Footprint Central America and Mexico Handbook 2003

Rating:
Summary: INFORMATIVE,GREAT BUT.....
Review: First of.. don't even begin a trip without getting this book. I found that out on my first trip to Mexico and Belize after constantly borrowing other travellers editions. So it's as comprehensive as you'll get in a multiple country handbook (if you're planning on spending a lot of time in one country get the footprint guide for that country-as this book will have it's shortfalls if that's what you're doing); with some good info and if you're really looking to get down to the nitty gritty of the country then this book is for you. However, I found that sometimes the author was a little too critical of places and towards the end of our trip when we decided to kick our heels and say goodbye to the bus trips and backpacking and head off to a resort town for 3 days before heading home, the book was really lacking. The Frommers Guide more than made up for this and I think that next time I go back to travel around Central America and decide to spend some time in Mexico do yourself a favor and get the Frommers guide and travel with both.

Rating:
Summary: A very impressive guide which I strongly recommend.
Review: I used this guide during my three weeks in Nicaragua and enjoyed the excellent writing style. His accommodations and restaurants recommendations are up-to-date and reliable. I found his recommendations to always be valid and that says a lot about a guide.

Hutchison's writing is succinct and unencumbered by the superfluous. He gives you a solid mental picture, within a paragraph or two, of what to expect and how you can enjoy it. I also enjoyed his "Further Reading & Cinema" sections that he has with each country.

Because this guide covers all of Central America and Mexico, the history, economic, culture and environment sections are abbreviated and you may wish for more. Thus, if you are going to visit just one country, as I did, you may want to buy only that country's guide. For Nicaragua I also bought "Moon Travel - Nicaragua". (see my review)

The guide could improve it's weak, mediocre maps. Also frustrating, in all Footprint guides, is the use a price guide for accommodations. Instead of just stating the price per room, Footprint gives you a cumbersome group of letters that correspond to the cost of the room. The problem is that you may forget that LL=$... and up. Or that the letter "A" next to a hotel means it costs around $... So you have to find the legion again and figure it out. You would think that as many years as FootPrint has been around, they would have realized that just quoting the cost of the room in dollars is the best way.

Also, there was no mention by Hutchison regarding the rising problems with crime and gangs in Managua (Capital of Nicaragua). In fact he recommends seeing the old Cathedral "at night" and, for the past few years, this is and has been, a dangerous area for violent crime. In fact, when I asked to go to this area in the daytime, even then the taxi driver told me be careful using the words: "peligroso, peligroso". While I was there I talked with the Cathedral's resident shoe shine man and he also told me the area was very dangerous at night, and he leaves every day at 5pm because "me gusto mi vida."

That said, this is a very impressive guide which I strongly recommend for those going to various Central American Countries. Strongly Recommended 4.5 stars

Rating:
Summary: A very impressive guide which I strongly recommend.
Review: I used this guide during my three weeks in Nicaragua and enjoyed the excellent writing style. His accommodations and restaurants recommendations are up-to-date and reliable. I found his recommendations to always be valid and that says a lot about a guide.

Hutchison's writing is succinct and unencumbered by the superfluous. He gives you a solid mental picture, within a paragraph or two, of what to expect and how you can enjoy it. I also enjoyed his "Further Reading & Cinema" sections that he has with each country.

Because this guide covers all of Central America and Mexico, the history, economic, culture and environment sections are abbreviated and you may wish for more. Thus, if you are going to visit just one country, as I did, you may want to buy only that country's guide. For Nicaragua I also bought "Moon Travel - Nicaragua". (see my review)

The guide could improve it's weak, mediocre maps. Also frustrating, in all Footprint guides, is the use a price guide for accommodations. Instead of just stating the price per room, Footprint gives you a cumbersome group of letters that correspond to the cost of the room. The problem is that you may forget that LL=$... and up. Or that the letter "A" next to a hotel means it costs around $... So you have to find the legion again and figure it out. You would think that as many years as FootPrint has been around, they would have realized that just quoting the cost of the room in dollars is the best way.

Also, there was no mention by Hutchison regarding the rising problems with crime and gangs in Managua (Capital of Nicaragua). In fact he recommends seeing the old Cathedral "at night" and, for the past few years, this is and has been, a dangerous area for violent crime. In fact, when I asked to go to this area in the daytime, even then the taxi driver told me be careful using the words: "peligroso, peligroso". While I was there I talked with the Cathedral's resident shoe shine man and he also told me the area was very dangerous at night, and he leaves every day at 5pm because "me gusto mi vida."

That said, this is a very impressive guide which I strongly recommend for those going to various Central American Countries. Strongly Recommended 4.5 stars

Rating:
Summary: The best book among the South American guides but...
Review: If you compare this book to the other guides available it deserves 5 stars. It is the one definitely providing more information, also if compared to books on only one specific country. However the way data are presented is a little confusing and far from the Lonely Planet clarity. In Mexico, most of the hotels described as clean where not exactly like that. Moreover, many times it happened that excellent hotels (some with surprisingly low prices) were not even mentioned while a lot of space was given to overpriced and/or not so good places (is the guide really up-to-date?). Last note: it would be nice if the pages were a little thicker/sturdier (again Lonely Planet is the reference), but that is definitely less important.

Rating:
Summary: Information overload
Review: This book is great for those travellers in the mid to upper price range (those tour and hotel ads every few pages can get annoying though). If youre looking for organised tours and comfortable travel then I would recommend this book. If your after a travel experience on a tight budget, then I would suggest another book. It has great background information on everything you could possibly want to know, but most times you have to sift through pages and pages just to get to the point.
Overall, this is a thorough and well researched book and accomodation guide. But not for the budget backpacker.

Rating:
Summary: Information overload
Review: This is the most complete and reliable guide for everyone - from budget/alternative to business travelers. The information given is useful and accurate, even for the most remote areas. I have spent a lot of time in Mexico, Central and South America over the past 25 years and the Footprint guidebooks have always turned out to b e far more useful than any others.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Reliable Guide
Review: This is the most complete and reliable guide for everyone - from budget/alternative to business travelers. The information given is useful and accurate, even for the most remote areas. I have spent a lot of time in Mexico, Central and South America over the past 25 years and the Footprint guidebooks have always turned out to b e far more useful than any others.