Travel Newsletter Makes Good Gift

Sometimes, you want to know more about a destination than your newspaper or travel agent can tell you, and you want that information to be fresher than the year-old data found in guidebooks.

One strong alternative is a travel newsletter that specializes by location. Below are listed several leading newsletters with geographic specialties. If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a traveler with a special interest, a newsletter subscription might be a relatively inexpensive option.

Because the mortality rate among start-up newsletters is high, I’ve confined this list to publications that have been running since 1994 or before. But there are many other useful publications out there. One way to find them is through the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters, which is accessible through most large libraries or on the Internet via mediafinder.com. The current edition lists more than 160 travel newsletters.

The order here is alphabetical, and the circulation figures are supplied by the editors.

Discover Baja Travel Club (3089 Claremont Drive, San Diego, CA 92117; telephone (800) 727-2252 or (619) 275-4225). This newsletter, published six times yearly, is a perk of membership in the Discover Baja Travel Club, founded by Hugh Kramer in 1993. The September/ October issue highlighted the La Mision area near Ensenada and the islands near Loreto. The club gets its members discounted car insurance and preferred rates at hotels, smooths the way to fishing permits and other government paperwork, tracks road and weather conditions, arranges Spanish classes and generally acts as a resource for Baja-bound members. Typical issue: 12 to 16 pages. Circulation: about 10,000. One-year membership: $39.

Gemutlichkeit (2892 Chronicle Ave., Hayward, CA 94542; tel. (800) 521-6722 or (510) 538-0628). Title roughly translates to “hospitality” or “feeling of well-being.” Covers Germany, Austria, Switzerland and occasionally Eastern Europe, often looking beyond standard tourist spots to find underappreciated country towns, home and apartment rentals, etc. Subscribers get discounts on Swissair flights. Eleven years old. Monthly. Typical issue: eight pages, with a four-page advertising insert. Circulation: “less than 10,000.” One-year subscription: $49.

The Italian Traveler (P.O. Box 32, Livingston, NJ 07039; tel. (800) 362-6978 or (973) 535-6572). Editor Howard M. Isaacs started the newsletter in October 1988. Detailed reviews of restaurants and lodgings, and reports on transportation and locales. Eleven issues yearly. Typical issue: eight pages. Circulation: “in four figures.” One-year subscription: $59.

La Belle France (P.O. Box 3485, Charlottesville, VA 22903; tel. (800) 225-7825 or (804) 295-1200). Published since 1984 and aimed at upscale Francophiles, with emphasis on fine dining.

Restaurants are graded on a 20-point scale for cuisine, decor, service, wine list and value. (The same publisher circulates Golf Travel, a 5-year-old monthly newsletter on golfing destinations worldwide. One-year subscription: $79.) Monthly. Typical issue: eight pages. Circulation: about 5,000. One-year subscription: $87.

London Theatre News (12 E. 86th St., Suite 620, New York, NY 10028; tel. (212) 517-8608, fax (212) 585-4173). Since 1988, editor Roger Harris has run reviews of all major shows, theater news and features, and West End restaurant assessments. Publisher also runs a ticket service. Typical issue: 12 to 18 pages. Circulation: about 2,000. Three-month subscription: $23; one year, $51; two years, $81.

Paris Notes (P.O. Box 15818, North Hollywood, CA 91615; tel. (800) 976-7749). Since 1992, editorpublisher Mark Eversman has offered mostly cultural articles and investigations of the city, but with information on hotels and restaurants too. In the November issue, a correspondent describes her six favorite “places” (that is, the French version of square) among the more than 80 in the city. Ten issues yearly. Typical issue: eight pages. Circulation: about 7,000. One-year subscription: $39.

The Shipboard Cruiser (P.O. Box 533737N, Orlando, FL 32853-3737; fax (407) 422-3608; Web site: shipboardcruiser.com). Editor Phil R. Beach, who started publishing in 1992, tracks itineraries and amenities among the burgeoning number of ships serving the U.S. market. The November issue describes an Alaskan cruise on the Universe Explorer in enthusiastic detail, briefly notes the delay of Disney Magic’s inaugural cruise (from March 12 to April 30), suggests several cruise-related Internet sites and laments the decline of dressing up for dinner. Monthly. Typical issue: 12 pages. Circulation: above 10,000. One-year subscription: $49.