Patricia Schultz

Best…gift…ever. And, after a decade, it continues to give.

Originally published back in 2003, this book is a treasure and a bucket list resource for insatiable wanderers. Not long after I first peeled the wrapping paper off of it in 2006, I threw my anal retention to the wind and left the itinerary of a celebratory wander entirely up to Patricia Schultz. This was no easy feat for me—and one of my better life decisions. The result was one of my favorite wanders (to Costa Rica and Belize) show more and the opening up of a whole new part of the world for future travel. Grab this book for yourself AND give it as a gift to that special wanderer in your life. If you are hungry for more—or prefer to stick to U.S. soil—grab 1,000 Places to See in the U.S. show less

"As a travel lover, the idea of this list really appealed to me, but in applying it, the book has fallen short. For three years, when I traveled I looked up the places I was going to see what made the list in that spot. The actual recommendations were very disappointing. They mostly focused on insanely expensive accommodations and restaurants. I ended up being able to visit only a few. But somehow I had great trips without these supposed gems, and it seemed to me that many of the great, show more cheaper things I did see and do should have appeared on the list over a fancy hotel. Yes, a book like this is bound to inspire controversy; any top 10 list will. At least it gets you thinking about your real travel priorities." show less

Since I am trapped by COVID I have been indulging in travel porn and building my list of places to go once I'm free. This book is pretty good for that as road trips are probably going to be the most accessible travel adventures for a while.

I would be interested to see what didn't make the cut. I'd say that 7-800 of the 1,000 are places I might like to go or have already seen. The ones I'm not interested in are mostly golf courses and resorts. I like resorts, but the ones this book show more recommends are more expensive and less fun than I'd like.

There are lots of places that I had not heard of, which is the best reason to read this book. North America is full of things to do and I think this gave me at least 100 places to go that I wasn't aware of before reading. show less

Be warned: this book isn't what you might think it is. Rather than a list of things to see on your world tour, half of the entries seem to be devoted to mega-exclusive rich-list hotels. A quote from the entry on Barbados (pp 858-859) should serve as an example: "Sandy Lane is one of the resort world's classiest acts, its houseproud Bajan staff treating every guest with the same degree of service they gave Queen Elizabeth when she visited... Things are done on a grand scale, from the show more snow-white Rolls-Royce greeting you at the airport to complimentary Champagne at breakfast and vast marbled bathrooms the size of most hotel guest rooms."

Can you afford to stay in places like this? If so, buy this book. The rest of us will probably flip through it for a little vicarious "travel pornography", but this can't quite get rid of the subtle irritation that the editor's idea of "places to see" should be geared to the moneyed traveller rather than to the average one. show less