3 comments about Greek Island Hopping 2008: "The Island Hopper's Bible" (Greek Island Hopping).

1. This was the book I threw in my purse every morning and I took a cruise through the Greek Islands. I'd highly recommend it to anyone going to one or all. For me, the most important feature was that it detailed every island that we stopped at, including a port in Turkey - something the Frommer's and Eyewitness Travel books didn't do - and included a street map of at least the main town on island. Although I did not use the ferry guides, they appeared to be very thorough and easy to use. In addition to the islands, the book also details Athens, the port at Piraeus, and several other ports along the Aegean Sea.



2. This book was the perfect companion for our cruise of the Mediterranean. It had a map of all the major towns of each greek island (I looked at almost every other guide for the Greek Islands and this was the only one that had that). We wanted to explore the islands on our own instead of taking a shore excursion so this was exactly what we were looking for. The maps were detailed enough that we could get around without any problems. It also included Athens which was a huge bonus. It had sections on history and the main sights of each place.
   
   Two possible downsides to the book. 1. The information on lodging was pretty skimpy and the book is definitely geared more towards backpackers (it has information on camp sites which might be useful if you are a backpacker). 2. There really is no section on food so if you depend on your guidebooks to point you in the right direction for this, you're out of luck.
   
   If I was doing my own tour of the Greek Islands, this book would have gotten a 3 or 4 star rating given what it lacked in lodging and food. I would have had to buy another book like Frommer's or Fodor's for the information it was missing. For a cruise, this was exactly what I was looking for.



3. This is a tremendously useful book. It's even the book we dragged around the sites in Athens with us, while the ones with lovely pictures, specifically for Athens, stayed back in our hotel room.

5 comments about Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford Archaeological Guides).

1. I just returned from Rome, using this book as my primary guide. We were able to identify almost every random bit of ancient archaelogy sticking out of the ground as we walked about the city, and if you've been to Rome, you'll understand how impressive that is.
   
   A major shortcoming that I noticed is that the book treats the ancient-era churches very lightly: while the myths of gods such as Pollux and Castor are frequently referenced in relation to the ancient sites, the C1 AD story of Saint Clement is inexplicably left out of the section on the church of San Clemente constructed by Constantine. Also, as the author states in the beginning, the intent of this guide is to detail ancient Rome only. If you are interested in medieval, Renaissance, or ecclessiastic history, you will certainly need a supplemental guide.
   
   Now, for the advantages... The guide systematically presents every ancient structure in Rome (we were never disappointed), providing a very good map at the beginning of each chapter for a major area (e.g. the Palatine, Field of Mars) to help you identify what you are looking at. The site is laid out in a sort of walking tour format and if you begin at the point suggested, you can follow the chapter page by page as it logically guides you through the region. We did find that writing in page references for each location on the map at the beginning made the book much easier to use. For more complicated buildings, additional diagrams are provided in the appropriate subsection where it is further detailed. The Baths of Caracalla are a superb example of this.
   
   While Claridge delves a bit too thoroughly into the exact type of marble used in the facing and floors of each building, you find yourself recognizing the materials and envisioning the baths, basillicas, and forums as they might have looked clad in Phyrgian red and Numidian yellow marbles. With frequent referencing, we soon became familiar with Caracella, Domitian, and Nerva as we viewed the great construction projects they enacted. The author presents quite clearly the historical origin and significance of each site as well as its original appearance (if known) and the many refurbishments it went through with the frequent fires of Rome.
   
   For our trip, we opted out of taking any tours, and we didn't feel we missed anything. We were often surrounded by tours and gained more information from our book than the guide was sharing with his group. You never know how reliable a guide really is, and with this book, you can be assured of Amanda Claridge's credentials. The trip became a bit of a mystery adventure for us as we excitedly reconstructed the ruins around us into the elegant structures they once were.
   
   Even if you do decide to go with a more mainstream guide book for your trip to Rome, you will find this one to be an invaluable supplement for all those tidbits that the major guides just don't have time to cover.



