best guidebook for canada/new england cruise stops?

anyone come across a good guidebook for this area? Tom's online is good but I would like to find an actual book.

depends what you are looking for. Lonely Planet is good for lower budget/backpacking type trips, and there are many for higher budget travel. Where do your plans lie on that spectrum?

basic one day in port sightseeing, highlights of each port

basic one day in port sightseeing, highlights of each port

I tend to like the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. My local library tends to have updated versions. The problem with finding something for New England/Canada cruises is that there are many different ports that are visited by the different lines. You will most likely need multiple books to get all your ports depending on your actual itinerary.

I usually find more current information online at travel websites that most large cities have.

I tend to go to my local library, look through all of them and then potentially buy the one that best fits what I am looking for.

There is no one book which really caters to one day visits in these ports. You can visit the library and come here and use the search feature which is full of previous posts about what to do in each port.

Also check out cruise port wiki.

You might check out www.tomsportguides.com - His publications are free and focused on providing a port review/overview.

These guides are specifically for the cruise passenger who will be making a day visit to the destination.

He provides maps, suggested walking tours, historic/museum points of interest and summarizes any dining/shopping options.

Tom has covered almost any relevant port on for Canada/New England cruise itineraries (in addition to many other cruise destinations).

We have found these very helpful in the past and have planned our upcoming Canada/NE cruise using his information.

Just download and print, and you have a handy guide you can carry while off the ship.

I think that's what the OP started with, msw

The main problem I've found with travel books (I've bought way too many) is that the majority of the information in them is about hotels and restaurants. Maryann is right, there's very little in travel books for one-day port visits.

Sometimes the tourist bureaus in the cities you'll visit will send you a booklet for their city or area. We got a wonderful booklet and map from Saguenay, and also something from Saint John, Bar Harbor and Acadia, and Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Sometimes it takes a little more work to find the online sites and order the literature (which is usually mailed free, although you may need to order a month pre-cruise) but it's worth it. If you're going to Saguenay let me know, as their info is great. I'll dig up the website address.

As for books, I love Lonely Planet and Rough Guide for lots of detailed info, including how to get to places using public transportation. I love DK Eyewitness because they have great photos and area-by-area detailed maps.

Occasionally you can download free travel books from your library or online sites, although they may not have the most up-to-date prices, opening hours, etc.

On our recent cruise, we found that most cities had a tourist information counter near the port where we could get brochures, find answers to our questions, etc. I always go armed with my own info, but it's nice to know that information is available for those who don't pre-plan.

Yes, most of the mainstream travel books include a lot of pages on hotels, which aren't of much use to cruisers - or even to people who travel to those places once they've chosen their hotels!

Prince Edward Island also has some free tourist information. There are three driving itineraries that we found out about before we got there. The information made me want to book a hotel and stay for awhile.

anyone come across a good guidebook for this area? Tom's online is good but I would like to find an actual book.

You can usually order travel guides and maps from the official city or provincial tourist offices. See their web sites.