Advantages: Has got just about everything you need in it
Disadvantages: Too much detail in places

...Having been to Thailand and used the rough guide book as a guide in conjunction with other travel guides, such as Lonely Planet, it was very useful. Unfortunately, it was printed in 1998, so obviously some of the stuff in it was out of date, which was annoying, as it’s about time they bought out a more up-to-date version. This guide contains a lot of information and there is no way you could sit through and read it all. Yes, the essentials, such as visa info, accommodation, flight info and medical advice are explained well and useful contacts are given. However, when it comes to reading about the islands and cities, just too many sites are explained and in too much detail. The average traveller doesn’t have the time or space for such detail! I’ve always believed with recent experience that Rough Guides need... Read review

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Advantages: Small but packed full of useful information
Disadvantages: Not much

...The Internet: The Rough Guide 2000, is a great little pocket sized book to help you bridge the pitfalls of the internet. The book covers a remarkable amount of information, from your internet connection, to multimedia, to some of the best web sites on the net. This last section is well organised into categories and has some really great sites. Great as a stocking filler at Christmas, the author manages to cover just about everything you need to know, and at a snip of just £4.80 from Amazon, every surfer should have a copy!... Read review

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Advantages: Could not have explored parts of France so successfully without it!
Disadvantages: Cannot fault it!

...This book is amazing, cannot praise it enough! We decided to honeymoon in the Loire Valley. We had no additional information or reference material to work out route plans, where we might like to stop etc. so decided to purchase The Rough Guide to France, recommended by Waterstones! When first reading through the relevant pages for the regions you wish to explore, you feel the excitement rising in you to just get up and go. The descriptions of places on route were informative, not sugar coated and extremely detailed. We were over the moon with the eating and drinking sections, they were deliciously accurate with some off the beaten track and not overcrowded with tourists but used by the locals!... Read review

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Advantages: A Good general travel guide
Disadvantages: Nothing really

...bought this book from the airport departure lounge,so very little thought went into it, we just went for the only Paris specific guide there was! However, we wern't disappointed. It is a comprehensive guide covering: Basic information useful before you go, a small phrase book section, maps (including metro maps) and a guide to the sites, hotels, bars and restauraunts. The guides to the museums and sights were particularly useful, especially the guide to the Louvre. We were a bit pushed for time and so it gave us a chance to plan our trip to include the bits we really wanted to see. We tried 2 of the restauraunts listed, and, as expected the descriptions were fairly accurate. The restauraunt on the Champs-Elysee (sorry, the name escapes me) was picturesque and plesant but very touristy (as the book suggested). I felt that the level... Read review

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Advantages: Loads of useful info, well written, easy to use, durable!
Disadvantages: Don't rely on it too much - in fact, put it away for a while when travelling and explore, some of the maps are dodgy, for special attractions don't always trust the opening times

...Ok, so when you travel you really do need a guide book, and the Rough Guide is a good one. The reason, however, that I am writing this opinion is because I think that people when travelling often run the danger of becoming run by the guides. Firstly, they really don't contain very good maps (fair enough - the fact that they contain so many maps in the first place is great). So, if you are going somewhere you don't know at all, can't speak the language, has unpleasant areas and/or you are on a tight schedule - buy a nice, full street map! If you are just out for wondering about, then the Rough Guides maps are great and show most of the major attractions. Secondly - there are (forgiveably so) mistakes. Usually the guide is good at telling you what is and what is not open. However, if you stay in Berlin an extra day and travel (with... Read review

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Advantages: Huge amounts of information, handy size, nice design
Disadvantages: Some are expensive, often no colour pictures

...Available in all the major bookshops and online, Rough Guides are the premier resource for travellers, whether on a package deal or travelling independently. In most cases you can be either local (e.g. a city guide - London) or regional (e.g. the Lake District) or National (e.g. France) or even Continental - (e.g. Asia). However, dont be tempted by the thickness of the national and continental guides, as they dont contain that much detailed infomration - it is just a breif overview of the country as a whole. If you're going to a country and travelling to a few cities, get as many guides as you can, rather than just one for the whole country. ~~CONTENT~~ All the books have maps and diagrams of major towns and cities. These are usually in black and white, and are very simple - buy a seperate map if navigating on foot... Read review

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Advantages: Good history backgrounds
Disadvantages: Directions a bit off

...I went on a guided tour of Egypt and then independently in Cairo using the Rough Guide for directions and advice when needed. For the guided tour I didn't need to use the book for directions but found they were mostly right. The history and explainations of the sights are all detailed and accurate as well. The advice on dangers, tourist traps and scams were all good as well. I used it most often around Cairo and found the directions generally OK but of limited use. I think Cairo changes too fast for any guide book to be useful though, and no reliable maps of Cairo exist anyway. So I found bus stops, stations and hostels moved or non-existent, prices way off and and new scams. The major monuments are still where they should be, but ticket prices were generally increased or inflated. They were probably negotiable though. The maps needed... Read review

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Advantages: Something for every level of Internet user
Disadvantages: None, you can't go far wrong with this book

...This book is great; it starts off with information about the Internet, going from basics from www sites onto ISP directory. There are lots of sections to this book some of witch include, Frequently asked questions, Getting connected, email, surfing and so on the list is end-less. This book is good for total beginners because by reading this you will no all there is to no about the WWW and the Internet, this book is also good for more experienced users, I have been using the Net for longer then I can remember and I still use this so called Rough guide as my source of finding sites that I won't to surf into. Using the book is in my opinion better then using any search engine as the book breaks down sites under category headings. My conclusion for this book is, no matter what level of experience you have there is something for all... Read review

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Advantages: Comprehensive, yet very easy to read
Disadvantages: Quite hefty, therefore not ideal pocket book guides

...I have recently borrowed a couple of Rough Guide Travel books to prepare me for visiting Japan and Hong Kong later on this year. I have found both guides to be comprehensive and extremely easy and enjoyable to read. There are Rough Guides available for over 14,000 destinations and all have a similar format, so you can pick one up and navigate your way round very quickly. The guides begin with an introduction to the authors of the book with general information about the destination. Part One of the guides is titled BASICS, and I have found this to be the most interesting and useful section of the book. Some of the topics covered here include Getting There, Visas and Red Tape, Insurance, Health, Info and Maps, Costs, Money and Banks, Getting Around, Accommodation, Eating and Drinking, Shopping etc. This section of the book... Read review

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Advantages: Budget, backpacker perspective
Disadvantages: Lots of wrong information, American perspecive

...than a help, and many times I felt like throwing the book into the sea. Rough Guides are written from a really North American perspective (as opposed to UK, like the Rough Guides), and indeed you see many American youths carrying them around - there's even a bit of stigma attached to them I found. What I like is their backpacker perspective, providing listings of hostels and cheap hotels etc. Given that Let's Go books are printed on newsprint, they should be a lot cheaper than they are; in fact they are the same price as Rough Guides (about £12-14), which are printed on classy paper and look a lot nicer. However, I have now tried out a Rough Guide, which I was not impressed with either. I think I'll have to try Lonely Planet next!... Read review

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