No comments about When in Madrid: The Ultimate Study-Abroad Guide.

1 comments about Time Out Mallorca: And Menorca (Time Out Guides).

1. Recently went to Croatia for a 12 day trip around Istria and the southern part of the country. Was using the Time Out as main source of information and was thoroughly disappointed by level of detail, generic nature of recommendations, missed locations (Trogir not even mentioned and this is a UNESCO World Heritage site!) and even mistakes (the map of Istria has incorrect placement of towns!). In Dubrovnik, someone lent me a short Lonely Planet city guide which was significantly more informative, had descriptions of less major (but still interesting) sites not disclosed in Time Out and provided several suggestions for walking tours. Bottom line, this Time Out guide may be acceptable for certain areas (Split, Hvar and maybe Dubrovnik) if you are going for a long weekend at a maximum, but forget it if spending more than a few days in any city or thinking of going to a less touristy area (although Istria is quite popular and this guide does a very poor job concerning the region). I have used Time Out guides numerous times for specific cities and believe they generally do a terrific job; however, it is apparent that the same quality does not transcend to country guides.

No comments about Insight Pocket Guide Lisbon (Insight Pocket Guides Lisbon).

No comments about Boston InsideOut (Insideout City Guide: Boston).

1 comments about Buying a House in Morocco (Buying a House - Vacation Work Pub).

1. Well informed even for a home owner in Morocco. Worth a read if that is what you are planning to do..

5 comments about Rick Steves' Spanish Phrase Book and Dictionary (Rick Steves).

1. Just enough information and just the right size for taking along wherever you go in Spain. It got me out of a jam on a number of occasions by providing just the right phase at just the right time. Don't leave home without it.



2. This phrase book was a great resource. My Spanish is okay, but not stellar, and this book gave me the extra that I needed to feel comfortable with my spoken Spanish. When I needed to know how to say something, I was always able to either find it, or piece it together from this book. The organization of the book made sense to me, making it easy to find what I was looking for as quickly as possible.



3. I bought this book for a trip to Argentina. I know different countries speak variations on the same language - the English we speak isn't identical to what you hear in the UK, for example - but I didn't know how relatively useless this book would be there.
   
   I found some words and phrases I needed, and the content at the beginning, the numbers, days of the week, months, and so on, were useful, especially the counting, because numbers are always the hardest to grasp in another language. The dictionary, greatly truncated as these usually are, has lots of helpful words, in both Spanish-English and English-Spanish.
   
   I also thought the tear-out cheat sheet, printed on heavier paper, was handy, and appreciated the sly funny stuff Steves has slipped into the book - the handy phrases for picking up women, or for imploring the speed-demon taxi driver to slow down. The situational phrase section, covering what you need to know to travel, eat out, get medical care, and so on, were also useful, for the most part.
   
   My complaint is that there is no acknowledgment of linguistic differences between Spain and the rest of the Spanish-speaking world. So I couldn't use much of the dining-out section, for example, because cuts of meat have different names in Argentina than they do in Spain. (I can't speak for Venezuela and Bolivia and Uruguay and Colombia and..., although I asume that they also have their own variations on the language.) And I didn't find some of the phrases I needed translated from Spanish to English, because the Argentines don't always use the "standard" Spanish words.
   
   So while I'm sure this book is excellent for travel in Spain, I think the title is misleading - it should be retitled "Spanish Phrase Book and Dictionary FOR TRAVELERS TO SPAIN."
   
   It's only marginally useful in other countries.



4. This little book contains very essential phrases that you need to know. Also i liked that the book is small enough to carry around in my travels to South American & Mexico.



5. Rick Steves is sort of a hero of mine. I enjoy his programs on PBS.
   He does sometimes tend to oversimplify travel and now languages. The real problem with Rick is that he can't speak languages, admits that he can't and then he goes on to write books about how to speak them.
   Still, the 'blind leading the blind' has its advantages. Rick knows what works for a 'tongue tied American' and therin lies the advantage.
   You will never learn to speak Spanish with this book alone. It is a guide that will help you.
   I have gotten excellent results using Behind the Wheel Spanish 8 CDs
   in my car and reviewing Rick's book out of my car.Behind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour

No comments about Culture Smart! Portugal.

No comments about Catalonia.

No comments about Frommer's The Balearics With Your Family: The Best of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera (Frommers With Your Family Series).

3 comments about The Rough Guides' Ibiza Directions 1 (Rough Guide Directions).

1. This book is for Club Kids. If you are not a Club Kid, buy the Eyewitness book that also covers Minorca and Maellorca. That book is for a wider audience.
   
   While I'm sure this volume will help all the clubbers out there find the "Iberian Beat" it was NOT specific about other things-- like beaches or restaurants! I read it cover-to-cover before arriving on Ibiza, yet it was awfully difficult to get the lay of the land.
   
   If you care about DJs more than navigation or advice, try this book. Otherwise, pick another one!



2. This comprehensive guide, illustrated with beautiful color photos, will take you to other parts of Ibiza that other visitors can't even dream of. And the accurate restaurant and hotel recommendations can't be beat!



3. This book is a good comprehensive guide to the island of Ibiza. It covers just about everything, backgound info, restaurants, beaches, clubs/bars, shopping. I'm not sure why the other reviewer called this a "clubbers book", I think they must have meant a different book. There is info on clubs, which is a large part of the island's draw for many people. However, it is by no means the majority of info in the book. It also covers the island of Formentara, which is a definite must-do day trip. I would have liked a better island map, although driving around is fairly easy as the roads are pretty well marked with directional signs. Definitely a good purchase, I took the book with me everyday.