5 comments about Lonely Planet Belize.

1. I booked and prepaid Ruby's in Ambergris Quay on their recommendation, and found it to be an absolute dump, full of cockroaches, grimy throughout. There were many better choices for the same price which were not in the book. But a hotel they criticised, La Casa de Don David near Tikal, we found to be spotless, reasonably priced, good food and very convenient for visiting the ruins. This definitely brings into question the integrity of their hotel ratings and the independence of their recommendations.



2. For those people planning on traveling to the southern parts of Belize, be forewarned that the Lonely Planet guidebook has not been updated since the hurricane destroyed much of Placencia a year and a half ago.

   We stayed in Placencia for a week using the Lonely Planet guide, and some of the restaurants and accommidations listed no longer exist. The places that do still exist have been totally rebuilt since the reviews were written.

   Finally, the activities listings were generally accurate but the reccommended guides no longer offered the services described in the book. We went out of our way to find the reccommended guide only to discover he no longer gave tours!




3. We used this and while, yes, last year's hurricane did make some of the information less relevant, this was still the most up-to-date guide in our party. I particularly enjoyed the cultural focus, which is really why I travel, anyway.

   The book is colorful, contains lots of interesting details, and was actually easier to read than some of the others we had. I had no trouble with the hotel listings.




4. I thought this book was very helpful...my sister and I traveled throughout the country (with the exception of Placencia and the southern part of Belize) and over to Tikal, Guatemala and the info was pretty accurate. For a boat trip to Lamanai, the pricing was actually cheaper than what was listed in the book, and other prices were fairly consistent despite the book being a couple years old. The best advice if you are thinking about staying somewhere that is listed in the book is to check out the website (which is one of the best features of the book....many others I looked at did not include website information) and see pictures for yourself. If a website is not listed, it is often because it is new - I did a google search and was able to find a website or info for every place we stayed in Belize. We stayed at four different places during our week stay, all listed in Lonely Planet, and I was happy with each one. Another big plus to this book (particularly for me) was the info on precautions to take, and the full page warning on the botfly. A couple weeks after returning and after several doctors misdiagnosing it, I had a botfly larvae in my head, and it was something I read about in LP that I alerted the doctors about. It took a week and a hospital stay until I could find someone who would believe me, but I can't imagine how long it would have taken if I hadn't had this info beforehand! I was very happy overall with this guidebook and despite the botfly, would return to Belize again.



5. Greatly enjoyed this book. Filled with useful information, but not so huge that its to heavy for the packpack.

1 comments about Oscar E. Berninghaus, Taos, New Mexico: Master Painter of American Indians and the Frontier West.

1. What an exquisite book! Not only is it an informative and interesting read, but it made me want to move to Taos and take up oil painting! In fact, I'm signing up for painting classes this week! The plates are magnificent, and the subject matter, Taos, and Taos Pueblo Indians, are filled with beauty and dignity from a time gone by. Highly recommended for all lovers of the Southwest, native cultures, and landscape and oil paintings.

1 comments about Let's Go Mexico 22nd Edition (Let's Go Mexico).

1. As a white, early 30's couple who are experienced off-the-beaten-path travelers, we've used Lets Go in the past for travel through Europe and Asia and have been mostly satisfied. However, we were very unsatisfied with the Mexico book.
   1) The Mexico book was particularly bad for smaller Mexican cities/towns. The chapter on Oaxaca was lacking in details, specifically regarding transportation options. Even for Mexico City, the number of listings seemed small in comparison to the number of options.
   2) We are slightly older travelers (30 years old) and this book is focused on late night parties and bars. While I understand that Lets Go is oriented to younger travelers (post-college), we found the lack of nice bars, authentic cheap food (barely discussed street food), and local activities (not gringo bars or non-tourist circuit things).
   3) Hotel descriptions were unfailingly positive. While the hotels we stayed in were sparse, but fine, to say things like 'spotless bathroom' when the bathroom was adequate and not spotless, is far-fetched and misleading.
   4) Prices were significantly off - 15-20%. Even if no one from Lets Go travels to Mexico every year, it cannot be difficult to call these places to verify prices, especially when Lets Go lists the telephone number and publishes a new edition every year.
   5) we are not fluent, but speak an intermediate level of Spanish. We didn't feel that Lets Go adequately prepared us for the lack of English spoken, especially in non-beach or non-Mexico City areas of the country.

