Bosnia, Croatia & Herzegovina Books

Rick Steves' Croatia and Slovenia

Rick Steves, Cameron Hewitt

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Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Guidebooks

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

best in print on Croatia and Slovenia - pity about the maps 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I grew up with "Lonely Planet," taking an adventure trip almost every summer, but for my most recent vacation around ex-Yugoslavia, I decided to carefully compare what was on the market. I chose Rick Steves not only because it covered the most ground with the smallest amount of pages and weight, but also because it had the best balance of historical background, dining and lodging recommendations, and comparative evaluations of tourist sites that helped me to prioritize what to see in the few days I had available. Note that this book also has a good 70-80 pages on Bosnia and Montenegro, which are very easy to access from Southern Croatia (especially by rental car). I especially appreciated the book's comprehensive digression on how the present republics evolved out of the old Yugoslavia; Rick Steves is not only informative but remarkably balanced in his description of the Tito years and of the recent conflict between Serbia and Croatia. These issues are still on the mind of everyone you will meet out there.
Couple of quibbles: Rick Steves seems to appeal to middle-age travelers, and his nightlife suggestions should rarely be trusted! The language section is tiny and inadequate. And the maps are approximate, carelessly drawn, and missing from some major towns. On the other hand, the Tourist Information in each town will give you detailed maps for free. So, over all, I am happy I made this choice.

Editorial Review:

Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers the best ways to meander through the region's beautiful beaches, excellent restaurants, and fascinating history? With Rick Steves’ Croatia and Slovenia, travelers can experience everything Croatia and Slovenia has to offer – economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, this guide includes: opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights, friendly places to eat and sleep, suggested day plans, walking tours and trip itineraries, and clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot. America’s #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick’s time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.

Croatia (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE)

DK Publishing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Eyewitness needs to rethink this guide 1 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I am a big fan of the Eyewitness series from DK and own about a dozen of them. I have usually used Eyewitness on many of my trips and used other guides for supplemental information, if at all. I usually walk around with just my camera and the Eyewitness guide.

However, I have just returned from 3+ weeks traveling with another couple through Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Slovenia and found this guide to be pretty useless. It soon went into my suitcase and stayed there for the rest of the trip. I write this review in the hope that DK will redo this guide, as they are my favorite guidebook series.

My first criticism is that this book is confined solely to Croatia. I didn't expect is to cover neighboring countries in depth, but expected it to at least cover trips to the "highlights" of the neighboring countries: Kotor, and perhaps Budva in Montenegro; Mostar in Bosnia. These are both days trips from Dobrovnik and are included in many packaged tours. Anyone who goes to Dubrovnik and fails to also visit Kotor and Mostar is making a mistake.

Of somewhat lesser importance, I would have liked to see Lake Bled and Ljubljana in neighboring Slovenia also included. While I did not go on a tour, I did check to see where tours go and these are popular destinations on trips to the region and should, in my opinion, be included. Were they, the book would be much more useful to both tour participants and those traveling the region on their own. Including all of the places I have mentioned would add, I would think, at most 50 additional pages to the book.

The second area where this guidebook falls greviously short is restaurant and hotel recommendations. If using this book while on a tour, these are probably not important. DK has a habit of listing all restaurants in one section and all hotels in another for the entire country. I find this very awkward to use, as when in Dubrovnik, I want to find everything in the section for that city, not have to flip between different sections, and then search for Dubrovnik restaurants among listings for all areas and cities.

But fundamentally this guidebook does not adequately cover the rich choice of hotels and restauants available throughout Croatia and it's neighbors. Only a few restaurants and hotels are mentioned for most towns. If you eliminate the budget choice and the luxury choice, you are left with only one or two choices, which is just inadequate.

We used Fodor and Frommer's guidebooks to select hotels prior to the trip and to pick restaurants while we were there. The number of choices in each of these was double or triple the choices offered by Eyewitness. Two to three pages listing restaurants for Dubrovnik does not seem excessive; Eight listings for all of Dubrovnik is unquestionably inadequate.

Croatia and the surrounding Balkan areas are a wonderful place to visit. I would hope that DK would re-evaluate their approach to "Country" (as opposed to City)guides and this one in particular. As for the available choices, Rick Steves is not bad; Frommer's covers restaurants and hotels well, but is also confined to just Croatia. Fodor's may be the best overall guide at the moment.

