Booked for Travel Adventures

The guide “Spain” puts you behind the scenes of a country that arouses the imagination. As with all “Insight Guides,” pages are filled with excellent photography. The text presents a striking country. An invaluable tourist handbook or addition to a travel library (Prentice Hall: $16.95).

Egon Ronay’s “Best Pubs in Britain” parallels his other guidebooks. This gives above-average recommendations--ones that offer good food, comfortable accommodations and/or a pleasant atmosphere of conviviality. Includes places that make children welcome. Each listing is cross-indexed on maps, with generous vignettes about the establishments ($18.95).

Accuracy in the Automobile Assn. (AA, of England) guide, “Best Value Britain,” is ensured by the company as its own inspectors assess thousands of hotels, guest houses, farmhouses, country inns and restaurants. Budget or luxury, selections indicate whether you get your money’s worth. (Salem House: $12.95).

The “East” ($14.95) or “West” ($13.95) volumes of “America’s Wonderful Little Hotels and Inns,” edited by Sandra W. Soule, offer recommendations that are established from recent visitors’ comments. Together, the guides list nearly 1,000 lodgings that appear to be unusual and delightful (St. Martin’s).

George and Laverne Ferguson discuss everything needed to know for riding the rails in “Britain by BritRail” ($10.95) and “Europe by Eurail” ($12.95). The former describes 32-day excursions from London and 13-day excursions from Edinburgh and Glasgow. The latter outlines 99-day excursions from 21 cities in 16 countries. Guides are comprehensive and help you choose destinations at your own pace (Globe Pequot).

“Ford’s International Cruise Guide” covers more than 100 ships and is well worth $8.95. Lots of photos to help choose the ships.

“On Your Own Time--The Fortune Guide to Executive Leisure,” by Marilyn Wellemeyer, profiles 26 vacations, 28 sports activities and 23 hobbies and the personal activities of 330 men and women who are chief executive officers, up-and-coming entrepreneurs and junior executives. Many pursuits are for those with big bucks. However, many activities can be enjoyed by average folks in search of more creative diversions. For $24.95, the guide could open a new world of enjoyment (Little, Brown.).

The complications of how to get to your destination after landing is provided in “How to Get From the Airport to the City--All Around the World,” by Norman Crampton. The book, $4.95, covers the problems, costs and look-fors in the United States, plus international information. (M. Evans, New York).

Frommer’s has four recent editions in its series: “New Zealand on $40 a Day ($11.95), by Susan Poole; “New York on $50 a Day ($10.95), by Joan Hamburg and Norma Ketay; “Greece on $30 a Day--Including Istanbul and Aegean Coast” ($11.95), by John Levy and Kyle McCarthy, and “Washington, D.C. on $40 a Day ($11.95), by Rena Bulkin. Also available is the “Dollarwise Guide to Japan and Hong Kong” ($13.95), by Beth Reiber.

Lonely Planet guidebooks are among the top in planning vacations for exploration, fun and relaxation. Four of their recent “Travel Survival Kit” publications are “Yemen” ($8.95), by Pertti Hamalainen; “Turkey” ($12.95), by Tom Brosnahan; “New Zealand” ($8.95), by Tony Wheeler, and “Burma” ($8.95), also by Tony Wheeler. Each furnishes information about what to see and where to stay and eat, plus tips on how best to get along and speak the language.