Hey gringos, want to know where to find whales or an Aztec temple? Guide to the guides: Jan McGirk compares a selection on Mexico and gives you the low-down on which ones tell you what

Footprint

pounds 16.99

PRACTICAL, concise, and almost encyclopedic in its scope. Adviceranges from best border crossings and hiking routes to when to visitbeaches for optimum surfing or whale-watching. The Mexico sectioncomprises more than 500 pages. But be warned; the maps and the printare minuscule, and it can be a challenge to find the section youneed. There are also some lapses in detail: the weight of the Tlalocrain deity in Mexico City's Anthropological Museum may be listed, butanyone plodding around the Zocolo in search of the Aztec Templo Mayoris told merely that "it's to the side of the cathedral", even thoughit's nearly two blocks away. The selection of hotels and restaurantsis not extensive, but usually steers you well enough, though thetelephone numbers are sometimes out of date.

Insight

pounds 16.99

I WOULD have been heartbroken to leave this guidebook out in therain and damage its stunning photographs - at least one on everypage. Informed essays read more like magazine articles than guidebooksummaries, and cover topics ranging from madonnas to guerrillas. Thedetailed maps are cross-referenced to the text, but the nifty historytimeline stops at 1997. The chapters are far from comprehensive, butthey do cover most of the gringo trails. Tulum is treated only as anarchaeological site, though - no mention that it is a rave centre forthe backpack and hammock set. A third section, Travel Tips, hides thefood and lodging listings at the back. It seems patchy, but coversemergencies like how to draw out cactus spines with candle wax andtweezers, and how to bribe a traffic warden.

Lonely Planet pounds 14.99

THIS backpacker's bible is garrulous, opinionated and budget-wise. Directions for buses and the metro are very helpful and, on thewhole, reliable. The downside is that whenever Lonely Planet extols aplace as cheap or good (or both) it soon gets overcrowded - sometravellers even end up using LP's listings of cheap caffs as placesto avoid. Internet facilities are given plenty of space, but the textis a communal effort, and the seams sometimes show. "Myriad ofoptions", for instance, is a recurrent phrase, and one vacuousintroduction to the arts starts off, "today Mexico is spattered withmurals and littered with galleries". It rates a US steakhouse inMexico City's Zona Rosa as best venue in town for meat, when thereare dozens of superb Argentinian restaurants. But the section onartisans is a big plus.

Rough Guide pounds 12.99

THIS GUIDE is not nearly so rough as the name implies and coversthe tourist range from hammocks to haciendas. There are glaringcontradictions, however. The book shrugs off the entire north as "adull land, arid and sparsely populated", in the introduction, but ina later section describes the Copper Canyon railway as windingthrough "splendid" gorges. Every effort is made to detail precisetravel advice, the hotels and restaurants are well-picked and varied,and the reading list is a gem. Overall, the text is well informed, soit is irritating when it fails to mention the Dolores Olmeda Museum,housing Frida Kahlo's paintings in Mexico City, after writing up theartist's bio. Another blooper is describing the traditional rawtomato/onion/green chilli, a relish known as pico de gallo, as"California style".

Moon Travel

pounds 14.99

THIS HAS the same door- stop shape as a Lonely Planet guide but isquirkier, with distinct viewpoints by a trio of writers. It featuresadventure sports, ecology, micro-climates and offbeat historicalanecdotes, and offsets irritating political correctness with humour -peyote and gringos don't mix, it cautions. The section on the capitalis extensive and warns visitors against rogue taxi drivers and over-exertion at 2,240 metres. Restaurants are carefully chosen. MambaRumba, a hot dance bar, is listed, but the biggest salsa club, Salon21, is missing. Time for another update?

Odyssey

pounds 15.99

PART OF this guide's charm is unexpected short excerpts fromeyewitnesses to history: Hernando Cortes on the slaughter of theAztecs, Jack Kerouac whoring in the Fifties or director Luis Bunuelsounding off on gun culture. The book also includes excursionsoutside the capital into five surrounding states although it does notpurport to be authoritative on the entire country. But it touchesplaces where other guides don't go: Aztec sacrifices, maskedwrestling, the pleasures of drinking pulque and the terror spread bythe 1842 brigand, Maldonado. The skimpy restaurant and hotel listingsseem like an afterthought and it resorts to a hasty checklist of theAnthropology Museum's rooms. But, supplemented by a current list ofhotels and eateries, it's like having a well-read companion at yourside.