2. I used this book for my second trip to Rome and it was absolutely invaluable. I wish that I had it for my first trip. I am a person who only cares about the Ancient Roman artifacts and this book literally has ever one listed by region that you have access to. If you decide to use this book bring along a highlighter and check off the sections that you complete, by the end of the day you will be amazed at how much you have seen. I cannot recommend this book enough.



3. You can't really understand Rome without this companion. It looks deeply into the very heart of the city, into its foundations and the stories they tell. This is practical archaelology at its best, presenting us with the lessons that history can teach us.



4. I had the fortune or misfortune of buying this book prior to my first visit to Rome. It is such a well-organized, well-written, and concise guide to ancient Rome that you could make the mistake that I made upon completing it and my first visits there. You might search a long, long time and spend a lot of money trying to find something better. Based upon my experience, a university-level seminar or a three semester hour course is the only thing that could surpass this guide.
   
   Don't be put off by simplified plans shown in the pages. You need clear, simple ideas of what the stuff once was to understand what you're looking at. When you're in the ruins, you will be surrounded by other tourists, any changing weather conditions, and you will be viewing the architectural remains of a previous civilization from many different standpoints. You can't do that successfully without a clear, simple concept already in your mind.
   
   Fodor's Holy Rome, 1st Edition: A Millennium Guide to Christian Sights (Fodor's Holy Rome)



5. I took this book, along with a plethora of touristy guidebooks, and this one got read the most! We spent hours and hours in the Forum and the Palatine, and really delighted in uncovering the mysteries of so many building foundations. I left Rome wishing I had an archaeologist as a personal tour guide, but this book was an excellent substitution! It can be read at home, but I found infinitely more meaning when I sat at the site and read about where I was. Take this to Rome if you are interested in the ancients!

5 comments about Osterie & Locande d'Italia: A Guide to Traditional Places to Eat and Stay in Italy.

1. An essential handbook for anyone with dreams of eating their way around Italy. The descriptions evoke strong images of romantic nooks with sumptuous offerings - all supporting the Slow Food philosophies of local quality ingredients prepared by passionate gastronomes. Included are accommodation options covering 3-star hotels to intimate farm stays. I won't travel to Italy without it.



2. I almost hate to recommend this book since the Italian language editions have been sort of our secret for many years. Now anyone can find these wonderful places to enjoy authentic regional foods and wines in the REAL Italy! We've been to many, many of these places over the years and the descriptions of them are spot-on so I'm confident that the places we have yet to enjoy will be equally as good. Be patient though, just because the book is in English does NOT mean the folks at these wonderful eateries speak the language. The glossary helps a lot in this regard.



3. We brought this book prior to an '07 three week trip to Northern Italy. It is based on the 'Slow Food' movement now going on in Italy. We purchased a number of other books to supplement this one. This book is excellent for people who want to "go" the way the Italian do, i.e., good food (a must for them)at a reasonable cost and small hotels/B & B types without all the hype. We are now using it again for a late '08 trip back to Northern Italy. As a side point - there are also Slow Food shops in Italy where you can purchase quick meals or food items to take away - all of the highest quality and fair price. Remember this "Slow Food" movement was started by Italians for their own people - the main idea was for top quality food and reasonable accomodation at a fair price and they have achieved it. Remember to look for the "Golden Snail"



4. This book was an invaluable resource. Perfect for those who cherish great meals and good wine. We toured Italy from Lake Como to Verona, Venice to Florence and Bologna. In each city we made a point to eat at a site mentioned in this book. Every meal was unbelievable !!! We would love to see more Slow Food guides for other cities around the world.



5. This is an excellent and informative book. I was however quite surprised that Checchino, which I believe has 1 Michelin star and is possibly the best known restaurant in Rome, doesn't rate a mention, especially as it certainly fits the Slow Food motives.

5 comments about Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (Penguin Classics).

