No comments about Palace And Cottage Or Young America In France And Switzerland: A Story Of Travel And Adventure (1869).

1 comments about Austria/Switzerland/Slovenia (AAA Deluxe Road Map).

1. I ordered this map, but am returning it as it doesn't seem to offer any greater detail than a typical rental car map. While it is larger than the maps in my guide books, it lacks detail. For example, I couldn't see how to get to the Skocjan Caves or Predjama Castle in Slovenia - two fairly major "sights." My recommendation: use the free viamichelin.com site instead.

No comments about Michelin Green Guide (Green Tourist Guides).

No comments about Danube, Belgrade to the Black Sea (This Way Guide).

No comments about Switzerland Cyclist's Touring Map (with Town Plans).

No comments about Geneva: Capital of the world.

No comments about Southwards to Geneva: 200 Years of English Travellers.

5 comments about Let's Go 2000: Austria & Switzerland: The World's Bestselling Budget Travel Series (Let's Go. Austria and Switzerland, 2000).

1. "You can't judge a book by its cover." Truer words have not been written when it comes to "Let's Go Austria & Switzerland - including Prague, Budapest, Munich 2000".

   A lot of info on Austria and Switzerland but Prague, Budapest and Munich aren't to be found in this guide!




2. I browsed through this book looking for the Prague section mentioned on the cover. I looked through another copy to make sure I wasn't wrong. I read the contents, read the index. Prague, Munich, & Budapest are NOT discussed in this book. Spend your money elsewhere if you want to see the area.



3. Yes, the editors made a serious mistake when they forgot to include Prague, Budapest, and Munich and yet advertised it on the cover. Those were only bonuses, not the focus of the book. I bought the book for my year abroad in Austria and found it extremely helpful. For the time I had it I did not get lost following the maps and the information was accurate. Unfortunately the book is now in a river in Luzern. Ran after it for a long time with no luck. I replaced it with the 2001 edition and was disappointed to find that they cut out a city that I was planning to go to (Cesky Krumlov). I thought the 2000 version was good. If you want the three cities they missed, copy the pages from a book in the library.



4. I've spent months in Austria and Switzerland, using a variety of travel books, and Let's Go is the best, bar none. They have excellent coverage of the outdoors, witty writing, and they find cheap, cheap, cheap places that nevertheless manage to be great finds. The maps have improved over previous years, but they could stand an extra one or two. Fortunately, the rest of the information is up to date, as it is the most-recently updated book (so far as I've seen).

   The other books, I'm sorry, .... Lonely Planet books are updated every eon, and they've got the prose style of a VCR instruction manual. Rough Guides, while quite literate, lack the phone numbers, dates, and times that are the bread and butter of budget travel guides. The Frommer's and Fodor's guides to Austria are a joke: they have few listings outside of 4 star hotels, and could have been written by the tourist offices! The point of Aus/Switz is its natural beauty, and appreciating that is facilitated by good info, not by spending cash.

   One note: the focus here is for the budget traveler. Those with money will benefit from this, as many of the most friendly places in Austria are cheap (like Privatzimmer and family-run Pensionen). However, the other, mostly older travelers who want to stay in posh hotels and would rather take a cable car than go hiking might want to get a book like Frommer's, or just do whatever the local tourist office tells you to do.




5. I bought this book for a trip I'm planning to Budapest, and unfortunately, while advertised as being a part of the book, my copy does not have the information on Budapest. I'll add it to my library of travel guides, as I will probably visit Austria and/or Switzerland at some point and the information will be useful. Also, I am a big fan of Let's Go guidebooks anyway, as the writing style and wealth of contact information make travel planning easy. I just wish the Budapest, Prague and Munich info had been included.

No comments about Switzerland (Marco Polo).

No comments about Berlitz Travel Guide to Switzerland: German Speaking Areas (Berlitz travel guide).