Frommer's Italy: Comprehensive Guide Covers the Middle Ground in Travel Style and Budget
Written: Feb 10 '05 (Updated Aug 26 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comprehensive, detailed and up to date contact information and prices, good descriptions.
Cons: Doesn't cover low- or no-budget travel.
The Bottom Line: A wide range of travelers will find this is the only book they need. Extensive lodging and dining choices with detailed descriptions. Very up to date.
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| jsquarejj's Full Review: Frommer's 2004 Italy Books |
I took my first trip to Europe about 20 years ago (1984) at age 33--kind of a late start. I owe my enjoyment of that month-long seven-country journey and many more since to Rick Steves's now classic travel skills guide, Europe Through the Back Door. It taught me how to venture confidently into all kinds of new situations with the goal of having a more fun, unstructured, intimate and less expensive vacation a bit off the standard tourist track.
I still think Steves's book is essential for anyone planning a first trip to Europe (see link below), and I highly recommend his individual guides for a certain breed of traveler. I still use his guides as planning aids, but starting around age 45, I seem to have moved into a different "demographic," one that's much more compatible with the approach of the Frommer series of guides.
What’s In the Guide
Frommer's Italy 2005 is a comprehensive travel guide to all of Italy. In approximately 800 pages, it covers all the information you need to plan and go on an Italian vacation, including required documents, transportation to, from and within the country, lodging, dining, sightseeing, shopping, nightlife, etc. It covers all the regions and major cities at a level that some travelers will never exhaust. That is to say, it could serve as your only guidebook to Italy, even for several trips. Of course, travelers who want a deeper experience will have to supplement this great volume. It also has some essays that provide excellent introductions to Italian art and architecture, history and cuisine.
Frommer's treatment of specific destinations is broad and deep. Of course, he covers all the major tourist stops--Rome, Florence, Tuscany and Umbria, Venice, etc., as well as Bologna and Emilia-Romagna, the Dolomites, Milan, Lombardy and the Lake District, Turin, Genoa and the Italian Riviers, the Naples region, and Sicily. The guide has sections on more than 70 different cities, towns, regions.
You won’t find a section on every little town that might be of some interest, but the series has both regional and city guides that go deeper. On the other hand, this volume gives more space than some others guides to some lesser known destinations like the Cinque Terre and Paestum (who knew the best ancient Greek temples were in Italy?).
Frommer's approach to lodging and dining makes it very easy to pick your establishments. In the large cities, he organizes the listings by neighborhood, and within neighborhood, under headings of very expensive, expensive, moderate and inexpensive. Frankly, if you have to ask, you'll probably want to stick with the moderate and inexpensive categories--I sure do--except for a very occasional big splurge. For each hotel and restaurant, he provides a long descriptive paragraph as well as complete address, telephone and fax numbers, email, price range, operating hours, nearest metro stop and credit cards accepted. For hotels he also lists the number of rooms and amenities such as breakfast, bar, hair dryers, safes, etc. For restaurants he describes the cuisine and notes specific dishes of interest.
Even more helpful for making quick judgments, Frommer has a star rating system and a set of icons for rating restaurants, lodging and attractions. Anything with zero stars is just recommended. At the other extreme, three stars indicates an exceptional hotel or restaurant or a must see attraction. In addition, some listings add icons to indicate special Finds, Kid friendly establishments, exceptional Values, Overrated establishments, insider Tips, and places that provide special Moments or memories. I've found great satisfaction sticking to Frommer's one-star Finds for hotels and dining while pursuing the two- and three-star attractions.
For sightseeing, Frommer picks the usual highlights and rarely has anything unusual or odd. The descriptions of attractions are generally straightforward, offering facts but only occasional insight.
The book includes tear-out color map of the whole country. It also has many fairly detailed local street maps showing the locations of hotels, restaurants and attractions. You could get by with just these maps, but if you want to really set off on your own, you'll need better maps.
Overall Impression
Frommer's Italy fits very well with my current travel budget and style, namely frugal but not penny pinching, accustom to comfort but not luxury. This isn't a guide for college students with backpacks, but at the other extreme, stick to Frommer's very expensive selections and you'll have a first class luxury trip.
Useful Links
Save 2% to 3% on foreign transactions with this credit card.
For a different travel style and more frugal budget, check out Rick Steves’s Italy,
Rick Steves's Europe Through the Back Door is essential reading before your first trip to Europe.
For a no-hassle rental car in Italy, check out my review of Avis.
Here's everything you need to know about travel money and tourist ripoffs on your European Vacation.
Finally, use this no-fee Visa card to get 1% cash back on all your pretrip expenses.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jsquarejj
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Member: Jim J
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Reviews written: 190
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About Me:
#7 in Personal Finance, #14 in Travel. My goal? Saving you money.
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