Review by Booklist Review
It's the rare trip that involves a stop at a local, Hungarian distillery; an invitation to a family dinner in southern Turkey; or a lesson in South Carolinian alligator trapping. With both a willingness to reach out to strangers and a remarkable sense of adventure, Kugel has found himself in these three and many other notable situations during his extensive travels. The former New York Times Frugal Traveler columnist, Kugel here outlines different ways to consider world travel beyond best of websites and hour-by-hour itineraries. Covering topics including the reasons why we travel, safety and risks, effective technology use, and the ethics of travel, he writes for he writes both for families with one week of vacation per year and for solo travelers with months to spend abroad. Kugel's sense of humor and varied experiences make the book an enjoyable, informative read. Whether their ideal vacation is a week on a Caribbean beach or two months motorbiking around Vietnam, readers will feel encouraged to reconsider how they approach their next trip away from home.--Laura Chanoux Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In his insightful and fun book, Kugel, former New York Times "Frugal Traveler" columnist, takes on the increasingly commercial and technological aspects of 21st-century travel. His advice will stimulate travelers' curiosity while rescuing a sense of adventure that has been eclipsed by technology and corporate tourism. Kugel bemoans the spawning of neighborhoods that have become "cultural amusement parks" brought on by the exploding business of apartment rental services in cities around the globe. Kugel stresses the benefits of traveling inexpensively: more trips can be taken, and travelers will be closer to the everyday life and will have more opportunities for discovering intriguing people, tasty food, and exhilarating sites. He admits that technology and travel media have made traveling "easier, faster, and cheaper" but cautions against overuse of online resources such as hotel and restaurant reviews, Google Maps, and GPS ("Studies show that drivers using GPS to get somewhere don't pay attention to their surroundings and thus have more trouble finding their way back"). Although Kugel acknowledges that the travel industry will always be necessary "to transport people to their destinations," he believes that adventurous souls will have more luck finding inspiration, personalization, and self-discovery with "just a tiny push toward less-planned travel experiences." Kugel's advice for discovery-filled travel is thought-provoking and surprisingly simple. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Kugel, the New York Times's "Frugal Traveler," wants people to change the way they travel. Kugel has been around the world and has found his most memorable visits involved simply walking down random streets and talking to locals. By no means is Kugel a Luddite-he loves to use Google Translate and other helpful apps on his smartphone. What he does try to convince the listener of, though, is not using reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp as the sole methods of -choosing trip destinations. Instead, he suggests avoiding a detailed vacation plan and letting travelers explore at their own pace. Beginning with his stop at a small town in Hungary, Kugel shares many of his best trips and stories, most of which came about as he detoured from his own travel itinerary. He also talks about why some places (Paris) and items (the Mona Lisa) are famous, while other places and items go unvisited by the masses. Narrator Kyle Tait reads with great gusto and humor throughout. Verdict Fans of Kugel's work in the Times or his YouTube channel "Amigo Gringo" or Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, as well as anyone looking for unique travel experiences, will truly enjoy this fun audiobook.-Jason L. Steagall, formerly with Gateway -Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The former "Frugal Traveler" columnist for the New York Times encourages anxious tourists toward more adventurous travel in this helpful, humorous, and opinionated guide.Using anecdotes from his plentiful experience to illustrate his points, but without indulging in personal history for its own sake, Kugel makes the case that low-budget, minimally planned travel can be more rewarding than a journey insulated from risk and serendipity. As he writes, "people who inhabit the still-plentiful tourist-free swaths of the planet tend to be not only just nicer, but also more curious." The author isn't afraid to complain about what he sees as problems in the tourist industry, such as the tendency of travel writers to be funded by the places about which they are writing, resulting in unnaturally positive reviews, and the use of points programs to choose a place to stay. He advocates for gradually upping one's tolerance for adventure. "Talk to three strangers a day," he writes. "Smile and ask a question." Or try the "microadventure" of "ordering a menu item you've never heard of. If you hate it, you still have a story to tell." Though Kugel offers a few pieces of advice from female travelers, he writes primarily of his experience as a straight white American male. While recognizing the value of travel apps, he recommends that travelers use them sparingly. Instead of using TripAdvisor to find a predictably pleasant restaurant, for example, he recommends wandering around looking into windows or asking a stranger for advice. Appendices get down to the nitty-gritty of preparing for a trip, including detailed recommendations for assessing and reducing risk at every stage of travel, from "preliminary thinking" ("realize you're not perfectly safe back home, either") to "prior to departure" ("consider evacuation insurance") to "during the trip" ("Dare to ask taxi drivers to drive more slowly").Travelers both timid and daring will find plenty of useful advice in this perceptive and provocative volume. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
