Arthur Frommer is a giant among vacationing and traveling professionals and his magazine, Budget Travel, is a great place to look for bargain deals and general advice on the subject of travel. This publication is owned by the same people who bring Newsweek to the world and it is one of my favorite travel- related periodicals.

I have been reading this magazine for more than a year now. My favorite sections are "True Stories" (actual mishaps and funny occurrences that took place while traveling, sent in by readers), "Road Trip" (a 3 or 4 day automotive journey in some area of the U.S., complete with road map), and "40 Best" (a listing of 40 great travel deals from around the world, complete with pricing, phone numbers, and web sites for more information). Besides these regular departments, Budget Travel includes some good general articles (about 3 or 4 every month) that vary each month, about the subject of travel. These articles can cover anything from local culture to cost- cutting tips. And the places covered are varied from month to month. Sometimes, they are well- knonw destination. Other times, they are out of the way places that have something unique to offer.

One thing that is a little different with Budget Travel is the fact that it really does try to stress ways to save money on vacation. Unlike certain other travel magazines, this one doesn't waste the reader's time with pure fantasy by covering destinations that are incredibly costly and out of the reach of most people. It sticks to its mission and strives to bring you great deals and tips on travel.

One section of this magazine that I'm not too fond of is the "20 Tips"- a monthly department that provides miscellaneous bits of advice on travel, sent in by readers. There is no organization to this section and the tips include a mixture of both helpful and impractical advice. The problem with some of it is that it is so specific that the chances of anyone ever having the described situation actually occur is slim to none. Better organization (there is no order to this section at all- you have to skim for something useful) and more editing would improve this feature.

This magazine publication comes out ten times per year (the December/January and July/August issues are combined into one) and it carries a low subscription price. It's the type of magazine that easily pays for itself many times over with its timely advice and tips on stretching your vacation dollar.

I was having the blahs in life. So a friend introduced me to the Artists Way (because I couldn't afford a seminar on bettering my life) Well, that was amazing, it woke me up. Taught me that everyday was something to experience. So I started to fill it up. Here comes the Magazine, it gives us so many creative get-a-ways. Travel doesn't have to be so rigid and expensive. I even started singing. Bought singing lesson Cds on this Site they were awesome Voice Lessons To Go by Vaccarino (can't begin to afford a private teacher). We went to Austria on a great deal from Budget Travel and I sang "the hills are alive" from The Sound of Music- none of the Austrians knew that tune.- I'm serious!

'Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel' is a good magazine, with one absolute standout feature: the '40 Best' bargain vacations area. Every issue has great tips for the 40 best values for different vacations in different regions. Although I have never actually taken any of these vacations exactly as listed, I have on several occasions found them useful as a starting point for planning a trip.

The remainder of the magazine is fairly standard, and I think a bit repetitive. Occasionally I find useful tips in the '20 Tips' section, but more often than not the tips are so specific as to be fairly useless, along the lines of 'Did you know that on alternating Saturdays of months beginning with the letter "M" between the hours of 2:10 PM and 2:48 PM, the London Zoo gives out three free bamboo shoots to feed the pandas to the first seven people who ask?.' That is an obvious exaggeration, but not by much. I find the travel articles in general well written, but a bit repetitive (how many times can we hear about Paris or London?) and not terribly informative.

My biggest objection is to the editorial tone in the magazine: I am all in favor of a bargain, but some of the wheedling and whining makes me want to say "Enough. This guy has to earn a living, too." For instance, the editors regularly complain about high airfares, but a few months ago ran an editorial piece that wanted to boycott airlines that ran ads at the beginning of the inflight entertainment videos. I guess that they would rather the airlines not accept that money from corporate accounts, and instead have higher ticket prices? My point is this: you can't have it both ways, so stop trying. When you get a great deal on airfare, hotels, or rental cars, great, but know when to stop. Otherwise you start to look greedy.

Four stars overall: the '40 Best' is one of the best features in any travel magazine, period. One point reduction for somewhat repetitive features and editorial tone. Great job overall: go to some new places and you will be up to five stars.

I save every issue of this magazine! It is an excellent source of budget information for both national and international travel. There are many great monthly articles from simple travel tips to ones that offer huge savings on worldwide destinations. Enjoy your travels for less...

If you love to travel, watch out. This magazine is so glorious, you may not want to subscribe to it. There is a section in each listing the 40 best deals in vacations. This section is so cruel, so mouthwatering... For example, back in March they listed a company offering a [very low] rate [...] toIreland. That's including RT airfare from JFK, rental car for 5 days, and 5 vouchers for B&B's around Ireland! How is that possible?! See what I mean? You may find it difficult to subscribe to this magazine without some money set aside for traveling.

The rest of the magazine is great, too. It typically highlights one place in each issue that is one of the "cheapest places on Earth." In one issue I remember they chose Grenada, Spain. Ghana is forthcoming. I think they also did a city in Texas not too long ago (sorry I can't remember exactly, but they do list US cities as well).

It also has a lot of articles on US travel. In the last issue, they had "Super Affordable Road Trips," "20 Secret Bargains of San Francisco" and "40 Low-Cost Family Summer Camps." That was just for starters.

As you can tell, the magazine's focus is "real vacations for real people." It is packed with affordable travel ideas. If you have a travel fund and plenty of vacation time, get this magazine immediately. Otherwise, you may want to think twice before torturing yourself.