American Automobile Association. Mexico TravelBook. Heathrow, FL: American Automobile Association (AAA Drive, Heathrow, FL 32746-5063), 2003. Short, sweet summaries of major Mexican tourist destinations and sights. Also includes information on fiestas, accommodations, restaurants, and a wealth of information relevant to car travel in Mexico. Available in bookstores, or free to AAA members at affiliate offices.

Burton, Tony. Western Mexico, A Traveller’s Treasury. St. Augustine, FL: Perception Press, 2001. A well-researched and lovingly written and illustrated guide to dozens of fascinating places to visit, both well-known and out of the way, in Michoacán, Jalisco, and Nayarit.

Church, Mike and Terry. Traveler’s Guide to Mexican Camping. Kirkland, WA: Rolling Homes Press (P.O. Box 2099, Kirkland, WA 98083-2099), 2005. This is an unusually thorough guide to trailer parks all over Mexico, with much coverage of the Pacific Coast in general and the Guadalajara region in particular. Detailed maps guide you accurately to each trailer park cited and clear descriptions tell you what to expect. The book also provides very helpful information on car travel in Mexico, including details of insurance, border crossing, highway safety, car repairs, and much more.

Franz, Carl. The People’s Guide to Mexico. Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, 13th edition, 2006. An entertaining and insightful A-to-Z general guide to the joys and pitfalls of independent economy travel in Mexico.

Graham, Scott. Handle with Care. Chicago: The Noble Press, 1991. Should you accept a meal from a family who lives in a grass house? This insightful guide answers this and hundreds of other tough questions for persons who want to travel responsibly in the Third World.

Guilford, Judith. The Packing Book. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2006. The secrets of the carry-on traveler, or how to make everything you carry do double and triple duty. All for the sake of convenience, mobility, economy, and comfort.

Howells, John, and Don Merwin. Choose Mexico. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2005. A pair of experienced Mexico residents provide a wealth of astute counsel about the important questions—health, finance, home ownership, work, driving, legalities—of long-term travel, residence, and retirement in Mexico. Includes a specific section on Puerto Vallarta.

Luboff, Ken. Living Abroad in Mexico. Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, 2005. A handy package of traveler’s tools for living like a local in Mexico. Provides much general background and some specific details on settling (and perhaps making a living) in one of a number of Mexico’s prime expatriate living areas, such as Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Lake Chapala, Cuernavaca, and San Miguel de Allende.

Werner, David. Where There Is No Doctor. Palo Alto, CA: Hesperian Foundation (1919 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94704, tel. 888/729-1796, www.hesperian.org), 2006. How to keep well in the tropical backcountry.

Whipperman, Bruce. Moon Pacific Mexico. Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, 2007. A wealth of information for traveling the Pacific Coast route, through Mazatlán, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Acapulco, and Oaxaca.