Hungarian: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

Christina Mayer, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks

Amazon Price: $8.99 List Price: $8.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lonely Planet Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $3.10

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent New Hungarian Phrasebook! 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

Well, I am a native speaker of Hungarian myself, so I was quite curious to see this book.
For the most part, I found it very good.
The main part of the book, the phrases are quite good and natural - it really shows that they had native speakers check it.
The phrases cover all sorts of issues from shopping to visiting a doctor or even dating and having sex!
The boxed texts on culture are also quite good and often amusing.
It has only 12 pages on grammar, but that's quite spot on.
It does include a box on present tense verb conjugation (taking vowel harmony into account!), and has even devoted a whole page to conjugating four common, but irregular verbs (come, go, eat, drink). Another box conjugates "to be" and yet another shows the suffixes for possessions. I guess it's quite OK for the space.
The 2000 word dictionary at the back is quite comprehensive.
A weaker point is the "phonetical transliteration" system used - Hungarian is written fully phonetically in its original form (thankfully also presented here), but the phonetical transliteration provided here for English-speakers may result in blank looks in many cases - you could always choose to ignore it.
The intro contains useful facts about the history and roots of the language, though the map showing where Hungarian is supposedly spoken might raise some eyebrows in neighbouring countries! ;-)
The layout is attractive, with color illustrations.
I even like the cover (different from what is shown on Amazon)- certainly better than a kitshy horseman or traditionally clad dancer could have been! ;-)
Overall: RECOMMENDED.
If you are planning to spend any time away from the major cities and tourist areas, you will find it VERY useful!

Editorial Review:

If you thought Rubik's cube was difficult, imagine travelling in Hungary without this phrasebook! Take the confusion out of your travels and invent your own Hungarian experience.

Our phrasebooks give you a comprehensive mix of practical and social words and phrases in more than 120 languages. Chat with the locals and discover their culture - a guaranteed way to enrich your travel experience.

Fools Rush In: A True Story of War and Redemption

Bill Carter

Amazon Price: $11.09 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wenner Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $1.88

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> International -> Relations
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Published in Britain to great acclaim -- a startling, gut-wrenching memoir of war, personal dissolution, and rebirth -- based on the author's experiences in Bosnia.

When tragedy strikes Bill Carter's life he finds himself drawn to an unlikely place -- Bosnia, in the midst of its civil war. Searching for meaning in the heart of darkness, he manages to find lodging in an abandoned tower block and sets out getting supplies to the starved, besieged citizens of Sarajevo. It is there that Carter emerges from his stupor. Inspired by a community of people working to bring relief to the city, he daringly enlists the help of music group U2 and its lead singer, Bono, who set up satellite links on the band's Zooropa tour that allowed ordinary citizens of Sarajevo to speak unedited and live on 90-foot television screens to thousands of concertgoers worldwide.

Just as Michael Herr's Vietnam memoir Dispatches captured the horror of war for the '60s generation, Bill Carter's Fools Rush In will be the seminal book for this generation on the visceral and transformative impact of war in our time.

Croatia (Country Guide)

Jeanne Oliver

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A solid guide w/ mostly accurate info 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I used LP Croatia side-by-side with the Rough Guide to Croatia during May and June 2006. I only visited Southern and Central Dalmatia including Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik.

LP Croatia is concise and had no serious inaccuracies but it lacked lots of the context, detail, and history that the Rough Guide provided. If you're just looking for places to go, how to get there, and where to stay I'd get LP. If you want more of a tour guide with lots of bios, background, art & architecture info, I'd take the Rough Guide. If I went again, I'd take both.

Pros: Good logistical information on how to get around and where sites were. Good food sections (burek is amazing) and good language/phrase sections(except that the most important words were all buried). Also, did a great job of explaining how the private room accommodations work. Provided good, practical advice on how to get the best rooms, etc.

Cons:
Maps were sometimes inaccurate--Rough Guide's were generally better. This was largely because of the lack of street signs and lots of small alleys that trick you. GPS would have been very useful.

Unusually, I think LP underrated some places--namely Dubrovnik.

Doesn't prioritize where to go or what to see. For instance, Diocletian's Palace in Split was covered in graffiti and the city had little to offer.

They need a section on "If you have to choose" between different sites and different cities that tells you which are the best sites overall for certain interests.

Bottom line: LP Croatia was a solid travel guide but it could have provided more advice to the first-time traveler.

Editorial Review:

Chase the ghosts - or your shadow - through the basement halls of Diocletian's Palace in Split, p. 191. Eyeball an elephant amid the subtropical greenery at Tito's hideaway on the Brijuni Islands, p. 135. Sniff out a truffle in the Istrian hills and cook them local-style with eggs or pasta, p. 148. Get your kit off and swim with the naturist locals on the Pakleni Islands, p. 222. Find out if all those spotted dogs really come from Dalmatia, p. 22.

The original English-language guide to Croatia; a decade of in-country experience; 60 maps.

Content updated daily: visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveller suggestions.

Frommer's Croatia (Frommer's Complete)

Karen Torme Olson

Amazon Price: $14.95 List Price: $21.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Frommers Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $10.80

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

America’s #1 bestselling travel series

Written by more than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals do.

• More annually updated guides than any other series

• 16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides

• Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries

• Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design

Frommer's. The best trips start here.

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer.
*

Insider tips on Croatia's best beach resorts, national parks, and historical sites.
*

Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.
*

Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget.
*

Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.

