Lonely Planet Vietnam Author: Visit Amazon's Iain Stewart Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1741797152 | Format: PDF
Lonely Planet Vietnam Description
- Series: Country Travel Guide
- Paperback: 568 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet; 11 edition (March 1, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9781741797152
- ISBN-13: 978-1741797152
- ASIN: 1741797152
- Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Vietnam is a fast changing place. Since the time that they first opened up the country to visitors from the US, cities like Saigon have undergone so much construction that a guide book from just a few years ago is sure to be outdated. This one covers things from the old to the new. It's the result of about six months of research from people who visited the area, and covers a lot of ground.
The primary emphasis of any guide book should be to familiarize readers with the country, its regions, what parts to visit and what to expect there. This book does a good job of that, giving lots of details about everything from historical landmarks to beach resorts, and full color photos.
The book also gives you background about the country, its history, politics, and how things developed into what they are now. Understanding the background and culture is important for the enjoyment of any trip.
This book covers the major regions, cities, towns, and just about all the places that a tourist would be likely to go. It won't cover every little town, and in some cases, resort areas are covered well but the surrounding towns are hardly mentioned. If a place warrants a few paragraphs, it would not hurt to mention when it also has a world class resort rather than making sure to list 25 hotels in the city next to it.
On the other hand, there are far more places mentioned than a person could reasonably expect to cover in a several trips, and most hotels mentioned also have their websites or email address listed, making it easy to visit those, and visit travel websites for more specifics.
Lonely Planet Guides are usually quite informative and the newest Vietnam guide is no exception. Updated info and new sections make this one worth purchasing even if you have earlier editions. Everything I'd expect to find is here - pull-out maps, lists of hotels, planning tools, restaurants, bars, tourist attractions as well as areas worth visiting which are off the beaten track. But it is the unique details that keep Lonely Planet's Vietnam guide from being generic and bland. Want to take classes at a cooking school and learn to prepare exotic specialties? Or perhaps you want to visit a historic old home while passing through Hoi An in Central Vietnam (a bonus is that this attraction is free).
I particularly appreciate the icons which let readers know of green options, top recommendations, and places where no payment is required. These icons are easy to see and in boxes next to the title of each attraction, although I think they'd be more noticeable if they were in red print...maybe in the next edition. But this is a minor point considering the strengths of this book and the fact that those on budgets can find plenty of places that won't cost a cent.
When approaching any travel guide it helps to realize that it is nearly impossible to include the latest information for all hotels,etc. There will always be changes from the time the a guide is published to the present. But Lonely Planet's Vietnam volume contains the basic cultural and other information to keep a traveler in the know and ready to find new adventures along the way.
Safety is also a major focus, particularly helpful to wary or anxious travelers. They'll find reassuring tips here.
Examples: How to avoid hotel nightmares, disreputable taxi drivers, pushy tour guides, and more.
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