Croatia Berlitz Pocket Guide

...only had one book covering Croatia so that’s how I came to purchase the Berlitz Pocket Guide at £4.99.

===Appearance===

First impressions of this guidebook were very positive. It is, as the name suggest, compact in size and easy to carry around at slightly smaller than 4x6 inches. The cover has an enchanting photograph of Dubrovnik and the predominant colour of the book cover is blue, in-keeping with all the Berlitz ...
...were actually quite hard-going. Croatia has had a reasonably turbulent history which should have made for interesting reading but somehow it just seemed hard-work. The sub-headings are in just slightly larger font than the rest of the writing and there seems to be huge blocks of text to plough through. Some of the more recent incidents such as the Siege of Dubrovnik were in separate coloured boxes and this made them easier to read.

... more

I am the sort of person who enjoys planning for their holiday. I love researching our destination and I devour as much information as I can before I go as I find that if I am knowledgeable about a place I enjoy myself much more. Embarking on a cruise last year was my idea of heaven as it gave me ample opportunity to research lots of different places.
One of our ports of call was Dubrovnik and it soon became apparent that this would be a suitable destination for an independent sightseeing tour. I read quite a bit on the internet but decided that taking a guidebook with us was probably a wise move. My local bookshop only had one book covering Croatia so that’s how I came to purchase the Berlitz Pocket Guide at £4.99.

Appearance

First impressions of this guidebook were very positive. It is, as the name suggest, compact in size and easy to carry around at slightly smaller than 4x6 inches. The cover has an enchanting photograph of Dubrovnik and the predominant colour of the book cover is blue, in-keeping with all the Berlitz range. The cover has a plasticised finish which is really useful. It keeps the book neat as the cover isn’t prone to getting bent when knocking around in a rucksack, it also doesn’t get marks or stains from coming into contact with sun lotion bottles and the like!
Inside the front and rear covers are fold out maps of the main cities (Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split). I have found with some guides that these get easily ripped or otherwise damaged. With this little book they were made from the same plastic as the covers so they are hardwearing and easy to refer too. The general impression as you flick through the book is of lots of colour with attractive photographs on almost every page.

Introduction and History

Being the travel anorak that I am I immediately sat down to read the Introduction chapter and the History chapter. I found that these were actually quite hard-going. Croatia has had a reasonably turbulent history which should have made for interesting reading but somehow it just seemed hard-work. The sub-headings are in just slightly larger font than the rest of the writing and there seems to be huge blocks of text to plough through. Some of the more recent incidents such as the Siege of Dubrovnik were in separate coloured boxes and this made them easier to read.

Where To Go

This chapter covers all of Croatia in one section. Titles and sub-headings once again did not stand out clearly when flicking through. Places of interest in the text are in bold print. The information contained in these pages was interesting and relevant but it was quite difficult to re-locate something that you had read and wanted to read again. I would have preferred this chapter to have been split into easier to navigate sections. Items of particular interest are presented in coloured boxes so are easy to spot.

What To Do

This chapter is split into Sporting Activities, Shopping and activities for children. Once again the information was interesting but seemed presented in a disjointed fashion. I prefer all the information about an area and things to do all in the same place. With this guide you had to check this section to see if an activity you were interested in was available in your chosen location. I feel that this could lead to you missing information that the book contains.

Eating Out

This chapter gives some good information on the culture of food in the area including meal-times and local specialities. There is also a section on local drinks and other wines. There is a vocabulary page at the back of this section with phrases that you may need in restaurants and lists of foodstuffs. This is useful for interpreting menus but there is no pronunciation guide so you may still end up with a surprise to eat if your Croatian is not up to speed!

Travel Tips

This chapter is all printed on blue pages to make it easy to locate and is arranged in alphabetical order of subject matter. There is lots of useful information located in this section ranging from climate to healthcare and certainly gives the traveller good background information. There are lots of references to useful websites that are also worth looking at. Once again there are lots of useful phrases but no pronunciation but you would still be able to use the pointing at the phrase method that normally yields understanding.

Hotels and Restaurants

This final section printed on yellow pages lists hotels and restaurants. The list is obviously not comprehensive but it does give useful background information on establishments that are available. There is also a guide to pricing.

Final Thoughts

Overall this I think the guide-book is satisfactory but it didn’t light the flames of excitement about my trip. The layout just doesn’t lend itself to “dipping in” and finding little pieces of information. All the necessary facts are contained but somehow they were just a little tricky to find. The compact size and hard-wearing cover are certainly things in its favour. However I haven’t seen any other guide-books for sale on Croatia so this may be the best there is!
 

...less