Find great deals and book your trip at Frommers.com

The Rough Guide to Croatia 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Rough Guides

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rough Guides Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $5.71

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The best guide out there; author has a great "voice"; accurate, dependable. 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is the most comprehensive guide in terms of giving you an overall picture of Croatia, including history, culture, and useful language translations. The information is not misleading as other guidebooks have proven to be. For example, some guidebooks tout Croatia's Istrian coast as an undiscovered paradise, but I can't imagine where that information is coming from, unless it is really old. The western coast has been slathered in concrete and is the epitome of mass tourism. One of the author's most telling statements is that your experience in Croatia depends so much upon when you go. If you go in July or August, you'll probably hate any city, no matter how beautiful because the Istrian coast is a mecca of the bussed-in mass tourists.

Thankfully, this guide prepares you for that and helps you to steer clear of the bad/overtouristed places...mostly. I believe the author to be a bit biased by his interest in art and museums...and some places that he describes as so quaint and lovely, I was left scratching my head about. Porec for example. But for other places, he is dead on....the little piece on Umag might not jump out at you as overly negative but read between the lines...his warnings are subtle. Umag was a horror, a run-down, mass-tourism nightmare and has absolutely nothing to offer other than one desparate street of lungy, grabby restaurant owners and a pathetic rock beach that is under construction. Of course, he can't come right out and say that, but if you really listen to what he writes, you'll see it. I left Umag after one day (and I'm so glad that I did!)

He's also right on about places like Rovinj, which was the loveliest place I have seen in a long, long time, in Croatia or anywhere. He is extremely accurate in recommending restaurants and attractions ... the reviews and recommendations were excellent. Many times you can't trust what guidebooks say ... they are either misleading or just leave out the bad stuff. This is not one of those books. You can depend upon the information. The maps of the towns are accurate, easy to follow.

The author is also a good writer, so the book is interesting to read as well, and I even found myself laughing. He's fair and honest and knowledgeable.

I depended on this book quite a bit in Croatia and was glad to have it. I think you will be too.

Editorial Review:

The Rough Guide to Croatia is your ultimate handbook to one of Europe''s most beautiful countries. From the medieval city of Dubrovnik and the unspoilt island of Vis to the rural hinterland of Zagreb, this guide captures all of Croatia’s highlights in a full colour introduction. The top hotels, bars and restaurants are all uncovered in the detailed listings section with the new ‘Author’s Pick’ feature highlighting the very best options. There are plenty of practical tips on a host of outdoor activities from hiking the hills to scuba diving in the Adriatic. The guide also looks at Croatia’s history, folk music and literature and comes complete with maps and plans for every area.

The Rough Guide to Croatia is like having a local friend plan your trip!

Rick Steves' Croatia and Slovenia 2007

Rick Steves, Cameron Hewitt

List Price: $19.95 By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $1.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Totally Trust Rick Steves 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I used Rick Steve's throughout Germany and Belgium and his tips and recommendations were spot on. We are now planning a trip to Italy and Croatia and I am once again, using his money & time saving tips, and recommendations on where to stay.

If you want to be simply a tourist, then Rick Steve's is not for you. If you want to truly experience a culture and have a great time then use his book.

Editorial Review:

Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers the best ways to meander around the region's beautiful beaches, excellent restaurants, and fascinating history. With Rick Steves' Croatia and Slovenia 2007, travelers can experience everything Croatia and Slovenia, has to offer - economically and hassle-free. restaurants, sights, and culture * Contains color maps and photos

America's #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick's time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.

Michelin Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Yugoslava. Republic Of Macedonia (Michelin Map) (Multilingual Edition)

Amazon Price: $9.56 List Price: $11.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Michelin Travel Publications Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $6.54

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The big picture works for me! 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

To my delight this map included Hungary in addition to the countries mentioned. This was perfect for us since we fly into Budapest before driving into Croatia. There isn't quite as much detail as I have seen on some maps but for me the broader area view works well. It's easy to see how to get from city to city and all our expected travel on one map. Be aware that there are no city inserts that you find on some maps so if you need that you'll have to find that detail another way.

Croatia and Slovenia Map

Cartographia

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good map 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

This map is much better than the Croatia Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map). This map is more detailed (1:500,000), shows more (includes Slovenia and parts of neighboring countries), shows the mountain ranges, and national parks, etc.

Bad Map 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I have not seen the other map referred to by the other reviewer, but I think that this is a bad Map. Croatia is an odd-shaped country who's primary recognizable feature is the Dalmatian coast, which is quite long, north to south. This map bisects the country at its center, disorienting those who are not intimately familiar with the country. I found it hard to find some of the most obvious places (e.g. hard to find Dubrovnik!). Bad map. Baaad, baaad map.

Editorial Review:

Folded road and travel map in color. Scale 1:500,000. Distinguishes roads ranging from motorways to secondairy roads. Legend shows railways, mountain railways, funiculars, car ferries, ascents, state boundaries, border crossing points, border crossing points passable on special conditions, National Parks, natural sights, international airports, churches, monasteries, mosques, castles, ruins, antique ruins, passes, hostels, caves, spas, beaches, camping sites, World Heritage sites. Legend in 5 languages, including English. Index on back of map.