Lonely Planet Greek Islands (Lonely Planet. Greek Islands, 2004)

Rating:
Summary: Buy this book!
Review: This is a great guide book for a trip to the islands. It offers good information on Athens and great background information on Greek culture and history. Beware: the Flying Dolphin office no longer exists in Athens and avoid Hotel Pelican. I also would not recommend the Art Gallery Hotel in Athens. Try Acropolis House instead.

Rating:
Summary: This book works
Review: This was my first of many 'Lonely Planet' trips. The Athens hotel reccomendation (our first stop) turned out to be a small place with a lovely breakfast served on the communal 4th floor balcony filled with tropical plants and overlooking the Acropolis. With each stop on the Cycladic Islands, we appreciated this direct and detailed guide that shows you what qualities to look for in an authentic Greek restaurant, tells you why all the cats and dogs are around, while all the while allowing you the freedom and comfort to explore.

Rating:
Summary: This book works
Review: This was my first of many 'Lonely Planet' trips. The Athens hotel reccomendation (our first stop) turned out to be a small place with a lovely breakfast served on the communal 4th floor balcony filled with tropical plants and overlooking the Acropolis. With each stop on the Cycladic Islands, we appreciated this direct and detailed guide that shows you what qualities to look for in an authentic Greek restaurant, tells you why all the cats and dogs are around, while all the while allowing you the freedom and comfort to explore.

Rating:
Summary: Lonely Planet worked better than Fodors...
Review: We had two guidebooks with us on our three week trip to the Greek Islands in August 2004. We went to four different Islands, and Lonely Planet found us better food and accomidations at every stop. We tried going to three different restaurants recommended in Fodors, and each was out of business. The Lonely Planet guide found us excellent food at restuarants that were still in business. I usually prefer Fodors, but I think it was out of date and needs a refresher!

Rating:
Summary: Love Lonely Planet, but...
Review: While usually a great fan of Lonely Planet guides, I found other Greek Islands guides to top this one. I found The Rough Guide to contain more (and better) information and detail on a greater number of villages. Some island villages which looked interesting to me would not be even mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, yet would be in The Rough Guide. As well, I found the Cadogan (Dana Facaros) Greek Islands guide, while not completely written for the backpacker to be more helpful, with all of the basic information needed, fantastic writing and a satisfactory Athens chapter. I hope they improve the Lonely Planet Greek Islands guide as they're a wonderful outfit, but I'd pass on this one.