Fodors Travel: Fodors has been dishing out travel advice and publishing guidebooks for 80 years.

They prefer to hire local writers based in each destination for their guidebooks instead of travel writers.

In total, theyve published over 300 travel guides that cover more than 7,500 destinations around the globe.

Fodors travel guides cost around $20 for city/small area guides, and $25 for country guides.

Lonely Planet guides are updated with new editionsevery two yearsor so.

Fodors guides are also updated every two to three years depending on the location.

Generally, the more popular the location, the more often the guide will be updated.

It can be hard to read if your eyes are tired or if you have trouble reading without glasses.

Fodors guides, however, use larger print and keep their pages single-columned.

There are also maps for certain areas.

Everything from transport to medical care to electricity sockets to toilets are covered.

TheFodorsguides cover a lot of the same material, as youd expect, but organize things a bit differently.

Once again, there are plenty of pictures in this section to help you visualize the culture.

Travel Smart: Tips for transportation, accommodations, electricity, healthcare, emergencies, and safety.

Its a less-exhaustive version of the Survival Guide section in the Lonely Planet books.

All in all, both books cover a lot of the same material, but with very different approaches.

Lonely Planet does the opposite, and assumes you already know a little about the countrys culture.

Fodors definitely has a leg up on Lonely Planet when it comes to overall quality, though.

Lonely Planets current printing uses thinner, newspaper-like paper for its pages that feel like they could tear easily.

It also features offline maps and navigation, sights and destinations bookmarking, and more.

The app is a great companion to your guidebooks, no matter which one you go with.

Unfortunately, the Fodors City Guides app isonly available on iOS devices.

Even though Lonely Planet guides can be more expensive than Fodors guides, theyre still worth every penny.

It tells you places you should go to, but it doesnt alwaysshowyou.

If youre okay with that, Lonely Planet is the best pick, period.

And theyrea lotmore fun to actually read.

No matter what, you have every piece you’re gonna wanna construct a great trip.

The only difference is the Fodors box comes with an instruction booklet, and Lonely Planets doesnt.

Which way do you like to play?