No comments about Lithuania, 5th (Bradt Travel Guide).

2 comments about In Love in Italy: A Traveler's Guide to the Most Romantic Destinations in the Country of Amore.

1. "In LOve in Italy" is a very doable book. Easy to read and pleasent to look at, good information. I have given it as a gift.



2. This is a beautiful book, both in terms of words and images. Very special. Perfect for those who love Italy, someone going on a trip there soon, or dreaming of a future viaggio. The sort of book you buy for yourself and then want to give to each of your friends. The pictures are lovely and look particularly nice on the non-glossy paper. The paper feels good on your fingertips, as you turn the page. A book Italians would love.

2 comments about Crete (Regional Guide).

1. The book is just a little more than a turist guide. Maybe it can be usefull when making a tour with a small suitcase and a credit card, but backpackers and budget travelers shouldn't lean too much on it. Do your own research when planning the trip and talk to your kind of travelers on the trip. I guess the author did't do any researhes on her own but just copying the previous text. Maybe just some prices that are different than in the previous edition.
   Manos hotel in Chania is (let say) recomended by the book and it advertises that in the street proudly. When i asked for the room the price was double than written in the book and not negotiable. The hotel was dirty and the owner arogant. This was just one of my experiences on the trip that don't fit into the guide. But O.K. this can happen. The problem are missing information. For instance that you can sleep half price in the turk part of the historic centre of Chania etc.
   Overall: It is O.K. to have a guide on a trip but after visiting Nepal, India and Turkey with Lonely Planet is this one quite a dissapointment to me.



2. 
   Let me start by saying I have been to Crete before.
   
   I bought the book, rented a car and drove around Crete in 2005 using this guide only with the objective of looking for value for money accomodation and places of interest to me for this trip ie. beaches on the south west: Paleohora, Elafonissi, Plakias etc. The accommodation I stayed at was picked from the book and was superb. The prices (in 2005) were completely accurate. I am not a backpacker (such as the previous reviewer) and I had different aims from the guide and had a different experience. (Other guides are more informative if you are looking for more culural experiences). For me, I can't wait for the next edition to come out to plan my next trip to this beautiful place.

2 comments about Laminated Vienna Pocket Map & Guide by Pocket Pilot.

1. Truly pocket-sized and extremely helpful. Easy to read, so small yet has lots of information. A must-have, especially for first time visitors.



2. We just used a number of Pocket Pilot Maps on a recent trip; Munich, Vienna, Prague, and Berlin. We carried them everywhere and they were very helpful. They aren't enough to use on their own when planning a trip, and their list of "must sees" didn't agree entirely with ours or other travel books, but I still highly recommend having this map with you for every city you go. We wish we had had them for every city we went, but they don't all exist. The easy-to-fold-in-different-directions flexibility was great, as was the fact that it was laminated (we did have some rain and snow, and would even look at the maps over meals or drinks). Overall, I say these are a must buy, but don't rely on them on their own. We enjoyed using the Rick Steve's books to help with our planning, and then found the Knopf MapGuides a perfect match with our pocket-pilots. Both are fairly small and both are helpful in different ways. Don't forget to check out your local libraries for the Rick Steve's and Knopf guides, but you'll definitely want to buy your own personal copy of the pocket-pilots. Happy travels!

No comments about Viajes por Europa, África y América 1845-1847 (Viajes).

1 comments about Hedonist's Guide To Paris 1st Edition (Hedonist's Guide to..., A).

1. I have utilized the Hedonist's Guides for a couple of years now. They are a must have for a sophisticated traveler, especially the 20-somethings/young professionals that are accustom to knowing where the cool spots are at home and wanting the same experience when they are traveling. Restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs, and even cafes/pubs - this guide has it covered.
   
   Case in point---this weekend, I was in Paris with two Parisians meeting up for some drinks on Friday night. Their original plans were foiled (private party) so we began looking for alternatives. Having lived in Paris for a month and using the Hedonist's Guide as my Bible, I threw out a few suggestions I remembered from the Paris guide. Needless to say, the Parisians were skeptical taking recommendations from an American. Regardless, we ended up going to two of the places, Le Fumoir and Kong, and they were both great. We were dancing on the couches at Kong until closing time. I have since been praised for knowing more about the hip places in Paris than two locals. I am not sure a guide can get a higher compliment. Bravo!

