Haiti & the Dominican Republic : The Island of Hispaniola (Bradt Travel Guide Haiti & the Dominican Republic: The Island of Hispaniola)

Rating:
Summary: A sorry excuse for a guide book
Review: I have used this book as a guide while travelling around in the Dominican Republic by car. While I can fully recommend doing so, I would not recommend using this book as a your travel guide.

Often we found inaccuracies or even misleading information, particularly when travelling outside the charter tourist hot spots. We were often sent on wild goose chases by the so-called guide book. It is also often lacking in detailed information about the location of interesting things/places to see, so you could only read about it, but not locate it. Consistently we found the quoted prices to be wrong - sometimes actual prices were more than double the quoted prices (the book had been finished 1½ years before we travelled, it was in the low season and annual inflation had been less than 5 per cent, so there is no obvious explanation for this).

Rating:
Summary: A book that makes you want to get up and go
Review: I'm a confirmed armchair traveler who buys books about countries that interest me. I don't know if this guide is factually accurate (the other reviews seem to think so) but I do know that now I want to go to Hispaniola. This book has painted such an appealing picture that I feel compelled to discover it all for myself. Isn't this what a good guidebook is all about?

Rating:
Summary: A Great Guide to Haiti
Review: It was with some normal fear that I planned my first foreign trip, one going alone to Haiti for the first time. I found the contents of this book to be invaluable. From listing considerations on what to take, providing suggestions on travel and great directions in the towns and villages listed, I found this book to be very useful. I took it with me and it was a constant reference. I also found the background and history section to be both accurate and interesting. Thanks for helping make my trip a success.

Rating:
Summary: A book that makes you want to get up and go
Review: Mr Velton displays a sensitivity in his observations that suggest both a deep knowledge of and an intimate respect for the people of Hispaniola. He delves deep into the culture of two people providing those fortunate enough to travel to that island with both a wealth of practical travel knowledge, such as well researched places to stay, eat and relax, but also things to do and see that seek to inspire the traveller better to understand these two fascinating countries. Thank you Ross.

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable on the road -- and off
Review: This book is for people who want a bare-bones listings of accommodations and a couple of restaurant recommendations for every town. There's very little information on the countries themselves in terms of culture or history, and almost nothing on what there is to see when you get there. This doesn't mean that it's a bad book, but you should not expect it to point you in the direction of something interesting to see that you wouldn't have known about otherwise. I feel like there are other books on the market that do a better job of that. But I didn't find inaccuracies in the book and it might be a helpful tool for those who already know the Dominican Republic and Haiti well and just need a quick reference on where to bed down for the night, get their bearings, etc.