Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15709 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Vinyl Bound
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780756626365
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

Nice pictures, but not enough information
I usually use Lonely Planet and Green Guide (Guide Vert) but I read a lot of negative reviews about LP, so I gave Eyewitness a try. The photos and diagrams were fantastic - they really helped me make some choices about what to see compared to LP. And I particularly appreciated the diagrams of how many of the ancient sites such as Corinth, Delphi, and Olympia used to look, because you need some help when you see these ruins. Neither LP or Green Guide had these consistently.

My main problem was that it didn't have a lot of useful information, or if it did it was hard to find. The book's organization isn't too good - for a given site or city it has information about the city in terms of tourism or practical all over the place. Green Guide has much better practical maps, which are in color and cover a larger geographic area. Eyewitness is great when you get to the site you want to see, but it is not so useful to find the sites.

Also, compared to LP and Green Guide it has a lot less historical and explanatory information. And in terms of total number of places covered, I have the impression that Eyewitness has less than others. There's a price for nice, glossy photos.

Finally, not that it's critical, but my binding broke within a day, though the book cover mostly kept the book together.

I think I will only buy Eyewitness again in special circumstances.

The color pictures make Eyewitness Travel Guides stand out
This series has become the only travel guide I buy when traveling to a foreign country. What makes this guide stand out compared to the competition are the color pictures, color maps, and equivalent Greek spelling of a location, and street by street attraction descriptions. Long after the trip is over, looking at this guide is like looking back at the pictures taken during the trip. The cover is practically waterproof, and contains a fold out on the front and back so that you can bookmark 2 sections. There is a nice chapter on the history and culture of Greece, and then focuses on a geographic region of the mainland. It also contains recommended hotels, restaurants, shopping, and essential travel tips and local customs within the country. Additionally, it has a small language/phrase reference guide and country highway/road map in the back.

By using this travel guide, we've always created our own trip itinerary, and have never had the desire to those long guided bus tours that most people take.

Additional Notes: Remember this is mainly for Athens and the mainland - not for island hopping. Also, before traveling to the Greece, make sure you teach yourself to read the Greek alphabet so that you read/recognize the local signs. Even though many signs are in English - the spelling will not match English guidebooks and you'll be proud of yourself that you can actually recognize Greek characters!

Good tourbook
The tourbook is organized very well with history, maps, restaurants, hotels, etc and the colored pictures are excellent. The size makes an ideal companion when travelling.