Let's Go 2000: Eastern Europe : The World's Bestselling Budget Travel Series

Rating:
Summary: Everything Between Prague and Peking
Review: I've been using this book in Moscow and Western Russia and have loved it. It seems perfect for those who are spending time in Eastern Europe but don't want an encyclopedia on every last little town (i.e., Lonely Planet). It has as all you need to know for a good time anywhere behind the Iron Curtain -- it even has a little bit on Ulaanbator. Unless you're spending a ton of time in one place, it doesn't make sense to go buy of a bunch of more specific books. Plus, I should add that the maps in this Let's Go are much better than ones I've seen in the past.

Rating:
Summary: I'm going!
Review: Let's Go guides have always been first rate -- particularly for students and other budget travelers. Having done quite a bit of traveling in Eastern Europe, I was impressed by this book. Thorough coverage, lots of useful info, and fun to read. I particularly enjoyed the section on Poland. I will definitely have this book under my arm when I travel next.

Rating:
Summary: Details, but not much depth-- still, a decent travel almanac
Review: The great thing about the "Let's Go Easter Europe" guide is it's current-- A new edition out each year ensures you get the latest possible travel information publishing deadlines allow. But, before you spend money on this one, I'd go to the local library to be sure it's what you want.

This is a basic travel guide with a significant amount of details, and a few exceptional articles, covering travel in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Because you're talking 17 countries here, you are not going to have a great deal of material in terms of background and history. If you want to know what the area you're going to visit looks like, wait until you arrive, because "Let's Go" doesn't believe in giving you any hints there- the "only" photographs in 840+ pages are on the cover and a couple of advertisements.

Another thing- you'll find a "duplicate" set of decent color maps for 4 major cities: Moscow, Prague, Budapest and Krakow. These are located on the front and rear sections adjacent to the cover. I assume that is so you can rip one out to take on the road with you. The rest of the countries have maps incorporated into the text (on poorer quality paper). The thing is- with Eastern Europe, it's tough to get a decent map at times. It would have been great if "Let's Go" invested in equally good ones for all the countries' major city.

Just in case you need to know, here are the countries "Let's Go" addresses in this edition: Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.

All in all, I think the book is useful, but not the best available. I would not rely on this book alone unless you on a limited business trip or a short overnight type of stay or tour. If you are going to spend the money to really visit some of these incredible countries and gorgeous cities, find other

resources to supplement your travel preparation.

Here are my recommendations based on our experience: First, if you are going to the Baltics or Belarus pick up a copy of the "In Your Pocket" city guides. You can find out more about these quarterly-updated guides by doing a simple web search to locate their site. They are absolutely the best little guides! If you order them, allow about a month for delivery. Otherwise, when you arrive in a city they review (i.e. Vilnius, Tallinn, Riga, Minsk etc.), pick one up on arrival at the airport before you go. They may be at a better hotels, but often they are difficult to find once you leave the terminal.

Also I'd recommend checking out the "Insight Guide" series for your area of interest. The one for the Baltics is superb. They offer a depth of great background and history with tons of photographs. Also, Lonely Planet guides are my favorite for the amount of information in a small space. Either of these have my vote as "stand alone" guides if you were to only buy one.

Rating:
Summary: I'm going!
Review: The great thing about the "Let's Go Easter Europe" guide is it's current-- A new edition out each year ensures you get the latest possible travel information publishing deadlines allow. But, before you spend money on this one, I'd go to the local library to be sure it's what you want.

This is a basic travel guide with a significant amount of details, and a few exceptional articles, covering travel in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Because you're talking 17 countries here, you are not going to have a great deal of material in terms of background and history. If you want to know what the area you're going to visit looks like, wait until you arrive, because "Let's Go" doesn't believe in giving you any hints there- the "only" photographs in 840+ pages are on the cover and a couple of advertisements.

