer's recommendations. Neither of the other two guidebooks gave shopping suggestions.

I do think Lonely Planet is better for budget travel. Some things that Frommer's called inexpensive seemed pretty high to me. But then, I first used Frommer's guides when I was a student in Europe in the 1960s, using Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day and usually spending less than that! Alas, those days are long gone...

The book begins with a chapter called The Best of Mexico, which has sections on the best beach vacations, the best cultural experiences, the best archaeological sites, the best active vacations, the best shopping, the hottest nightlife, and so on. I was a little skeptical -- after all, how do you decide what "the best" really is? But when I looked at their lists, they generally seemed to me to be excellent guidelines. Often they feature little-known treasures.

After a chapter on planning your trip to Mexico, the chapters discuss various places:

Mexico City

Taxco to Tepoztlan

San Miguel de Allende and the Colonial Silver cities

Michoacan (Morelia, monarch butterflies, Patzcuaro, and Uruapan)

Guadalajara

Puerto Vallarta and the central Pacific coast

Acapulco and the southern Pacific coast

Oaxaca and Chiapas

Veracruz and Puebla

Cancun

Isla Mujeres and Cozumel