1. The prose in this book weaves a mosaic of rural and town life in the 1930s Yugoslavia which is gone in fact but captured in West's captivating prose. This was a Yugoslavia whose name was adopted a few years before, whose eastern and southern borders were agreed in 1913 with Bulgaria and Greece , just one year after the Ottomans had been evicted in 1912 after 500 years of rule . And published just before Catholic Croatia's Tito and Orthodox Serbia's Mihailovich led separate resistances against the Germans then like two pit bull terriers fought until Tito emerged as victor and ruler for three decades . The war between these carnivores ended in 1991 with the unravelling of the mosaic West had so beautifully weaved just over 50 years before.
   The scenes-in-words of a run-down town of Bitola (ex-Monastir) and a lakeside lovely Ochrid provide instructive insights into a Macedonia before the Communist Tito created a Republic of Macedonia (in 1944) in an effort to destabilise the northern borders of Greece at the beginning of her wrenching civil war.
   West's is a must-read for students and scholars of the land of the southern Slavs during the fleeting time it was a union and they wish to relish one of the classics of 20th century English prose.



2. A nice read but highly romanticized outlook of the old Yugoslav Kingdom and the people of Yugoslavia. The book is based on the author's interaction with the Yugoslav intellectual elite and her observation of the people of old Yugoslavia Her interpretation of the Slav character needs to be understood in the context of the orientalist approach of the time- as a result - the Slav character in the book is idealized in the same manner that modern day nationalist in the same region see themselves. Namely, the great Slavic nation of the Serbs who defended Europe from the Turks and saved the rest of the Southern Slavs from the Austrians. Given the time in which it was written (late 30s) the author suffers from an extreme germanophobia in every possible sense! She seems to come across only irrational, pompous and arrogant Germans who can't appreciate the Yugoslav people in the same way that she and her husband can. The book is extremely pro-Serbian, so much so that the Croatian and Macedonian discontent and wish for separation is seen not as a solution to the Serbian dominated Kingdom but as, sometimes Vatican sometimes Austrian and sometimes Italian inspired propaganda to divide the otherwise brotherly relations between the Serbs and the Croats! How much of this brotherly love was genuine - we saw in the WWII that followed the authors book as well as the bloody brake up of Socialist Yugoslavia. As much as she has made a conscious attempt not to become another British traveler in the Balkans that picks her pet-nation and promotes their interests - she falls under the Balkan trap of victimization and myths and becomes in the process an ardent pro-Serb - as indeed her political activities would later reveal.



3. BLGF is a gigantic grab bag of a book.If your interested in the former yugoslavia,it is a fascinating read.Although i don't think anyone would wish it longer than it is.West offers sharp and at times profound insights.However the reader needs to be careful.West's prejudices distort much of what is on view.The first of these is her near pathological hostility to all things german.One might think that would not be all that important in a book on yugoslavia.It turns out to be of critical importance.West combines this anti-germanic perspective with a pronounced anti-catholic bias.Once you realize this the opinions expressed in the book as well as its omissions begin to make a kind of sense.It's telling that West virtually ignores slovenia except to point to bad conduct by the catholic church.Slovenia is mostly catholic and even worse the most"austrian " of yugoslavia's nations. As such i think she considers it unworthy of her attention.Croatia is a place she has to write about but one can infer she'd rather not.The croats are too catholic and somewhat german influenced.Almost as bad they are also italian and hungarian influenced.They just aren't "slavic" enough! Well it is fairly easy to guess who is slavic enough,the serbs.This is a very distorted picture.Westdoes seem to think that the serbs are noble savages by virtue of their freedom from non slavic influences.Whereas the northern south slavs are tainted by foreigness.To say the least,this is a strange viewpoint for a writer of"advanced" views.It smacks of an odd provincialism.Italy was at one point one of the most creative and dynamic societies on earth.It's croatias neighbor.Does West really think that the croatians should have turned their back on italy inorder to cultivate slavic purity?I think the answer is ,yes.West dissmisses late imperial austria as an intellectual and cultural wasteland.That can only be explained as a by product of ignorance.This was afterall the land of klimt,mahler,freud and wittgenstein.Joseph Roth would wind up downright nostalgic about it.West says austria-hungary was the most repressive state in europe after russia.This is oddin two ways.One i doubt it's true.Austria was more repressive than the ottoman empire,spain,portugal,romania and bulgaria?Also even if true no one with a straight face could argue that austria was comprable to russia as a tyranny.That said this peculiar book is fascinating.Although like some of the other reviewers i too wondered what's the story on the husband and what's allthis talk about the positive benefits of the absence of homosexuality?(and where did she get that idea from?).



