Rating: 
Summary: Good reference book.
Review: I alway buy both Frommers and Fodors books when I go shoot a new DVD in this case, "The Best Virgin Island Beaches" here on Amazon. Neither are perfect but together they make up for each others weakness. I like Frommers a little better because it has a good section on beaches and descriptions. Also, their maps tend to be a little more detailed. Neither though has many pictures, so if you want to see and hear what these places really feel like, check out our DVDs after you read these books.
Rating: 
Summary: Good info, but not so easy to use
Review: I bought this book because it had more detailed info about the Virgin Islands than any of the other books in the store. When I tried to use it, I found that some important info was missing or not adequately explained. For example, the means of transportation for St Thomas are bus, taxi, car and foot according to this book. In reality the only way to get around is taxi. For a traveller on a limited budget, this was frustrating. Another example is the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie. The directions were hard to follow and the descriptions of the monuments were sparse.
Rating:
Summary: Good info, but not so easy to use
Review: I bought this book because it had more detailed info about the Virgin Islands than any of the other books in the store. When I tried to use it, I found that some important info was missing or not adequately explained. For example, the means of transportation for St Thomas are bus, taxi, car and foot according to this book. In reality the only way to get around is taxi. For a traveller on a limited budget, this was frustrating. Another example is the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie. The directions were hard to follow and the descriptions of the monuments were sparse.
Rating: 
Summary: uncommonly poor for Frommers
Review: I bought this book for a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands, having used Frommer's guides on several vacations in the past.
Most of the reviewers highlight problems in the sections on the USVI, but the sections on the BVI are worse. For example, there are none of the useful maps showing where hotels and restaurants are on the island, which makes planning day trips or dinner trips difficult. Also, it gives no hint that cabs are really the only way around, extremely expensive and highly unreliable.
I think for my next trip to the Caribbean, I will just rely on their overall Carribean book (I've used the US and Europe ones and like them) and don't see the added value of the country/island/area specific book (most of the guides are recycled content anyway).
Rating:
Summary: uncommonly poor for Frommers
Review: I have used Frommer's books on several recent vacations, and have typically found them quite useful and easily filled-in. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this guide to the Virgin Islands.The listings of hotels are very good, adn will help a traveler make a wise decision concerning which of the beautiful hotels to choose. The lists of beaches is also wonderful; and to many travellers this may be enough to plan a complete vacation. As recommended, I visited Trunk Bay and Coki Beach, and both had a wonderful atmosphere and great snorkeling. I was very unnerved, however, by several errors in the book. For example - a favorite restaurant of locals and President Clinton is listed as Eunices's, which has changed names twice; the number listed for hydrofoil service to St. Croix is incorrect (and, while my travel agent tried to find another number, she was told the service is no longer available); and, contrary to the information contained in the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie, the Pissaro paintings owned by the USVI government are in private offices and may not be viewed by the public. All perhaps small errors - but they add up when a traveler is trying to make the most of limited vacation time! Use the book as a resource, certainly. But make sure that you do not rely on it - call ahead for more information on sites you want to visit!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have used Frommer's books on several recent vacations, and have typically found them quite useful and easily filled-in. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this guide to the Virgin Islands. The listings of hotels are very good, adn will help a traveler make a wise decision concerning which of the beautiful hotels to choose. The lists of beaches is also wonderful; and to many travellers this may be enough to plan a complete vacation. As recommended, I visited Trunk Bay and Coki Beach, and both had a wonderful atmosphere and great snorkeling. I was very unnerved, however, by several errors in the book. For example - a favorite restaurant of locals and President Clinton is listed as Eunices's, which has changed names twice; the number listed for hydrofoil service to St. Croix is incorrect (and, while my travel agent tried to find another number, she was told the service is no longer available); and, contrary to the information contained in the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie, the Pissaro paintings owned by the USVI government are in private offices and may not be viewed by the public. All perhaps small errors - but they add up when a traveler is trying to make the most of limited vacation time! Use the book as a resource, certainly. But make sure that you do not rely on it - call ahead for more information on sites you want to visit!
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing...
Review: I thought I was pretty good at picking them but man, was I off this time. It's hard to tell when you've never been to the location before but after a week on St. Thomas and St. John, I wish I would've read all these others reviews before I bought this book. I was very disappointed. There were SO MANY unacceptable errors in this book. Maps were wrong...there's an error on the St. John map that shows a road when actually it's only a walking trail. There were typos that got us lost in the city. The reviews weren't accurate at all. Places where it read "live carribean music nightly" were false. The restaurants never had a live band!
Please consider purchasing another publication unless you don't mind wasting your money.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Wrong
Review: My wife and I just got back from our 3 1/2 week honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. We island hopped, starting in St. Croix, then moved on to St. Thomas, and wrapped things up in St. John where we spent a lot of time exploring Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and the other British Virgin Islands. We took several books on the islands, and this was HANDS-DOWN the best. Look no further, this is the best book available on the Virgin Islands.
Rating:
Summary: Best Available Book on the Virgin Islands
Review: My wife and I just got back from our 3 1/2 week honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. We island hopped, starting in St. Croix, then moved on to St. Thomas, and wrapped things up in St. John where we spent a lot of time exploring Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and the other British Virgin Islands. We took several books on the islands, and this was HANDS-DOWN the best. Look no further, this is the best book available on the Virgin Islands.
Rating: 
Summary: Great !
Review: This book covers all essentials for travel to the Virgin Islands. It is much more in-depth than Fodor's & seems more updated. Fodor's 2000 edition is a little outdated. The 1st time I went to the BVI, I took this book & it really helped. It is an excellent resource to the beaches, shopping, & places to stay. Even though I have been to the BVI several times, this summer I am taking this new updated 5th edition for reference
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