Fodor's California 2012

by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc.

Full-color guide
• Make your trip to California unforgettable with illustrated features, 92 maps, and 393 color photos.

Customize your trip with simple planning tools
• Top experiences & attractions
• Lodging comparison charts
• Easy-to-read color regional maps

Explore the San Franciso Bay Area, Southern California, Yosemite National Park, and beyond
• Discerning Fodor’s Choice picks for hotels, restaurants, sights, and more
• “Word of Mouth” tips from fellow Fodor’s travelers
• Illustrated features on Wine Country, Highway 1, and Hollywood
 
Opinions from destination experts
• Fodor’s California-based writers reveal their favorite local haunts
• Revised annually to provide the latest information

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

964 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2002

About the author

Fodor's Travel Publications is a United States-based producer of English-language travel guides and online tourism information. It was founded by Hungarian Eugene Fodor in 1936.
Fodor’s was acquired by Random House in 1986 and sold to Internet Brands in 2016.

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive but hard to judge restaurants

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I drove the California coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and this book was a stellar guide.

There are loads of trip ideas for the Highway 1 journey, and those ideas are presented in segments, so you can really focus on the major landmarks for a particular stretch.

Sure, the book can't cover everything. But, we felt that the suggestions (restaurants, hotels, attractions, etc.) were very helpful overall, and that's impressive considering California's sheer size.

I will say that I wish the book had more budget options for accommodations; since we were booking hotels for several different cities and several nights along the way, we tended toward TripAdvisor for affordable suggestions.

Our road trip (hotels in parentheses) included:
-Los Angeles
-Santa Monica
-Santa Barbara (Motel 6 at Corona Del Mar)
-Pismo Beach (The Cliffs Resort)
-Avila Beach
-San Luis Obispo
-San Simeon
-Cambria (Moonstone Landing)
-Carmel
-Monterey (America's Best Value Stage Coach Lodge)
-San Francisco (Villa Montes at San Bruno)

[John Orman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I especially liked the sections on Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Yosemite, since I used the book when I visited those National Parks in May, 2014.

A good guide for the exploration of California by road trip!

[Galiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

good highlights pages of regions. websites listed. could use more photos.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, but I'm so surprised that Sacramento doesn't seem to have a restaurant or hotel that serves afternoon tea. Huh!