No comments about The Road from Ronda.

No comments about Diccionario De Toponimos Espanoles Y Sus Gentilicios.

No comments about Barcelona Mini Visitors' Guide.

No comments about Madeira (Berlitz Pocket Travel Guides).

No comments about Spain & Portugal Wall Map.

4 comments about Michelin Spain Northern Map No. 442 (Michelin Maps & Atlases).

1. This is without doubt the best road map for the tourist in Southern Spain to buy



2. This map has excellent detail, covering all the terrain from south of Madrid to the northern coast, and from Salamanca in the west to Zaragoza in the east. Includes even little-used country roads. Also has a 7" inset of Madrid and city/road index. But it is missing features we expect in US maps: double-sided printing, more city insets.



3. Available locally (at list price) is the 1998 edition detailing the large network of "autopistas" built in Andalucia since the version offered by Amazon (1991), which is now out of date. The coverage of this map is actually all of Spain SOUTH of Valdepenas and east of the Portuguese border to the Costa de Almeria at Aguilas: the entire territory of Andalucia. The single map insert (7") is of Sevilla. Otherwise, I concur with the comments of the two other reviewers, especially the one that more city maps on the reverse side would be eminently more helpful (and efficient).



4. AMAZON puts the reviews for several different Spanish Michelin maps together, including the Central and Southern regions, so you will notice that some of the reviewers are speaking of a Anadalusian map and some speak of a Central Spain or some other map: Bottom line, the Michelin Spanish maps at this scale and detail are very, very good. Spain is a beautiful and diverse country. When outside the main cities and rail lines do not be hesitant to rent a car and explore.
   
   My review is for the Central region map.
   
   If you are thinking about maybe renting a car when visiting the Madrid/central Spain area, get this map now. The map is perfect for showing how easy it is to get around the very beautiful and dramatic area. This part of Spain, with mountains to the north of Madrid (with Segovia and Avila), the plains to the south (with Toledo, La Mancha), craft towns to the west (Talavera de la Reina, Oropesa) are as much worth seeing as the art museums in Madrid. The driving was a pleasure; the roads well marked, in good condition and safe, traffic not a problem outside the cities (if you rent the car in Madrid, leave town immediately, do not drive a rental around the city).
   From Segovia, we crossed the mountains from the Avila side to Oropesa; we saw parts of an old roman stone road still running up through the mountains, a rainbow's end in a little valley by a sheep herder's cottage, and of course a castle or two. The map led us through without problem to some dramatic, fantastic and very memorable sights.
   With this map we spent one day castle hunting from our base in Toledo: Castles on hilltops, castles in towns, castles next to windmills. We visited renovated castles and climbed through abandoned ones, saw amazing photo ops and sights to remember.
   The map was perfect for the task.

4 comments about Lonely Planet Canary Islands.

1. Damien Simonis wrote the first edition of the Lonely Planet's gide to the Canaries, and an excellent companion to the islands it was; now (May, 2001) Lonely Planet has issued the second edition of this work, and I am delighted to say that it is just as good (but more up to date) than the first version. Simonis was joined by Miles Roddis to prepare the current book, which follows essentially the same plan as the first guide, and which conserves intact much of the original writing about the islands. The current version displays and entirely new set of photographs by Simonis, who seems to have improved his camera work in the intervening years since he first published the guide.

   The book is amazingly fruitful for its relative compact size and number of pages (271): it provides brief but essential information about the history of the islands, its dogs, its Canary birds, people, plants, transportation, medical services, its gay life, the island sports, and the means of getting there. It accurately describes each of the seven islands, and managest to convey the major and the subtle differences between them -- and those differences can be huge: from the dry Saharan landscapes of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, to the verdant La Palma, to the scraggly beauty of Hierro. The Pico de Teide, on the island of Tenerife, is the 3rd largest volcano on earth (after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, in Hawaii)and rises from the sea to over 12 thousand feet. Its peak is covered with snow most of the year, but at sea level the islands have superb weather.

   For those about to visit the Canaries, a Lonely Planet guide to them is essential. I don't think it is necessary to buy the second edition if one already owns the first: there are no dramatic changes between the books, and with a little flexibility the traveler will find the first edition just as useful as the second one. The travel tips are pricesless in both books and they will surely enhance the pleasure of visiting this strange and beautiful corner of the world. Don't leave without a copy.




2. I took this book on my recent trip to Canary Islands. Most of the information contained in the book can be easily found on internet (or even more). The content is an encyclopedic compilation of facts (probably rehashed from other publications) with very little personal experience. This is another hastily written and impersonal guide book. I expected something like the Ultimate Kauai and got less than could be found on Ecanarias web site. The most irritating, in my opinion, were multiple references to another book by one of the authors about hiking trails. If you want to hike - buy another book, uh. There is no even basic walk described. I laughed pretty hard when I read about poorly marked trails in the National Park on La Gomera. The reality is quite opposite. The trail-heads have excellent markings and even area maps. You wander how many years it has been since they visited last time. (the signs start show age here and there). There is nothing outstanding about this book. No personal touch like Ultimate Kaui Guide or sumptuous visual information like in DK Eye Witness series that steers you to the best sights (too bad none on Canary Islands is available yet). Explanation for this mediocre performance dawned on me when I realized what a prolific author Damien Simonis is. He "fathered or better bastardized" guide books covering about 15 - 20 areas (depending how you count) and these include whole countries like Italy, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, southern Spain and even all of Africa. Doing simple math tells you that he could not work on updating each more than 3 weeks a year. Probably many tourists would beat him in this aspect.
   I enjoyed other Lonely Planet publication but this one is a real disappointment. There is plenty of free guides in English, even hiking maps and trails, once you get to islands. Save your money and skip it.



3. I lived in the Canary Islands for 10 years. I am returning this winter for the first time as a tourist, and purchased Lonely Planet's guide, because they are normally good. Using this guide, I cannot find a single decent place to stay, any good restaurants, and even the activities list is pathetic. I know you're probably thinking that I'm just jaded because I lived there and know the spots, but from a basics perspective, not ONE of the major hotels that I know are good are listed, the three hotels that I did recognize are dumps, and the restuarant selections are crappy tourist dives without any real authenticity. Unfortunately, I don't have a good guide to recommend yet, but whatever you do, don't get this one!



4. I got the guide, because I like the Lonely planet books. Well, that one is an exception - there is nothing interesting or useful. use some other guide or go to turist information in the airport. Canaries are pretty civilized and there are not many surprises here, so maybe that is why the book is so thin and uninteresting.

1 comments about Blue Guide Barcelona (Blue Guide).

1. I have just returned from a 8 day tour led by Michael Jacobs. He was extremely well informed and amiable. Before our trip I purchased his book on Barcelona. I found it to be very readable and entraining. On visiting Barcelona I found that his detailed descriptions of the architecture and art to extremely useful for the person who wants more than an ordinary superficial guide to the city. The only disadvantage to this book is that it is by its nature larger in size.

2 comments about Houses & Gardens of Portugal.

1. Poor quality photographs of inexpressive gardens and palaces. We expected to find the lovely small houses and gardens of the portuguese villages and countryside.



2. I don't know why the earlier reviewer had such a problem with this book. The blurb describes it accurately as reviewing estates and their gardens. There's nothing wrong with the photography and some of the architecture is quite noteworthy. The book didn't change my life or anything, but I'm giving it four stars to balance its rating a little.

No comments about Houses and Palaces of Majorca.