4. Yes "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon" is wonderful for all the reasons stated in these reviews, but for all that it must be said that the dominant theme of Ms West's masterpiece is the eternal human condition. She sees with the eyes of a woman and the eyes of a genius. She has seen humanity's troubled soul, and gently brought it to the surface in the fabric of her marvelous linguistic tapestry. "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon" is in a class by its self.



5. This book recounts a journey made by the author and her husband as they traveled through Croatia, Dalmatia, Herzegovina, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Old Serbia, and Montenegro at a time when Hitter threatened to engulf all of Europe in a World War.
   
   Describing and analyzing the journey, the author fills more than a thousand pages.
   
   The highlight of the book is the epilogue which recounts the author's thoughts of the impact her travels made on assessing the politics of Germany and the Balkans at a turning point in history.

5 comments about The London Mapguide, 5th Edition.

1. This is an excellent map for getting to know London, as it says in many of the other reviews. The main reason I'm writing is that I was on the fence between getting this guide or the Streetwise maps for a recent trip. I ended up getting this mapguide for London and the one for Paris, but we used Streetwise for Barcelona, and I definitely found that the map books are far superior.
   The books show a level of detail that Streetwise can't match. We walked all over London and never found so much as an alley that wasn't on the map, whereas it was often hard to locate streets on the Barcelona map (I realize this may reflect a difference in the cities, but no one ever called London an easily navigable grid). Also, this mapguide can be folded and put in a front pocket, and it's small enough that you can read it on the street without looking like the quintessential tourist. You pretty much have to unfold the whole Streetwise any time you want to use it and since it's laminated it can't really fit in your pocket.
   I can see where some people had problems switching between pages on the maps, but I found this pretty easy - it definitely helps to spend a little time studying the overall city map in the book before setting out. This mapbook does have a small London guide section and we actually found some good recommendations in it, but it won't replace a full size guide book for planning a trip.
   All in all I loved using this mapguide, and I still look fondly at the dogeared copy I brought back. It's not that Streetwise maps are horrible, but if you have the choice, I'd bring the book.



2. I had a previous edition of this book that I used repeatedly until it was out of date. This edition is just as great. I love that major stores, hotels, etc. are listed. Also this is about the only map I can find with bus lines.



3. I repeat: Do not go to London without this map!
   
   The BEST guide book that I spent my money on. I am not a city girl, so I relied on this map heavily during my trip. I would have been lost without it. Every street and site is clearly listed on this map. Excellent!



4. We could not have toured London so thoroughly without this guide. It was VERY helpful & we had it out all the time. Small enough to carry in you bag. It is full of great information with easy to see large maps of the city broken down by neighborhoods. This is not really a review guide but an informative guide. It has information that you need to know, hours of operation, overview of what the attraction consists of, locations on maps, etc.
   
   I also purchased the AtoZ but found it had too much detail & was much larger, not as easy to carry around. I think it would work better for someone living or staying in London for an extended period. For the average tourist just wanting to see the main parts of the city, this is perfect.
   
   I highly recommend you don't go to London without this guide, great price for such a wealth of information.



