Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Southern Baja, I purchased LOS CABOS & BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR [Kevin Delgado] and Fodor's LOS CABOS & THE BAJA PENINSULA. Both guides are useful, but much of it depends on what you're looking for in a travel book. In short, Delgado's book is more of a directory. That is, he provides fairly extensive reviews on the major hotels, inns, and restaurants in the main cities/towns of Baja. Fodor's is better for a review of restaurants, whereas Delgado's is better at helping you decide where to stay.
The bottom line for me is that the Fodor's book is a much better purchase. The authors give greater descriptions of what you can see/do in Southern Baja than is true for Delgado. In contrast, Delgado only hits on the main communities (Cabo San Lucas, San Jose Del Cabo, Todos Santos, La Paz), but even then, the background provided about these towns is scant. In contrast, Fodor's covers the more obscure communities, and helps the reader understand that there are things to see and do in Baja besides surfing, fishing, and whale watching [e.g., explore parks filled with cacti; Mission tours; go searching for petroglyphs; find where the museums are].
Fodor's also goes into depth--mostly absent in Delgado's book--on issues of concern for novice travellers to Mexico (e.g., language, passports, insurance, tipping, health considerations, etc.). While Delgado addresses some of this, novice travellers want details, reassurance, and translation guides; Fodor's offers this.
The Fodor's book was published in 2010 and Delgado's in 2011. Given this, it is reasonable to expect a detailed acknowledgement of security issues, in light of the gang/cartel wars that have commanded much of our attention of late. Fodor's devotes several pages to security issues, whereas it isn't covered at all in Delgado's book (take away message: Go to Baja. Just be alert and be careful. Go to mainland Mexico? Mmmm, not me, at least not for now).
All that stated, it astounds me that any travel book can be written without giving coverage to the topic of gays and lesbians. I believe that studies have shown that gays and lesbians travel at an increased rate--relative to heterosexuals--and typically spend more when travelling than is true for their heterosexual counterparts. This is where the Delgado book excels. He not only acknowledges the gay and lesbian traveller--noting that Mexico, in general, is a fairly conservative country--but the Fodor's book doesn't address the issue at all. In Delgado's book, there are references for gay/lesbian-oriented hotels/BB's in Cabo San Lucas, Todos Santos, La Paz, and Loreto.
My overall recommendation; I found the Fodor's book better than Delgado's, as my goal is to explore Baja, not to fish and sunbathe. Regardless of which book you buy, I encourage you to cross-reference the hotels/restaurants listed with websites such as TripAdvisor. In addition, there are several good websites devoted to travel in Baja, written by people who actually live there. Have fun!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Fodor's Los Cabos & the Baja Peninsula, 2nd Edition (Full-Color Gold Guides)
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