ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
TERESA THANKS: Veggie Planet pizzas and Petsi Pies coffee, Liza Flums kitchen and bootleg TV and the rickety machines at the Central Square Y. I thank Joe Gaspard and my pod-mates for having my back, and my parents, bad music, and David Foster Wallace for getting me through. My uncles 80s comic books and my grandpas Chicago sundaes helped too.
JOE THANKS: the Lets Go office team and his RWs for their hard work. Special thanks go out to the Starbucks staff for keeping me well caffeinated, to Bolt Bus for taking me back to Dix Hills, to my brother and sisters for always being down to party, and to my mother for her continued support. The ladies of Harem Pod never failed to make me laugh, even when I was pulling my hair out. Lady Gaga should also be thanked for her part in keeping me happy; we could definitely have a bad romance.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING Ashley R. Laporte
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Nathaniel Rakich
PRODUCTION AND DESIGN DIRECTOR Sara Plana
PUBLICITY AND MARKETING DIRECTOR Joseph Molimock
MANAGING EDITORS Charlotte Alter, Daniel C. Barbero, Marykate Jasper, Iya Megre
TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGERS Daniel J. Choi, C. Alexander Tremblay
PRODUCTION ASSOCIATES Rebecca Cooper, Melissa Niu
FINANCIAL ASSOCIATE Louis Caputo
DIRECTOR OF IT Yasha Iravantchi
PRESIDENT Meagan Hill
GENERAL MANAGER Jim McKellar
RESEARCHER-WRITERS
AMA FRANCIS. Ama is from the lovely, but little known, island of Dominica. A Caribbean childhood in the Caribbean left Ama with fabulous French skills, a love for the beach, and a taste for mangoes. Her time in France was spent researching, drinking bottles of rose wine, and getting into a steady (or dependent) relationship with pain au chocolat.
JOSH MCTAGGART. Josh has a surprisingly good British accent. We promise, it has nothing to do with the fact that he grew up just outside Bristol, UK. Researching the Loire Valley as well as Brussels, Bruges, and parts of the Netherlands, Josh certainly got his fill of castles. Hed like to be a spy (channeling James Bond, much?), though he sampled wine, not martinis, throughout his travels.
NED MONAHAN. Born Edward Monahan III, Ned is truly Bostons boy. A hip-hop enthusiast with a habit of befriending strangers on the street, Ned once spent a summer working on a champagne vineyard in France. When he returned to France to work for Lets Go, he knew hed be in for a whole new experience (and certainly one with a very different final product).
TAYLOR NICKEL. From the shores of SoCal to the French Riviera 20-year-old Taylor has already traveled to over 50 countries. When he wasnt researching the best hostels in Marseille, he was working the tables at a casino in Monte Carlo or riding a scooter from Saint-Tropez to Cannes. His winning smile and enviable tan make it hard for anybody, from hotel managers to customs officials, to say no to Taylor.
JOE TOBIAS. Hailing from the Great White North, Joe is a mountain man with a poets soul. When he isnt writing sonnets, he can be found somewhere in the wilderness of the Northeastern US. His travels for Lets Go took him to Morocco and southwestern France, allowing him to master snake charming and wine tasting.
ABOUT LETS GO
THE STUDENT TRAVEL GUIDE
Lets Go publishes the worlds favorite student travel guides, written entirely by Harvard students. Armed with pens, notebooks, and a few changes of clothes stuffed into their backpacks, our student researchers go across continents, through time zones, and above expectations to seek out invaluable travel experiences for our readers. Because we are a completely student-run company, we have a unique perspective on how students travel, where they want to go, and what theyre looking to do when they get there. If your dream is to grab a machete and forge through the jungles of Costa Rica, we can take you there. If youd rather bask in the Riviera sun at a beachside cafe, well set you a table. In short, we write for readers who know that theres more to travel than tour buses. To keep up, visit our website, www.letsgo.com , where you can sign up to blog, post photos from your trips, and connect with the Lets Go community.
TRAVELING BEYOND TOURISM
Were on a mission to provide our readers with sharp, fresh coverage packed with socially responsible opportunities to go beyond tourism. Each guides Beyond Tourism chapter shares ideas about responsible travel, study abroad, and how to give back to the places you visit while on the road. To help you gain a deeper connection with the places you travel, our fearless researchers scour the globe to give you the heads-up on both world-renowned and off-the-beaten-track opportunities. Weve also opened our pages to respected writers and scholars to hear their takes on the countries and regions we cover, and asked travelers who have worked, studied, or volunteered abroad to contribute first-person accounts of their experiences.
FIFTY-ONE YEARS OF WISDOM
Lets Go has been on the road for 51 years and counting. Weve grown a lot since publishing our first 20-page pamphlet to Europe in 1960, but five decades and 60 titles later, our witty, candid guides are still researched and written entirely by students on shoestring budgets who know that train strikes, stolen luggage, food poisoning, and marriage proposals are all part of a days work. Meanwhile, were still bringing readers fresh new features, such as a student-life section with advice on how and where to meet students from around the world; a revamped, user-friendly layout for our listings; and greater emphasis on the experiences that make travel abroad a rite of passage for readers of all ages. And, of course, this years 16 titlesincluding five brand-new guidesare still brimming with editorial honesty, a commitment to students, and our irreverent style.
THE LETS GO COMMUNITY
More than just a travel guide company, Lets Go is a community that reaches from our headquarters in Cambridge, MA, all across the globe. Our small staff of dedicated student editors, writers, and tech nerds comes together because of our shared passion for travel and our desire to help other travelers get the most out of their experience. We love it when our readers become part of the Lets Go community as wellwhen you travel, drop us a postcard (67 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA), send us an email (feedback@letsgo.com), or sign up on our website ( www.letsgo.com ) to tell us about your adventures and discoveries.