Another thing- you'll find a "duplicate" set of decent color maps for 4 major cities: Moscow, Prague, Budapest and Krakow. These are located on the front and rear sections adjacent to the cover. I assume that is so you can rip one out to take on the road with you. The rest of the countries have maps incorporated into the text (on poorer quality paper). The thing is- with Eastern Europe, it's tough to get a decent map at times. It would have been great if "Let's Go" invested in equally good ones for all the countries' major city.

Just in case you need to know, here are the countries "Let's Go" addresses in this edition: Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.

All in all, I think the book is useful, but not the best available. I would not rely on this book alone unless you on a limited business trip or a short overnight type of stay or tour. If you are going to spend the money to really visit some of these incredible countries and gorgeous cities, find other

resources to supplement your travel preparation.

Here are my recommendations based on our experience: First, if you are going to the Baltics or Belarus pick up a copy of the "In Your Pocket" city guides. You can find out more about these quarterly-updated guides by doing a simple web search to locate their site. They are absolutely the best little guides! If you order them, allow about a month for delivery. Otherwise, when you arrive in a city they review (i.e. Vilnius, Tallinn, Riga, Minsk etc.), pick one up on arrival at the airport before you go. They may be at a better hotels, but often they are difficult to find once you leave the terminal.

Also I'd recommend checking out the "Insight Guide" series for your area of interest. The one for the Baltics is superb. They offer a depth of great background and history with tons of photographs. Also, Lonely Planet guides are my favorite for the amount of information in a small space. Either of these have my vote as "stand alone" guides if you were to only buy one.

Rating:
Summary: Details, but not much depth-- still, a decent travel almanac
Review: The great thing about the "Let's Go Easter Europe" guide is it's current-- A new edition out each year ensures you get the latest possible travel information publishing deadlines allow. But, before you spend money on this one, I'd go to the local library to be sure it's what you want.

This is a basic travel guide with a significant amount of details, and a few exceptional articles, covering travel in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Because you're talking 17 countries here, you are not going to have a great deal of material in terms of background and history. If you want to know what the area you're going to visit looks like, wait until you arrive, because "Let's Go" doesn't believe in giving you any hints there- the "only" photographs in 840+ pages are on the cover and a couple of advertisements.

Another thing- you'll find a "duplicate" set of decent color maps for 4 major cities: Moscow, Prague, Budapest and Krakow. These are located on the front and rear sections adjacent to the cover. I assume that is so you can rip one out to take on the road with you. The rest of the countries have maps incorporated into the text (on poorer quality paper). The thing is- with Eastern Europe, it's tough to get a decent map at times. It would have been great if "Let's Go" invested in equally good ones for all the countries' major city.

Just in case you need to know, here are the countries "Let's Go" addresses in this edition: Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.

All in all, I think the book is useful, but not the best available. I would not rely on this book alone unless you on a limited business trip or a short overnight type of stay or tour. If you are going to spend the money to really visit some of these incredible countries and gorgeous cities, find other

resources to supplement your travel preparation.

Here are my recommendations based on our experience: First, if you are going to the Baltics or Belarus pick up a copy of the "In Your Pocket" city guides. You can find out more about these quarterly-updated guides by doing a simple web search to locate their site. They are absolutely the best little guides! If you order them, allow about a month for delivery. Otherwise, when you arrive in a city they review (i.e. Vilnius, Tallinn, Riga, Minsk etc.), pick one up on arrival at the airport before you go. They may be at a better hotels, but often they are difficult to find once you leave the terminal.

Also I'd recommend checking out the "Insight Guide" series for your area of interest. The one for the Baltics is superb. They offer a depth of great background and history with tons of photographs. Also, Lonely Planet guides are my favorite for the amount of information in a small space. Either of these have my vote as "stand alone" guides if you were to only buy one.

Rating:
Summary: The world's greatest travel guide!
Review: Witty, thorough, and accurate, this is the best travel guide I've ever used. It made travel in Eastern Europe a pleasure. Globetrotters who love Eastern Europe (as all globetrotters should) owe editors Melissa Gibson, Richard Parr, and Angus Burgin an enormous debt for their spectacular work.