Product Description

Explore the Virgin Islands is a comprehensive, infiormative, and fun- to-read travel guide to the US and British Virgin Islands.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #191302 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781893643598
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
" Harry Pariser's guide is a great help..." -- Amazon.com

"... a compact, versatile, illustrated, and 'user friendly' guide... Explore The Virgin Islands is highly recommended. -- Midwest Book Review

"...the most personalized and comprehensive guide I have read. It is a must for anyone visiting St. John." -- Anne Marie Porter, USVI Wedding Minister

"After decades of living in the Virgin Islands, I am amazed at how much new information I could glean ....." -- St. Thomas Source

"Comprehensive and Accurate" -- Stanley Selengut, Chair, National Park System Commission on Sustainability and founder, Maho Bay Lodge, St. John, USVI

"If it's in the Virgin Islands, it's covered in this handbook. It's the next best thing to being there,..." -- Fearless.com

"One of the best writers about the Caribbean region" -- Travel Books Review

"Will appeal not only to first-time visitors, but also to seasoned Virgin Island vacationers. Nicely organized and easy to follow." -- Tammassee.com

"very thorough guide ....It's definitive -- and very welcome in guidebook land." -- Travel Weekly

A quality book that covers all aspects...it's all here and well done. -- San Diego Tribune

Review
"...an indispensable resource...Organized by island, the entries give a superb overview of the highlights..." -- Midwest Book Review’

"...right on target.... Pack it, read it, use it---the book won't disappoint.”--Gay Nagle Myers, Travel Weekly

From the Publisher
Crashing waves on white sand beaches. Dining on baked lobster at a seaside cafe. Hiking trails in one of America1s most special national parks. Diving and snorkeling in pristine waters. Crawling between huge boulders at The Baths on Virgin Gorda. Sailing from island to island. Gourmet meals at fine resorts and camping under palm trees. Touring botanical gardens, restored plantation homes, and shopping for duty-free bargains. These are but a few of the things the Virgin Islands have to offer visitors.

Author Harry Pariser covers every nook and cranny of the United States and British Virgin Islands. He guides you through a wealth of fascinating information -- including history, government, economics, and the island1s myriad flora and fauna -- and provides in-depth coverage of restaurants, accommodations, tours, attractions, entertainment, transportation and more. You1ll find valuable suggestions on how to spend your limited time. It offers nuggets and details found nowhere else!

Customer Reviews

Buy this before you go!
If you are planning on traveling to the US Virgin Islands, this is a must have book. As a resident of St. John for several years, I found that Mr. Pariser's book was full of more than just spots for tourists to find a good deal, or a great beach, or a nice hiking trail. It was packed with familiar and particular details that make the Virgin Islands a great place to vacation. His knowledge of the local people, the food, the island slang, the little nooks and crannies is thorough and all right on the money. Make sure to bring this book with you to discover all the places he talks about and you will really see the Virgin Islands from a great point of view.

Highly recommended
(Planeta.com Journal) - This new guidebook covers all the angles for visitors to the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix). Harry Pariser is one of our favorite authors and has also written about Costa Rica and Barbados. The travel essentials are well documented. Harry points out destinations for the nature tourist such as the St. Croix Aquarium and provides a guide to local plants and animals. Excellent!

One of our favorite guidebooks
Harry Pariser's Explore the Virgin Islands is a guide book written the way all guide books should be: it's insightful, informative, up-to-date, and has a unique voice. This isn't a watered down guide from a massive multi-national publisher: it is the real skinny on what to see and do in the Virgin Islands from a seasoned traveler and writer with an eye for details and interesting facts and a passion for his subject.  Explore the Virgin Islands covers the U.S. (St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas plus Water and Hassel Islands) and British Virgins (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Anegada and more) in breadth and detail, with a keen eye on the history and ecology of one of the Caribbean's most beautiful areas.

The book's introduction demonstrates Pariser's true interest in the region and its environment. Pariser includes a ton of great background information, as well as anecdotes about the history of the Virgin Islands old (the Carib Indians, Slavery) and new (Senator Adelbert Bryan). There is also an expanded section on the flora and fauna of the Virgin Islands, its animal life, and of course the many coral reefs. He sends his readers on vacation with the knowledge and appreciation to fully enjoy the complexities and beauties of the Virgin Islands.

Explore the Virgin Islands is a handsome, softbound volume with a stunning cover photo. It's filled with numerous detailed maps, color and black and white photographs, and helpful charts and sidebars (more than one hundred) with diverse information ranging from Anegada's pink flamingos to Blackbeard the Pirate. Indeed, it's Pariser's mix of island history and folklore with complete travel nuts and bolts that make this book both interesting and useful.

Vacationers will find everything here they need on the practicalities of planning their trip - where to stay, what to eat, and the best things to do. Each island's most popular attractions are given ample space. For example, on St. John the hiking trails and the U.S.V. I. National Park are fully explored, while St. Croix's diving gets the spotlight, with lots of information on dive sites and shops. All of this is presented with relevant phone numbers, website and email addresses, locations, opening times and more.

As part-time Virgin Islands residents we are familiar with most of the travel guides to the area, and this book is clearly our favorite. It contains a great mix of information attractively presented, with the entertaining sections on the history and natural wonders of the Virgin Islands, both above and below the water, complimented and balanced by the practical advice that any traveler would need. It is an indispensable tool for your pre-trip planning. But, once you are here, you will find yourself picking it up for a restaurant phone number, to check for what you might see while snorkeling, or to find out the name of an interesting building you saw while walking in any one of the islands' towns during the afternoon.