5. We've visited London more than 20 times over the last 10 years to visit family, and we still use the millenium edition we picked up in 1999 at a shop down in Soho. We take it out with us every day, and use it constantly. We always browse the guide books for new ideas when visiting, but when it comes to getting around the city with ease every day we resort to this book. The bus lnes and tube stations are clearly marked, the landmarks are useful, and we can always figure out how to get from place to place with ease. It's just the right size to carry, we find the A-Z is either too small to read or to thick to carry, and this guidebook has just enough extra info to make it more useful anyway. We just keep the book in London along with our Oyster cards, and we're ready to go on the first day upon arriving.
   
   We stay in a town just off this map set, but on th eoutskirts of London there aren't too many options anyway - we just take one of three buses towards town and are then within the scope of the book. There was some mention of wanting more detail of areas outside of city center, but I thik that would detract from the usefulness because the book would be too large. We can read about Hampton Court or Windsor or wherever in a different book on the day we go out to one of these places, but prety much every day we end up in the city itself - we don't really visit London to explore the suburbs. :)
   
   For the price of this book, I couldn't find a reason not to pick it up and use it from day one on anyone's first trip to London.

5 comments about A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago: The Way of St. James (Camino Guides).

1. I am walking the Camino this coming Xmas. I will bring the book with me as guide. It looks very well done and easy. I like also the inner jorney that it suggests. Unfortunatly there is no information about doing the Camino in Winter.
   Luciano Aimar



2. The book was everything I expected that it would be. It contains great maps and detailed descriptions of the villages visited; distance between them; accommodations and more as one travels the Camino de Santiago.



3. This guide to the Camino came highly recommended to us, and it is the best I've seen! It includes a brief summary of the history of Spain, and the front cover unfolds to show little maps that outline the trail. Each of the 22 sections has a detailed map. Each map covers about 15k noting the various trails, villages and districts, and for each map a short chapter on what to see and pictures of hostels on that particular map. Each section has a blank page for notes so you can journal your thoughts. The book is skinny (though a little bit weighty), and would fit nicely into a backpack. Definitely a good source.



4. I did not like this book as a guide to the camino although many may find it interesting to read before or after walking. Directions were vague and inaccurate in several spots. A couple of times I wondered if the author had ever even been there. Some spots were detailed too much and other sections were skipped over. Not a dependable directional guide.
   Very much about the author's personal journey with some interest from that perspective.



5. I am planning to walk the Camino de Santiago next May and found this guide to be outstanding. It is light enough to add to my 20 pound pack. The only addition that I would like is an honest description of the refugerios so that I know ahead of time what to expect. I would highly recommend this guide.

5 comments about Michelin Ireland/Irlande (Michelin).

1. I will first comment that I have not used this map in Ireland so I presume the information to be accurate. It appears to be a top rate map for information, though I find it a little thick and thus cumbersome to fold. Its "foldability" is not helped from the cover being of heavier paper stock than the rest of the map. Scale is 1:400,000 or 1" = approx. 6.3 miles. I suppose you can't have too much detail on a map, but for me there's actually too much information and I find it a bit crowded and hence more difficult to read. I'll be going with the AA Ireland Road Atlas - larger foot print for carrying purposes, but twice the scale and easier to handle while on the move.



2. This map is good for an overall, general view of the major highways, but we found it lacking in detail. We ended up on many smaller roads that didn't show up on the map. The size of the roads is also misleading. Irish roads are very narrow and winding. When we looked at this map, we had the impression the roads were much larger and that they covered quite a bit of the country. They don't. Even when you get on a divided carriageway, it will end unexpectedly for many kilometers before it suddenly divides again. The map looked good when I bought it, but the reality was very different.