5 comments about Foghorn Outdoors: Baja Camping.

1. I've traveled throughout Baja the last 2 years and found the book is very out of date. Many of the campgrounds mentioned have closed and some of the sites are no longer suitable for camping, for others, the nature/quality of site has changed. This can be a big problem if you've traveled to some out-of-the-way location expecting a certain level of accommodation and find it less than sub-par. HOWEVER, being a person who normally avoids the 'organized, Americanized' campgrounds the book is very useful and it is book worth having.



2. I found this book to be by far the most helpful and user-friendly guide to camping in Baja that I've yet seen. While it is purported to be The Complete Guide to More Than 170 Tent and RV Campgrounds, I found it to be much more than that. More accurately, it is, in fact, the complete guide for every aspect of venturing south of the border into Baja. This book tells you not only where to go and how to get there, but when to go and what to bring. It even discusses how to deal with such varied potential dangers as unsafe drinking-water and ice, stingrays, jellyfish, heatstroke, sunburn, getting hopelessly stuck in sand, or tangling with the police over a traffic accident. It even shows you how to clean a fish. In short, it had everything I needed to prepare for my trip to Baja. I highly recommend it.



3. I had bought 3 books for my drive through Baja this winter 2004. The Lonely Planet Baja Guide, this Foghorn book, and the Traveler's Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja.
   
   First off there really doesn't exist any detailed map of Baja, so travelers typically rely on word of mouth, description of areas and any small map provided to the traveler through guide books. This book does not give nearly enough detail to accurately find the RV parks described AND it is extremely outdated. If you're looking for a guide to RV Parks and campsites the book "Traveler's Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja" gives a more accurate assesment of each site and most importantly the best amount of insight into how to reach the sites off the 1.
   
   This Foghorn book has a great deal of traveling and preparatory information that is somewhat helpful BEFORE the trip, but during the trip is for the most part useless. Overall the information in this book can be found by some simple research from other websites or books. And as an actual guide through Baja it is seriously lacking compared to the "Traveler's Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja" and even the Lonely Planet guidebook for that matter.



4. Minimal change from previous edition, and the rates have gone up but this book still quotes the old ones. It's a good choice as there are only two to choose from, this and church's (top notch book); but why not keep or get the old editon and save money?



5. First off let me say that I've been camping in Baja for close to thirty-five years. Did I say thiry-five? OMG!! I've camped everywhere from San Felipe to Mulege, Rosarito to Cabo and everything in between.I've seen the changes and it is changing currently(just down there this past weekend)at an incredible rate. In one month without a visit the landscape changes. Hotels are grabbing up all the beaches. That said , be aware that the information in this book(and any about Baja for that matter) may be old only because the rate of change is currently at hyper-speed, even by Mexican standards. It seems manana has arrived. I have a copy of this book and use it only as a loose guide consequently. Much of the information is useful and helpful. There are tons of listed camp sites ,each area is not very detailed and many of which are gone or will be gone. Be flexible, be aware that many new ones are going up too. Locals will gladly tell you where a new one has gone up. New camping areas go up literally overnight. Certain areas remain the same for the most part, basically those away from the ocean.This is not a book you can count on for being accurate but it is useful as a genreal guide and for basic roughing it rules. If you are a rigid traveler, plan ahead and visit the websites listed for the most up to date information. Remember life is a journey not a destination. The maps included are ok but you need to buy one right away once you hit Baja. The touristy towns of Rosarito or Ensenada would be a good place to get a detailed map cheap, they are often posted on the shop exterior windows. Ask around , people are more than glad to help. Basically this book is only a general guide to camping, things are just changing too quickly. Gone are the days of just pulling off and camping along the beach between Rosarito and Ensenada. However, once you pass Ensenada, along the coast, there still exist remote off the beaten path camping areas. Expect the unexpected and your camping trip will be a good adventure using this book whenever possible.