Hey gringos, want to know where to find whales or an Aztec temple? Guide to the guides: Jan McGirk compares a selection on Mexico and gives you the low-down on which ones tell you what

Footprint

pounds 16.99

PRACTICAL, concise, and almost encyclopedic in its scope. Adviceranges from best border crossings and hiking routes to when to visitbeaches for optimum surfing or whale-watching. The Mexico sectioncomprises more than 500 pages. But be warned; the maps and the printare minuscule, and it can be a challenge to find the section youneed. There are also some lapses in detail: the weight of the Tlalocrain deity in Mexico City's Anthropological Museum may be listed, butanyone plodding around the Zocolo in search of the Aztec Templo Mayoris told merely that "it's to the side of the cathedral", even thoughit's nearly two blocks away. The selection of hotels and restaurantsis not extensive, but usually steers you well enough, though thetelephone numbers are sometimes out of date.

Insight

pounds 16.99

I WOULD have been heartbroken to leave this guidebook out in therain and damage its stunning photographs - at least one on everypage. Informed essays read more like magazine articles than guidebooksummaries, and cover topics ranging from madonnas to guerrillas. Thedetailed maps are cross-referenced to the text, but the nifty historytimeline stops at 1997. The chapters are far from comprehensive, butthey do cover most of the gringo trails. Tulum is treated only as anarchaeological site, though - no mention that it is a rave centre forthe backpack and hammock set. A third section, Travel Tips, hides thefood and lodging listings at the back. It seems patchy, but coversemergencies like how to draw out cactus spines with candle wax andtweezers, and how to bribe a traffic warden.

Lonely Planet pounds 14.99

THIS backpacker's bible is garrulous, opinionated and budget-wise. Directions for buses and the metro are very helpful and, on thewhole, reliable. The downside is that whenever Lonely Planet extols aplace as cheap or good (or both) it soon gets overcrowded - sometravellers even end up using LP's listings of cheap caffs as placesto avoid. Internet facilities are given plenty of space, but the textis a communal effort, and the seams sometimes show. "Myriad ofoptions", for instance, is a recurrent phrase, and one vacuousintroduction to the arts starts off, "today Mexico is spattered withmurals and littered with galleries". It rates a US steakhouse inMexico City's Zona Rosa as best venue in town for meat, when thereare dozens of superb Argentinian restaurants. But the section onartisans is a big plus.

Rough Guide pounds 12.99

THIS GUIDE is not nearly so rough as the name implies and coversthe tourist range from hammocks to haciendas. There are glaringcontradictions, however. The book shrugs off the entire north as "adull land, arid and sparsely populated", in the introduction, but ina later section describes the Copper Canyon railway as windingthrough "splendid" gorges. Every effort is made to detail precisetravel advice, the hotels and restaurants are well-picked and varied,and the reading list is a gem. Overall, the text is well informed, soit is irritating when it fails to mention the Dolores Olmeda Museum,housing Frida Kahlo's paintings in Mexico City, after writing up theartist's bio. Another blooper is describing the traditional rawtomato/onion/green chilli, a relish known as pico de gallo, as"California style".

Moon Travel

pounds 14.99

THIS HAS the same door- stop shape as a Lonely Planet guide but isquirkier, with distinct viewpoints by a trio of writers. It featuresadventure sports, ecology, micro-climates and offbeat historicalanecdotes, and offsets irritating political correctness with humour -peyote and gringos don't mix, it cautions. The section on the capitalis extensive and warns visitors against rogue taxi drivers and over-exertion at 2,240 metres. Restaurants are carefully chosen. MambaRumba, a hot dance bar, is listed, but the biggest salsa club, Salon21, is missing. Time for another update?

Odyssey

pounds 15.99

PART OF this guide's charm is unexpected short excerpts fromeyewitnesses to history: Hernando Cortes on the slaughter of theAztecs, Jack Kerouac whoring in the Fifties or director Luis Bunuelsounding off on gun culture. The book also includes excursionsoutside the capital into five surrounding states although it does notpurport to be authoritative on the entire country. But it touchesplaces where other guides don't go: Aztec sacrifices, maskedwrestling, the pleasures of drinking pulque and the terror spread bythe 1842 brigand, Maldonado. The skimpy restaurant and hotel listingsseem like an afterthought and it resorts to a hasty checklist of theAnthropology Museum's rooms. But, supplemented by a current list ofhotels and eateries, it's like having a well-read companion at yourside.