Rating: 
Summary: Stunning pictures!
Review: There are some truly beautiful pictures in this book.
I certainly enjoyed Iceland during the winter, but these
pictures make it clear that summer is a real awesome time
there. The book also seems to do a pretty darn good job of
describing the society/culture of modern iceland.
I would certainly carry this one with me on my return
trip...
Rating:
Summary: Stunning pictures!
Review: There are some truly beautiful pictures in this book.
I certainly enjoyed Iceland during the winter, but these
pictures make it clear that summer is a real awesome time
there. The book also seems to do a pretty darn good job of
describing the society/culture of modern iceland.
I would certainly carry this one with me on my return
trip...
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Guide for Planning Your Visit to Iceland
Review: There are two kinds of guidebooks: There are the ones you use for planning a vacation, for background, history, photographs, insights into the people, the language, and various aspects of the society. This kind of guidebook is frequently lavishly illustrated -- though you might not want to take it with you. THE INSIGHT GUIDE TO ICELAND belongs to this category. It is printed on a nice glossy paper stock and weighs almost 2 pounds! That's about 8% of what I allow myself for total baggage for international travel.The other kind of guidebook is indispensible for its wealth of detail: opening hours of attractions, accommodations, restaurants, phone numbers, addresses, websites, e-mail addresses, and other info you would use "in country." Lonely Planet and Rough Guide are probably the best examples of this category: I take a razor blade and neatly remove the sections I don't need and pack the mutilated remains with my bags. When I travelled to Iceland, I left my copy of the INSIGHT GUIDE at home. But I keep it to show friends where I have been and what a particular place looked like when it was NOT rainy or foggy. The photographs in this book are superb; the essays are of uniformly high quality; but it is short on up-to-date details. On the other hand, if you use it for planning or just armchair travel, you can't surpass it. It looks nicer than the Landmark Guide and the text is more interesting. As Lord Dufferin wrote some 150 years ago in LETTERS FROM HIGH LATITUDES, Iceland is a very different country when the sun is shining. Of course, you can't always get that: I saw some spectacularly awful weather at Stykkisholmur and Lake Myvatn, but I can appreciate a book that shows a country wearing its best finery. I plan to keep this book and refer back to it to plan future visits to this fascinating land.
Rating:
Summary: Iceland Guide book is great
Review: This is the best series of guide books. There are not many complete guides to Icleand. I studied this book before I went on my vacation to Icleand. After reading in the "places to see" section I chose exactly what I wanted to see in Iceland. It just so happens this book led me to take a 10 hour tour in Iceland that is not the most popular tour--it ended up being the best part of my trip. If you go to Iceland, take the South Shore tour and visit the black sand beach and smaller waterfalls--not just the Golden Circle. You can read all about the sights in this book. The restaurant guide is very helpful. I give it 4 stars because some of the information is outdated. For example there are lockers at the Blue Lagoon. And the book should tell tourists how the entrance to the thermal pools works--this is important, esp for non-European travellers.
Rating:
Summary: Iceland Guide book is great
Review: This is the best series of guide books. There are not many complete guides to Icleand. I studied this book before I went on my vacation to Icleand. After reading in the "places to see" section I chose exactly what I wanted to see in Iceland. It just so happens this book led me to take a 10 hour tour in Iceland that is not the most popular tour--it ended up being the best part of my trip. If you go to Iceland, take the South Shore tour and visit the black sand beach and smaller waterfalls--not just the Golden Circle. You can read all about the sights in this book. The restaurant guide is very helpful. I give it 4 stars because some of the information is outdated. For example there are lockers at the Blue Lagoon. And the book should tell tourists how the entrance to the thermal pools works--this is important, esp for non-European travellers.
Rating:
Summary: Iceland Guide book is great
Review: This is the best series of guide books. There are not many complete guides to Icleand. I studied this book before I went on my vacation to Icleand. After reading in the "places to see" section I chose exactly what I wanted to see in Iceland. It just so happens this book led me to take a 10 hour tour in Iceland that is not the most popular tour--it ended up being the best part of my trip. If you go to Iceland, take the South Shore tour and visit the black sand beach and smaller waterfalls--not just the Golden Circle. You can read all about the sights in this book. The restaurant guide is very helpful. I give it 4 stars because some of the information is outdated. For example there are lockers at the Blue Lagoon. And the book should tell tourists how the entrance to the thermal pools works--this is important, esp for non-European travellers.
Rating:
Summary: Great Travel guide
Review: This was a gift from my mother-in-law, she purchased the book before we went to Iceland. The book was only fair in explaining the culture and history, but as a travel guide it does very nicely. We keep this book in our car and use it to find our way around in Iceland. If you are wanting a book that explains the culture I would suggest Iceland: The Land of Sagas--But if you want a book that will help you with your trip to Iceland this is the book to purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Get this book
Review: What a wonderful survey of Iceland! This 378-page book is printed on heavy, slick paper, unlike the usual travel-book newsprint, and has very readable type. It's full of beautiful photos, but they don't overwhelm the wealth of information. Page layouts are varied with enough white space to keep you moving along. The editors cover EVERYTHING! There are many maps, and each location is handily indexed to a map site and page. The text is honest, straight-forward, and interesting with plenty of variation in type face. The movable Location Finder helps you quickly find what you need.
Rating:
Summary: Insight Guide Iceland
Review: What a wonderful survey of Iceland! This 378-page book is printed on heavy, slick paper, unlike the usual travel-book newsprint, and has very readable type. It's full of beautiful photos, but they don't overwhelm the wealth of information. Page layouts are varied with enough white space to keep you moving along. The editors cover EVERYTHING! There are many maps, and each location is handily indexed to a map site and page. The text is honest, straight-forward, and interesting with plenty of variation in type face. The movable Location Finder helps you quickly find what you need.
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