You2ll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer2s. It2s like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go -- they2ve done the legwork for you, and they2re not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer2s Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You2d be lost without us! Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer2s California features detailed reviews and insider info on the state2s spectacular beaches, national parks, vineyards, and more. Quite simply, this is the most reliable and comprehensive California guide you can buy. Whether you2re looking for a romantic B&B in the Wine Country, the hippest new restaurant in San Francisco, or the best beaches in L.A. and San Diego, Frommer2s California will show you the way. The guide is personally researched by longtime residents, and it2s full of their candid opinions about the best their state has to offer. They2ve selected the very best places to stay throughout the state: lavish golf resorts, spas, stunning B&Bs, beachfront motels, and Yosemite2s best campgrounds. With Frommer2s in hand, you2ll see it all -- from the desert to the towering redwoods, from Hollywood to Hearst Castle, from Sea World to Big Sur. You2ll even get a color fold-out map!

A native San Franciscan, <b>Erika Lenkert</b> spends her time traipsing through San Francisco and across the globe in search of adventure and great food. She has written for <i>Travel &amp; Leisure, Food &amp; Wine, Bride&#8217;s, San Francisco Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine,</i> and <i>Time Out.</i> Her latest book, <i>The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining</i> (www.lastminutepartygirl.com), mixes fun, entertaining, and Bay Area dining and recipes into a tasty, useful guide to living large, San Francisco style. <p> <b>Matthew Richard Poole,</b> a native Californian, has authored more than two dozen travel guides to California, Hawaii, and abroad. Highly allergic to office buildings, he spends most of his time on the road doing research and avoiding commitments. Other guidebooks he authors include <i>Frommer&#8217;s Los Angeles, Frommer&#8217;s California from $70 a Day, Frommer&#8217;s San Francisco from $70 a Day, Frommer&#8217;s Irreverent Guide to San Francisco,</i> and <i>Frommer&#8217;s Disneyland</i>. <p> San Diego native <b>David Swanson</b>&#8217;s first travels were in the back of a Volkswagen bus with his parents through Yosemite and the Sierras, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. His stories and photography have appeared in the <i>Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, The Globe and Mail, National Geographic Traveler, Bride&#8217;s,</i> and <i>TravelAge West.</i> He is a contributing editor at <i>Caribbean Travel &amp; Life.</i>