Product Description

Hitch a smooth ride across the Sahara with veteran authors Jim Hudgens and Richard Trillo. Their Rough Guide to West Africa, now in its second edition, takes you from bustling Dakar and other capitals to all the remote towns and beaches. The Rough Guide expertly covers the basics - lodging, transportation, etiquette and inoculations - and the breadth of activities - nightlife, seeing the wildlife and volunteering. The authors also bring the history of each country into focus with a political who's who and stellar takes on the region's vibrant music and art. The following nations are covered: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. 156 maps.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111173 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-29
• Released on: 2003-11-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1200 pages

West Africa Magazine
A MARVELLOUS GUIDE, PACKED WITH HARD-NOSED ADVICE AND INFORMATION, STREETS AHEAD OF ANY OTHER TRAVEL GUIDE.

Daily Telegraph
THE BEST GUIDEBOOK ON THE AREA

BBC Radio 4
THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WEST AFRICA IS A FIXTURE ON MOST PEOPLE'S TABLES

Customer Reviews

Good book for planning multicountry itineraries
As most of the reviews point out, the battle here is between Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. I bought them both, as I usually do before a big trip, and after studying them both will take the RG. They are both good in terms of information on hotels and restaurants, I just found the layout of RG a bit better. Cultural and travel basics are better organized up front, the maps are larger and much clearer, and the references to the maps in the text easier to decipher. But for me the big plus is that the RG contains much better information about moving between countries, and information about specific transport options from area to area - boat, bus, train - is much more detailed. If you are planning a multi-country itinerary the RG is, IMHO, much better. They are both equal in terms of info, I think, I just feel like for me RG got the details right.

Decent But Not Great
The Rough Guide series is nice, if sometimes odd, for understanding what to do and what not to do in particular countries or regions. Usually, its best to get both Rough Guide and Lonely Plaent and compared the information between the two, just to avoid any unfortunate occurances. But thats just me. Anyway, this book basically covers travel in West Africa: Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal, the Gambia, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. Theres basic travel information, as well as notes for getting into and out of each country, and things you can do while your there. Maps, religious information, notes on social mores, currency info, food and so forth are all covered throughout the book. There are also some useful phrases in French (the most widely spoken language in West Africa), as well as some phrases in Hassaniya Arabic, Mandinka, Bamana, Twi, Susu, Hausa, Yoruba and other indigenous languages.
Fans of Afro-Pop should check out the back of this book, which is full of cultural references. There are lists of significant books, movies, musicians and songs. Sure, it is a bit dated, but some old favorites are included on the list who are well worth checking out. In fact, I should restate that, given the mercurial nature of African society, it is pretty likely that many things in this book have changed since it was published. Before doing anything in this book, you might want to look it up online or something first.

Not the best investment
At the moment, there are two main contenders on the market with comparable books on West Africa: Rough Guide and Lonely Planet. Neither is perfect.

Rough Guide may feel a bit more professionally-made, and has been made on a bigger budget too, but it suffers from terminally boring writing style.

I said this before and I`ll say it again: if people who write guidance for your tax returns were to write guidebooks they would probably come up with similarly uninspired language.

The book does not offer the same level of self-righteous (and often annoying) rhetoric about evils of capitalism as Lonely Planet. I find this aspect commendable: some of us want the travel guide to give us facts and not explanations for whom to vote and what to think.

However, on balance, I have to admit that Lonely Planet is better resarched and more accurate, and also less bulky. If you have plenty of luggage allowance and money's no object, buy both, otherwise, stick with Lonely Planet.