3. Thanks for the opportunity to comment. When I purchased this item (actually two of them, sending one as a gift to a friend),I was under the certain but mistaken impression that I was purchasing the Michelin "Red Book", the guide book on Ireland which lists and rates hotels and restaurants! How surprised I was when the package came and, alas, it was the Michelin map which I already own (and a fine map it is too!). Having a home in Ireland, the Red Book is quite useful to me, probably getting more use by us than any other travel tool (I have both the 2001 and the 2004 editions and thought that, oh boy, I was getting a brand new 2007 edition). But this was my mistake and I accept responsibility for it; these things happen at my age (66)--must be entering my dotage, attention span and all that. This mistake certainly does not signal the end of western civilization as we know it...(it doesn't, does it?) You are doing your usual excellent job with our various book gifts for which we thank you.
   Be well and God bless. Have a Blessed, Merry Christmas /Joyful Holiday Season! Yours faithfully,
   James Bell



4. Excellent map - if you are driving in Ireland this map is the real deal.



5. My husband, who has a fondness for detailed maps, absolutely adores this map of Ireland. Compared to the other ones we looked at, it was by far the largest and most detailed, showing the most towns and cities and roads on one map. Other maps only show you main cities and main roads and the color coding can be distracting. This map is clear and has a very extensive legend showing places of interest and historical sites.
   
   We are using this map to plan our trip to Ireland. It's tacked up on the wall so as we look through travel guide books, we can find the locations on the big map and plan our driving trip accordingly.
   
   As for using this map while actually in Ireland remains to be seen. I doubt the size will lend itself to ease of use (unfolding it in a car might be a hazard) so we may get a small atlas for the actual trip. But for those with an affinity for maps or want a detailed map for planning your trip, this is the map for you.

5 comments about Top 10 Paris (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. For experienced Paris travelers such as myself it's an obvious time and money waster. However for Paris newbies it's great. My friend bought this for her first time in paris and loved it...it was a great way to keep track of the touristy things she wanted to see/do.



2. This was nearly the most useful item I took on my recent trip to Paris. As previous reviews mentioned, the fold-out maps were great.
   
   Every time I needed to go somewhere or return to my hotel, I'd first review the map in the front to see where I was and determine which Metro station I needed to find. Then, I'd flip to the Metro map in the back to navigate the route home. The "zoomed in" section of the front map which is in the back helped me find my way after I went astray and was critical in planning our walks through Paris.
   
   And although you know you want to see the Eifel Tower and the Louvre and what not while you're in Paris, you might not know exactly where they are in relation to each other. That map in the front is great - just look for the purple splotches. Each one is a site you won't want to miss.
   
   The other Top 10 listings were great too. Once you see all the major sites, you might have a little time left to do something completely random. The different restaurants, stores, and parks listed offer many great ideas. And locating them with the maps enclosed are half the fun!!
   
   I'd recommend this and the Rick Steve's Paris book to anyone going. And, for my next trip, I will check out the Top 10 Eyewitness book for my next destination.



3. For the major sites, I found this guide superb! It gave concise and relevant details about each site which I found great. Also, the map in the back was easy to read yet detailed enough to easily navigate us around the City. I highly recommend this guide.



4. I'm not a seasoned or jaded traveler ... yet! Neophyte European travellers will find that experience and time are the limiting resources when it comes to pre-planning a first trip to a destination as large and complex as the City of Lights. The Eyewitness Travel Top 10 format provides more than enough details to allow for an informed choice between competing destinations but unlike many of the competing alternative guides, it makes no attempt to be encyclopedic drowning an unsuspecting reader in so much knowledge that choices become next to impossible.
   
   Eyewitness Travel Guides seem to have the market beat by a long margin! That's not to say that Lonely Planet, Frommer, Michelin or the Blue and Green Guides miss the mark entirely but the Eyewitness series, in general, seems to be more informative. The photographs and illustrations instill a higher degree of keen anticipation and provide a better means of choosing in advance between a world of competing destinations and alternative tourist attractions. And I can't say enough about the Top 10 format ... dozens of lists - events, restaurants, hotels, museums, walks, churches, bars, great spots for children, insider tips and so much more. Whether your taste in vacations runs to exploring the hot night life spots or scoping out the most exciting history that museums and art galleries have to offer, Top 10 Paris will make your trip easier to plan and more enjoyable in the doing.
   
