Rough Guide are the best all-round guide books

I had the previous version of this book and found it to be a great guide so we will be buying this one as we are going in August. Rough Guide are the best - they cater for people who want to splash out as well as those on a shoestring. I am consistently disappointed with the Lonely Planet books - they don't seem to visit the places they are talking about, reviews of places often don't give any info - e.g. 'the rooms are basic but clean and start at $14'. Rough Guide are the best. Time Out Vancouver is also very good if you want to know really good boutique hotels, restaurants etc, but Time Out guides aren't really all-round guides.

This Rip-Proof Waterproof Map material is fantastic.

Just returned from a four week self drive tour of New Zealand where this Rough Guide Map was used extensively. The map has been folded and re-folded many many times, been rained on, and wind blown but the rip-proof waterproof Polyart material is still as good as new. Its the same material as used for NZ bank notes !

Like any map a few of the fine details are out of date (e.g. un-sealed roads now sealed), but in general this map is to a good scale, is easy to read, and has lots of detail.

If you only buy one sheet map of New Zealand then buy this one. You can then pick up lots of free NZ paper maps, and street plans, when you are out there in NZ at any Information Point or Car Hire office.

A practical help

Very well illustrated guide, most informative. For visitors from other counties the guide to US coins is a help. The advice on sales tax is a practical help. I love the US but find it most confusing that because of sales tax one is never sure how much cash to produce in excess of the price marked on goods for sale.<br />

A must have for backpackers

As a single female traveller travelling around New England, I found this book an absolut must have. I followed the books recomendations about places to stay and things to do. With out it who knows where I would have ended up! I looked after this book as if it was my passport.

informative and to the point!

a very good atlas, good handy size, easy to read reference, and clear and up to date road/station/building points. bought this for use in the car and has not let me down. thought it might be squishy in between pages, but isnt at all.

it's great!

I would recommend this to anyone who is an adventurer at heart. Easy to read and very funny. She's braver than me!

If only I had more time and more money ....

.....and then I could spend every weekend in one of these hotels !<br /><br />Actually, the next best thing is to curl up on the sofa with this book and plan some trips for next year.<br /><br />The Sawday books are just so much nicer than your average hotel guide - and I've yet to find a bad recommendation. There are always tempting photos of the hotels/pubs and they steer well away from the bland corporate chain hotels - basically, it's more like having a really good personal recommendation from a friend. <br /><br />You get a good idea of the character of each place from the text - and it will be honest too, ie telling you if somewhere is"folksy" or"eccentric" or if the food is"simple but filling." so you should be able to tell whether somewhere is your cup of tea or not... <br /><br />Sadly most of the places in here ARE my cup of tea....now I just need a lottery win so I can sample all of them....

A Travel Guide as well as an Atlas

I won't go into too much detail of the content of the atlas as the previous review has done that excellently. What I would like to say though is that having used this atlas it is actually much more than just a road map. It has so many places of interest and things to do in it that it could be the only book you need to plan your trip. I would really recommend finding places to go from this atlas and avoiding the large crowds at the places listed in travel guides. Obviously this is also an ideal road map for if you driving on your holiday and has plans of many major cities (and smaller ones). Get yourself this Atlas and save the trouble os getting a travel guide too. You won't be disappointed by this.

dove dale valley

after visiting this beautiful domain known well as one of englands best nature spots i realised that most of our country was like this. It is a place where we can go and get away - experience the great outdoors.

Excellent guide

It would seem almost impossible to write a one-volume travel book on the USA but somehow Rough Guides has managed it in style.<br /><br />I would usually hesitate to spend more than £15 on a paperback but this is so detailed and well-written I find myself returning to it again and again. <br /><br />These days it's probably easier to use online resources when choosing accommodation but as a pithy guide to resorts and for planning trip itineries, this Rough Guide is invaluable.

Disapointed

I bought the latest edition of this book because it said it was rewritten every year, therefore I expected it to be accurate for my trip a couple of months later. I was disapointed.<br /><br />Too much information within the book was inaccurate. Prices were wrong, opening times incorrect, tour information just plain wrong. For example it said that if you take the Rockafeller centre tour that you get to see Music City Hall, this was totally wrong (as well as the opening times!). Even some of the"tips" were inacurate.<br /><br />I also found that the structure of the book was not so well organised, and playing the maps in the centre was a bad idea as it is the most frequently used part of the book and now after just 1 weeks use it is nearly falling apart (at the front or back would be much better).<br /><br />Also, the maps did not show where most things are, even those mentioned in the book where not marked!<br /><br />I also felt the"brits view" was a none event. All I noticed was that it translated some British to American words, but lets face it, it's not that difficult to understand!<br /><br />On the plus side it did have plenty of information of things to do and see.<br /><br />But overall I am left disapointed with this book and would not buy another similar guide book from them.

Moleskine on the move

I've long been a Moleskine convert, so I was looking forward taking just one book with me on a recent trip to London (rather than my usual tourist map book, Moleskine notebook and address book....). This little baby performed admirably, and I'll continue to use it on future trips to record notes and opinions of eateries, bars, shops and attractions as I experience them.<br /><br />Downsides? The map is very centrally focused (starting at Kensington in the West), although in its detail I can't fault it. There are also some 'features' such as the tracing paper that obviously looked good in the design studio, but on the ground seem a bit lame. I'm sure future editions will be more practical in this respect.<br /><br />