No comments about Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

No comments about Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Paris (Irreverent Guides).

No comments about AAA 2008 Europe Road Atlas (Aaa Europe Road Atlas).

3 comments about Moleskine City Notebook Berlin (Moleskine City Notebook).

1. While not a suitable replacement for a travel guide, the Moleskine is very handy for a map and journal. The Notebook content is very flexible to suit your needs and is much more discreet than the more obvious travel guides.



2. This is a very unusual product and I would strongly encourage anyone considering getting one to be completely aware of what it is before they purchase it. First, if you are looking for a single travel guide to prepare you for your trip to New York (or anywhere else there is a guide for), this is very close to worthless, if not entirely worthless. I would call one's attention to the title of the product. It is a "Notebook." That means that most of the pages are blank. This literally is a book for taking notes in.
   
   So what do you get when you buy this? Every book in the series follows the same format. First there is a personal information page with address, phone, allergies, family doctor, passport number, then map information with public transportation maps. Then follows information on the various forms of transportation with phone numbers and websites, including cabs, buses, other forms of public transportation, and airports. There are some blank itinerary pages, measurement and speed conversion charts, size conversion charts (for shoppers), then a long series of neighborhood maps, including an index. And that's it. The final two-thirds of the notebook are blank. The next 20 or so pages are completely blank and unlined for whatever use you want to put them to. Next come several pages intended for writing down names of restaurants, bars, museums, historical sites, hotels, or whatever. The book also comes with unlabeled tabs with stickers to use as desired (for theaters, concert halls, or whatever you desire) as well as tracing paper for, as the label says, "Itineraries or Whatever." Finally, there is the usual pocket at the back that is found in all Moleskine products.
   
   For some people this is going to be an absolutely useless product. But for many this will be remarkably useful. In fact, I can envision two uses for this notebook. First, those who are planning a trip to one of the places for which Moleskine has produced a book. Let's say one has consulted the Blue guide, the Eyewitness Guide (by DK), a Rough Guide, the Michelin guide, and the Let's Go guide. Maybe you've bought all of these, making for five guides. No way do you want to drag all of these on your trip or more than one on your flight. So what might you do? You might take the Moleskin Notebook, record into it all the places you want to see, restaurants you want to dine at, museums you want to stroll through, and anything else you want to do while in your destination of choice, and record it there. So the Moleskine City Notebook can serve as a distillation of all the various travel guides, web sites, and other resources you have consulted. And instead of hauling about a large Fodor's guide, you can carry about this small Notebook that can easily fit into a backpack, purse, should bag, or even pocket.
   
   The only downside is that the Moleskine City Notebook is only as good as you make it. If you do a good job of planning your trip, it will be filled to the brim with useful and helpful information. If not, it will be as unhelpful as you have made it.
   
   There is a second use to which the City Notebook can be put to use, though it is not one for which it was primarily designed. You could use it for the city in which you live, should you live in one of the cities for which one is made. I live, for instance, in Chicago. I have bought one of these so that I can over time use it to record every bit of helpful information that I might find useful or helpful. I can record what hours the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore (the real one, not the trade version on 57th Street) is open. The hours for the Chicago Public Library and the Newberry Library. Phone numbers of restaurants and addresses of bars. And so on and so forth. Granted, these books will only benefit those who live in one of those cities, but for the U.S. New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are pretty populated areas.
   
   So this is a very well conceived product though it absolutely has to be stressed that it is a specialized one. Please note: THIS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE. If you don't want to use the Notebook to plan your trip it is going to be very close to worthless. I'll emphasize again: this is only as good a product as you make it. But if you use it to help you plan your trip, it could be the single item you would most loathe to be without after your notebook.



3. This notebook is perfect for the traveler who wants to pick out his own sites. I took recommendations from other guidebooks I had and put the information in the notebook. If I ran across a good place, I wrote it down. My goal in using this notebook was to have a reference for if/when I return to Berlin. It's perfect for combining information from different source in one place.
   
   This notebook contains maps of the city (with a street index) and maps of the public transit system (with a station index). Indexes are incredibly helpful when you're standing on a street corner but have no clue what part of town you're even in, or what direction you're facing. Trust me - very useful. I carried this notebook everywhere I went, even if all I needed it for was the maps. I loved having a place to write down things that I should do, or places I loved, or other ideas.