Rating: 
Summary: Lonely Plantet - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania
Review: A major disappointment. I bought this book expecting useful information on travel between the three Baltic Republics but found virtually nothing of value. The book does devote a half page to Trans-Siberian train travel with mention of side trips to Lake Baykal and Mongolia. Figure that one out. Most of the "Getting There and Away" has to do with getting to the individual Republics from Europe and other parts of the world and even a lot of this is out dated. It seems that much of the book is cut and paste and lacks continuity between the various pieces. This book is need of a complete overhaul. Sorry to say, it's better than nothing, but not by a significant margin.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful, but needs some work
Review: As usual, Lonely Planet guides give the most detailed information on the "nuts and bolts" of travel (bus and train instructions, locations and practicalities.) We found this particularly useful in a region where we did not share a common language with the people.
However, tourism to the Baltic region boomed in 2004 with these countries' entry into the EU, making the book's hotel listings completely inadequate. I don't fault the authors/editors for not anticipating the boom, but rather comment that, for example, with only 3000 hotel rooms in Vilnius a guidebook now needs to list a lot more hotles so visitors can hope to get one of those now-coveted rooms!
The other drawback of this book is common to most other Lonely Planet titles: the information on cities, buildings, monuments, etc., is very dry (lacks color) and is overly terse. For such information, I have come to enjoy Rough Guides which usually include enjoyable walking tours of the major tourist areas.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent as is all of LP in Eastern Europe
Review: As with all of Lonely Planet in Eastern Europe, this book is excellent. The historical background is particularly good, it makes some sense of an extremely complicated, and at times, surprising history. This are in many ways countries, almost of myth and old stamp collections, that have come back to the real world -a fairy tale in more ways than one. This book keeps that spirit alive, and I highly commend it.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best guide to Lithuania
Review: I am a fairly frequent visitor to Vilnius, and can confirm that this is by far the best guide to Vilnius and the rest of Lithuania, whether as to culture, history, or current attractions. (Leaving aside, of course, the invaluable Vilnius in Your Pocket which you should buy at the airport). I haven't been to Tallin since 1993, but the Estonian section seemed very good too. The Vilnius section of the competing Let's Go Guide to Eastern Europe is riddled with errors.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best guide to Lithuania
Review: I am a fairly frequent visitor to Vilnius, and can confirm that this is by far the best guide to Vilnius and the rest of Lithuania, whether as to culture, history, or current attractions. (Leaving aside, of course, the invaluable Vilnius in Your Pocket which you should buy at the airport). I haven't been to Tallin since 1993, but the Estonian section seemed very good too. The Vilnius section of the competing Let's Go Guide to Eastern Europe is riddled with errors.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding guide like no others!
Review: I've used this guide to travel from Estonia to Lithuania via Latvia, and I can assure that the coverage of those countries is absolutely great. The stories included in the book are simply juicy drops of culture, and surely they capture your interest and push you to get more deeply in the history of those sites you are visiting. No matters where you go, you will find the essential information and much more than that. This guide worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Accurate, detailed and competent
Review: In common with our Lonely Planet publications, the book is extremely strong on research and honesty; the latter sometimes can border with cynicism, but then I do not see anything wrong with this. It is perhaps a good idea to have realistic expectations.For getting around, lodging and day-to-day needs, the book is superb (although upon arrival, you will also want to buy one of locally published "In Your Pocket" guides - these remarkable and inexpensive magazines are in the league of their own). Unless you already know a lot about the history and spirit of the Baltic states, you may long for some more pictures and articles where timetables and opening times are NOT mentioned. In this case, Baltic States by Insight Guides can be recommended as a supplement - but by no means as a substitute. The Baltic countries, which do not have a streamlined and shrink-wrapped tourist industry, are a destination where a Lonely Planet guide is needed, whatever your budget. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are friendly and well-developed, but even premium-paying customers can seldom expect to be steered through their holiday or business trip without a bit of understanding how things work. This book is a perfect tool fitting this purpose.
Rating:
Summary: Accurate, detailed and competent
Review: In common with our Lonely Planet publications, the book is extremely strong on research and honesty; the latter sometimes can border with cynicism, but then I do not see anything wrong with this. It is perhaps a good idea to have realistic expectations. For getting around, lodging and day-to-day needs, the book is superb (although upon arrival, you will also want to buy one of locally published "In Your Pocket" guides - these remarkable and inexpensive magazines are in the league of their own). Unless you already know a lot about the history and spirit of the Baltic states, you may long for some more pictures and articles where timetables and opening times are NOT mentioned. In this case, Baltic States by Insight Guides can be recommended as a supplement - but by no means as a substitute. The Baltic countries, which do not have a streamlined and shrink-wrapped tourist industry, are a destination where a Lonely Planet guide is needed, whatever your budget. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are friendly and well-developed, but even premium-paying customers can seldom expect to be steered through their holiday or business trip without a bit of understanding how things work. This book is a perfect tool fitting this purpose.
Rating:
Summary: Great tool for independent travel
Review: In May and June 2000 I used this book to travel through Estonia and Latvia. I found it to be an awesome guide through the area. The people who wrote this book clearly spent a lot of time in the region and did a lot of research. It is geared toward the independent traveler and includes all sorts of detail that cannot be found in other travel guides. It includes information about Internet access while traveling and provides addresses for relevant Web sites. It's the bible for Baltic travel. Note: some of the listings, particularly in smaller towns, are a little bit out of date. In Haapsalu, Estonia every restaurant listed was now closed. But things change quickly over there.
Rating:
Summary: Great tool for independent travel
Review: In May and June 2000 I used this book to travel through Estonia and Latvia. I found it to be an awesome guide through the area. The people who wrote this book clearly spent a lot of time in the region and did a lot of research. It is geared toward the independent traveler and includes all sorts of detail that cannot be found in other travel guides. It includes information about Internet access while traveling and provides addresses for relevant Web sites. It's the bible for Baltic travel. Note: some of the listings, particularly in smaller towns, are a little bit out of date. In Haapsalu, Estonia every restaurant listed was now closed. But things change quickly over there.
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