Will 2007 be the year for that Great Big Family Adventure? If so, you'll need the best guidance on where to go and how to do it, the right clothes to withstand the journey, and the toughest gear to carry your load.  Just when you thought there were enough travel guidebooks out there to rival laundry detergent on supermarket shelves, the major publishers have chosen to expand and refine their offerings. Here's a look at some of them, other books and the multi-media products that have become available.

Cadogan Guides (Globe Pecquot Press; US$18.95)

New from the British masters at Cadogan, who cover more than 100 countries in their extensive catalogue, are regional guides such as 'Andalucia' by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls, which we had the pleasure of reviewing in summer. The opening fifth of this attractive, comprehensive -- but not too heavy -- guide is dedicated to crisp, well-written essays that cover history, art, architecture and culture (such as 'Hot Blooded Andalucian Women.') The remaining black-and-white pages contain detailed maps, extensive information about local sights, and tinted factbars with suggestions on getting around, dining, nightlife and where to stay (made more useful by their star rating). Just as fine as their other guides, these are more narrow-focused books for families concentrating on a sole destination.

Of course the kids will need their own Cadogan 'Take the Kids" (US$16.95) or "Pick Your Brains" (US$9.95) guide, now covering seven European countries, London and Paris, and the USA and Florida/Disney World. The former are smaller paperbacks filled with nice photos for the kids, and good maps, solid practical info and themed itineraries to help parents plan. The sillier Brains line of books are designed for 8 to 12-year-olds with juicy tidbits of local lore, snippets of poetry and riddles, and other while-away-the-others essentials.

Globetrotter Travel Guides, New Holland (US$14.95)

Another British publisher turns out the handy Globetrotter series of pocket size guides with pull-out maps. Using their "Morocco" 2nd edition by Robin Gauldie as a test, we found the many photo illustrations and glossy paper a real plus in engaging kids. While being small and heavily illustrated is a positive, it leaves little room for the practical details of travel, making this guide best for those whose itinerary has been prearranged. Color-coded 'At A Glance' sections cover details like best time to visit, hotels, restaurants, available day tours and local contact information.

Rough Guides (US$20 )

The dependable British series Rough Guide has published global country guides for 25 years, with 300 editions worldwide. With a pedigree and clientele similar to that of Lonely Planet, these are comprehensive, detailed guides without quite the edge or offbeat humor. New this season for the company's 25th anniversary are a bolder cover, more stylish layout with two-color printing that make the dense type more readable, and wonderful color photographs in the front's 'Not To Miss' section.

From our use of the 7th edition of the exhaustive 'Tunisia" by Daniel Jacobs and Peter Morris, we know you can expect a one-pound-plus book to reliably guide you on a daily basis, no matter where you roam. The 'Authors' Picks' notes, superb maps and thorough public transportation information are invaluable to those traveling on their own, regardless of budget. A smaller regional guide we reviewed, 'The Grand Canyon" by Greg Ward (US$17.99), also contains all the natural, geological, environmental and trail information you and the kids might want while there, instead of detailed hotel listings.
 
Directions is another Rough Guide series:  tall, 200-page yet slim, cutting-edge guides that pack a mini-CD-ROM full of text files with each paperback. In reviewing the "Madrid Directions" (US$10.99), we found a thorough and up-to-the-minute look at the city's offerings, geared to budget, young at heart visitors. The series' new 'Ideas' section is lavishly illustrated and covers the very best of sights, attractions, neighborhoods, clubs and cultural subtleties. Many useful maps are close-ups of the neighborhoods mentioned, keyed to the detailed restaurant, shop, hotel and business listings; opening hours and more come in handy for those who don't want to boot up to see the city in depth. The CD-ROM guide with its many web links adds another trip-planning resource for the avid traveler.

The rough Guide's slick and incredibly useful "Marrakech & Essaouira" guide and map (US$8.99) can be worth its weight in goodwill, as we found when we used it to guide several other tourists toting "Lonely Planets" and "Fodor's Morocco" guides around the city's labyrinthine souk (old city). This series of waterproof, rip-proof and careless-traveler-proof maps come in a firm cardboard cover that illustrates the area's dozen must-see attractions in stamp-sized color photos, ideal for the sightseer who wants to communicate with locals who may be illiterate.  Kids will love perusing this too, as these clever mapmakers have deciphered the names of top boutiques, hip clubs, friendly restaurants and myriad hotels, each of which may be a crucial landmark. When you get lost, there's nothing more fun than being guided back to the hotel by your children.

Eyewitness Travel (Dorling Kindersley Ltd; US$30)

For a treasured gift, there's nothing finer than DK's Eyewitness Travel series. We discovered this when our son received "DK Eyewitness Spain" by Jane Ewart and  Tom Prentice from the family he babysits for – it was hefty, laden with gorgeous color photos, packed with tidbits about culture, cuisine and, most of all shopping. It's very light on hotels and restaurants, which are listed together in an appendix and so far removed from the attractions pages that it's hard to use them on a day to day basis. However, this eye candy was the book we all chose when we needed to kill time on planes, trains and automobile journeys. There's something to be said for the attention-deficit, bullet point style of writing.

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