Any of these magazines worth subscribing to?
 

Travel + Leisure
Conde Nast Traveler
National Geographic Traveler
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel

They don't cost much so I was considering subscribing to maybe 2 of them. I understand the first 3 are aimed at high-end luxury travel and the last one discusses more affordable options. Anything else that current readers can add.

we read most on your list at one time when we were traveling a lot....can't say we got a lot from them.....i would try them for a year and see....good luck...

I've subscribed to all of these at one time or another and I would rank them like this:
1/ Conde Nast Traveler
2/ Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel
3/ National Geographic Traveler
4/ Travel + Leisure

I think CNT has the most interesting stories and trip reports + good travel industry info. Budget Travel is skewed a bit more to just that, and I'm not necessary looking for the cheapest property anymore. NGT has more stories and narratives.

Check your local freecycle; it's usually pretty easy to find someone willing to pass along their old travel magazines for you to sample. If you don't have a freecycle, try craigslist or the local equivalent. I really hate all my magazine subscriptions. I liked them when I signed up but after the first 4 issues, stopped reading, and now there's a huge stack of magazines piled by the front door.

Try them before you are stuck with 12 copies a year.

I'd switch 3 and 4, but agree with the overall assessment. Of course, I may be biased as #s 1 and 2 like to quote me ;)

I sub to Conde Nest Traveler magazine...simply cuz it was only $2.99 for a year from some SPAM email I got awhile back....the second year, they gave it ot me for the same price ......the Ombudsman secton is good and some of the articles pertaining to mileage use and tips is useful for international travel.

Im not a rich person by any means, and it seems Traveler does cater to the mainly rich people who flaunt LV bags and Rolex watches .....I cant afford neither one which is why Im scrounging jsut to get a seat at the front of the plane for free :p

I also get Budget Travel, but the places on there they show arent really places I would spend money on.....coach tickets for airfare and 3 star hotels arent my gig ..Im spoiled with first/business class tickets on airfare and free stays in 4 star hotels.

Luckily my gym subscribes to Conde and T & L so I can peruse them when doing boring cardio. I wonder though, when T & L has an article on Iceland, or the Italian wine country, etc, and recommend hotels in those areas, is there some type of kick back going on? How exactly does a hotel end up in an article in a travel magazine?

I've read the magazines on occassion, and find it very informative.. Usually at the Fairmont Hotels we frequent..

But got too much stuff in the house to subscribe for more stuff.. Try to read and research everything off the net.. Its paperless that way..

i think they are provided to doctor offices for free. they are advisers, with phony surveys. some of the mags on the cheap are worth while. i subscribe to bloomberg's business week for $20 a year.

Conde Nast Traveler is the best of these four, especially for the exceptional naked butt on p.107 of the June 2011 issue.

Can you pass that issue on to me or at least post a pic for us all :):)

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Will try Conde Nast first.

Almost all of those magazines, if not all of them, are available for free or very little money ($5 a year or less) from time to time (not that they cost that much to subscribe anyways).

They are all good for a year or so, but then you realize they just recycle the same things over and over again. Sometimes word for word in a story.

You may want to consider some of my favourites:

1. Wanderlust - Great publication out of the UK.

2. Real Travel - Also a British publication.

3. get lost - Small publication out of Australia. May be hard to find outside of Oz, but a top-notch magazine nonetheless.

4. AFAR - Only a couple years old, but one of the best travel magazines out there in my opinion. If you're in the USA, visit their website and request a risk-free trial copy. You'll be hooked.

5. CNN Traveller - Aimed more at the business traveller, but still one of my favourites.

i like budget travel. i've seen traveler and travel + leisure but many of those articles weren't about places i'd go, or were too expensive for me at the time. the only reason i even have a subscription to budget travel is because of one of those 2-years for $4 promos though.