   Portability, durability, sensible layout and organization not to mention the included maps of the city and the metro system make Top 10 Paris the correct choice to tote along with you while you're actually out and about in Paris as well.
   
   Finally, Top 10 Paris is a great way of post-filling information and details into some of the holes or places that you might miss or have to rush through when you're actually on the trip. Along with photographs and trip journals, it's also a wonderful way to resurrect detailed memories of a trip long after you've returned home.
   
   Paul Weiss



5. Concise up to date guidebook. One for taking with you (nice and light and only contains the essentials.)

5 comments about Greece Athens & the Mainland (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. This book has great photos. I always enjoy looking at DK Publishing's books - they are so pretty. However, if you are looking for a true travel guide, this is not the book.



2. It is a shame that DK publishing divides Greece into two separate books, one for the mainland and one for offshore islands. It forces you to buy and carry both books for complete coverage of the country. Even places that are quite close to each other geographically are in separate books, if one happens to be on the mainland, and the other on a nearby offshore island.Greek Islands (Eyewitness Travel Guides)



3. The tourbook is organized very well with history, maps, restaurants, hotels, etc and the colored pictures are excellent. The size makes an ideal companion when travelling.



4. These is no other that eyewitness guides...purchase and enjoy all aspects.



5. I usually use Lonely Planet and Green Guide (Guide Vert) but I read a lot of negative reviews about LP, so I gave Eyewitness a try. The photos and diagrams were fantastic - they really helped me make some choices about what to see compared to LP. And I particularly appreciated the diagrams of how many of the ancient sites such as Corinth, Delphi, and Olympia used to look, because you need some help when you see these ruins. Neither LP or Green Guide had these consistently.
   
   My main problem was that it didn't have a lot of useful information, or if it did it was hard to find. The book's organization isn't too good - for a given site or city it has information about the city in terms of tourism or practical all over the place. Green Guide has much better practical maps, which are in color and cover a larger geographic area. Eyewitness is great when you get to the site you want to see, but it is not so useful to find the sites.
   
   Also, compared to LP and Green Guide it has a lot less historical and explanatory information. And in terms of total number of places covered, I have the impression that Eyewitness has less than others. There's a price for nice, glossy photos.
   
   Finally, not that it's critical, but my binding broke within a day, though the book cover mostly kept the book together.
   
   I think I will only buy Eyewitness again in special circumstances.

5 comments about The Rough Guide to Spain 12 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Rough Guides never let me down. This one from Spain is very detailed, has many accomodation reviews, good for sightseeing scheduling, and alternative sites for tourism. The only thing I miss is a way to help me to organize trips between the different cities (from "somewhere" to "other where" is best by plane or by train, and so on).



2. My husband and I just got back from a 2-week trip to Spain where we covered about 1000 miles by car. This was the guide that we depended on when we traveled through the Pyrenees, Rioja and Basque regions. The other guidebooks have maybe one or two sentences on the picturesque little medieval towns that we passed through, where this one had recommendations for meals and places to stay off the beaten path. I was so glad to have this book or we would have missed out on many great experiences, including our stays at some small "casas rurales" (like bed and breakfasts) where we got to really speak to the locals and take in the day to day life in Spain. It's a big book to drag around, so I ended up tearing out the pages with the maps we would need each day and carried those around with me instead of the whole book. The best travel book purchase that I have ever made!



3. Have been using this book, along with Rick Steve's Spain book, to plan a trip to Spain. Rough Guide includes an amazing amount of information about many, many places in Spain. Rough Guide covers many more places than Steve's book, although they complement each other. Rough Guide gives a great feel for the breadth of places to explore.



4. If you don't have a guide book on Spain yet, this is a good one. If you have a previous edition of rough guide, though, it seems like not much has changed to warrant a new purchase.



5. The Rough Guides rarely disappoint. They are thorough and interesting. My only complaint is that Murcia, as usual in guidebooks like this, just doesn't get the treatment it deserves. I always buy the most recent edition, but suggest you can probably skip an edition now and then!