1 comments about The Deserts of the Southwest: A Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide (Sierra Club Naturalist's Guides).

1. We camped for a week in the Davis Mountains in west Texas in a section of the Chihuahuan desert last summer. This was not our first desert experience - we have hiked and camped across much of the Southwest over the last twenty years or so. This was an unplanned trip as we were headed toward southern Colorado, but we became fascinated by the Chihuahuan desert and somehow we never drove any further.

   We were similarly quite lucky to find a copy of the first edition of Peggy Larson's Sierra Guidebook in a bookstore in Alpine, Texas. She presents the deserts of the American southwest (and northern Mexico) in a literate and educated fashion. She manages to discuss individual plants and animals in some detail while painting a large scale, beautiful portrait of the four major deserts of North America. Detailed ink drawings - landscape, geology, plants, and animals - are scattered throughout the narrative and add considerable value. She knows her subject and shares her knowledge in an intriguing fashion. She effectively uses scientific names of desert plants and animals interchangeably with common (but less unique) names without intimidating the reader. This is not a novel and it is quite possible to skip to selected chapters of personal interest, but I highly recommend exploring all chapters, all topics. Peggy Larson's style is really quite good.

   If you are already familiar with the American deserts, you will find "The Deserts of the Southwest" a rewarding visit with an old friend. If you are somewhat new to the deserts and possibly have only sampled the deserts from a highway perspective, I suspect that after reading Peggy Larson's book you will likely change your travel plans to include a personal visit to an American desert.

No comments about Oaxaca & Chiapas State (Mexico) Map by ITMB.

3 comments about Best Guide: Loreto (Best Guides).

1. Destination guides are typically like reference books -- this is more like a novel in terms of readability and interest. As a regular visitor to Loreto, I was quite impressed that the authors not only delivered the usual roadmap to a vacation, but also provided valuable insights that most visitors and even some residents would miss.
   
   The body of this guidebook is rich with content. While the highlighted sidebars lend color and context.
   
   This book brings Loreto to life in a way that enhances the experience of discovering this emerging and largely undiscovered beach resort, fishing village, and cultural gem. In a no-holds-barred (and at times amusing) manner, the reader learns about restaurants, hiking, fishing, whale watching, hotels, and more.
   
   I highly recommend this book for both vistors and new residents of the region.



2. This is the first credible, comprehensive guidebook for Loreto that I have seen in the two years I have been living in Loreto. It is engaging, amusing, accurate and useful! While I disagree with some of the restaurant assessments (a necessarily subjective exercise!), it's pretty much on the mark. I still think McLulu's fish tacos are to die for, and they don't even mention Taqueria Travolta (aguably the second best carne asada tacos after el Rey de Taco, which really is the best, and really is literally a hole in the wall!). It's a wonderful companion and good value. I also particularly like the feature that allows readers to upload and/or check out new or more current information on a website.



3. Of 4 books I took to Loreto, this was by far the best and most informative. Lots of detailed info on best places to eat, stay and beaches. Highly recommended!

No comments about Fodor's In Focus Acapulco, 1st Edition (In Focus).

2 comments about Wave-Finder Surf Guide Mexico.

1. I was surprised that the book is so tiny. It surely did not have the quantity of pages advertised in the information about the book (about half of what it says). You are probably better off with the old Surf Report series than with this guide. Yet, it is a lot smaller (fits in the palm of your hand) and a lot lighter to carry around. It did get to my
   mailbox in record time. Nos vemos en el agua! Cowabunga!



2. This book is tiny. About 3" by 2". Despite that, it's fairly informative and provides details on surfing areas that I hope will be useful.

No comments about Best Designed Wellness Hotels: North And South America, Carribean, Mexico / Nord - Und sudamerika, Karibik, Mexiko (Best Designed).