| Product: |
Berlitz Guides in general |
| Date: |
21/05/04 (55 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Cheap, Compact, Useful
Disadvantages: Can get out-dated
The internet is certainly a great source of information when it comes to the subject of travel. Whether you are planning a weekend break to a city in Europe, two weeks in the Caribbean sun or a six month round the world trip, you'll find plenty of information to satisfy you. Whilst we can do all this researching and planning, there's still sometimes the need for a handy pocket sized guidebook.
Berlitz Guides are available for most parts of the world. Currently they cover the following countries and major cities:
Africa : Cape Town, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and South Africa
Asia : Bali & Lombok, Beijing, China, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Tokyo, Thailand and Vietnam
Australasia : Australia, Sydney and New Zealand.
Caribbean / Central America : Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cancun & Cozumel, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, French West Indies, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Puerto Vallarta & Acapulco, Southern Caribbean, Virgin Islands
Europe : Algarve, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgium, Berlin, Bruges & Ghent, Brussels, Budapest, Canary Is., Capri, Channel Islands, Copenhagen, Corfu, Corsica, Costa Blanca, Costa Del Sol & Andalucia, Costa Dorada & Tarrogona, Crete, Croatia, Cyprus, Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, France, French Riviera, Gran Canaria, Greece, Greek Islands, Ibiza, Iceland, Ireland, Istanbul, Italy, Lake District, Lisbon, London, Madeira, Madrid, Mallorca, &#
77;allorca & Menorca, Malta, Milan & the Italian Lakes, Moscow & St. Petersburg, Munich, Naples, Paris, Poland, Portugal, Prague, Provence, Rhodes, Rome, Scotland, Sicily, Spain, Stockholm, Sweden, Switzerland, Tenerife, Turkey, Tuscany & Umbria ,Venice, Vienna and Zakynthos & Kefalonia
North America : Boston, California, Canada, Chicago, Disney World, Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Montréal, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington DC
South America : Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro
In addition to the Travel guides, Berlitz also publish a wide variety of Dictionaries, Phrase Books and other useful travel companions. As I have only used the Travel Pocket Guides series, I shall concentrate on them.
The guides are available widely in bookshops, airport shops, and of course on the internet. If you don't mind getting a guide which may be a few years out of date, try looking on Ebay.co.uk for a possible bargain.
The pocket guides are exactly that - pocket sized guides, generally of no more than 150 pages. They are a mixture of quality photographs, textual information and maps. Generally the inside front and back flaps fold out to provide larger maps of the country or city in question. There may also be a few handy phrases and words included, so you can quickly find them when on holiday, without thumbing through pages and pages. Some of the older guides did not have these extra flaps. The reverse of each guide will contain bullet points of what is included in each book - which is useful.
The layout of ea
ch book does vary, but there is always a contents page at the beginning, and of course a reasonably detailed index at the back. The books are broken down into sections, so you might have an Introduction, History, Where To Go, What to Do, Eating Out, Tips and Hotel information. The tips section is really handy, and will give information on all the important things you should know such as the climate, customs, driving, money, health concerns and so on. The accommodation recommendations, cater for all budgets, and use easy symbols to identify budget or expensive, or those in between. Whilst hotels may come and go, it is still useful to get an overall picture of what's available, if you are not just taking a package holiday.
The bulk of the book covers all the different areas of the country or city, the famous sights, geograpical and historical information mixed with things you should look out for and not miss. The use of bold type on landmarks worth noting is great, allowing you to find them easily. There are sections on sporting activities, childrens activities, shopping and entertainment.
They are super guides, cheap and compact, whilst providing the most useful information, and some super photographs too.
You can find out more information about Berlitz Pocket guides by visiting www.berlitzpublishing.com
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Last comment:
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MALU - 21/05/04 Berlitz guides have a good reputation in Germany, too. |
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