Serbia & Slovenia 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.

Hungarian: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

Christina Mayer, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks

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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.

Slovenia (Country Guide)

Steve Fallon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Still the best guide to Slovenia 5 out of 5 stars.
24 of 24 people found this review helpful.

I took this book with me on a trip to Slovenia in September-October 2004, when it was hot off the presses. My travels didn't cover the whole country, just the western half, so I can't speak for all of the book's recommendations. But, in general, I found it immensely helpful, both for planning my trip and for day-to-day guidance while traveling. Some comments:

1. Slovenia's currency hasn't stabilized yet, so expect prices to vary upward, especially now that the Euro is so high against the dollar. Big deal; it's still a comparatively inexpensive country. (I went to a rip-off-the-tourists but very good restaurant in Ljubljana, had a full dinner and a half-liter of wine -- and my total bill was $20!)
2. The famous disappearing Lake Cerknicka does indeed disappear for a large part of the year, so it's likely that all you'll see is a bumpy plain covered with grass. On a related subject, the Soca River valley is beautiful, but in the fall the water is low, so anyone expecting a kayaker's paradise would be disappointed.
3. Renting a car is expensive, and the train and bus system, while not perfect, is still very good. So I used this book to plan ahead: I took public transportation most of the time, then rented a car for one day to visit some areas that are difficult or impossible any other way (e.g., the church at Hrastovlje, which is amazing even if you're not a fan of medieval religious art).
4. The church of St. John the Baptist near Lake Bohinj, with the interesting medieval wall paintings, is closed for repairs, completion date uncertain. However, if you walk up the road to Stara Fuzina, the church there has some arguably medieval paintings in the front porch; it's a lovely walk, too, and you can continue on to Studor and admire the antique hayracks.
5. I totally agree with the book's description of the Skocjan Caves: I'm not a big fan of caves, but these were special, and fully worth the effort. (The tour requires considerable walking and step-climbing, so it's not for the weak or the faint-hearted.) The bus access to the site is poor, but some tour companies run day trips from Ljubljana, and the prices I saw were pretty reasonable.
6. The book's restaurant recommendations are generally excellent: Delfin, in Piran, has the best grilled squid on the planet, and the mussels aren't bad either.
7. Fall can be rainy: I encountered a couple of wet, chilly days that made me wish I'd brought waterproof shoes and a heavier raincoat. But, the rest of the time, it was warm enough that I wore sandals.
8. In the fall, many museums and other sights cut back their hours drastically, so be sure to check before you go, especially if a long trip is involved. (I arrived too late for the day's last tour of Sneznik Castle; on the other hand, I visited the Dormouse Museum -- which is utterly mad and not to be missed -- and hung out in the pub next door with the locals practicing their English on me, and that was way more fun than seeing some rich German family's old furniture!)

Editorial Review:

Learn how Lake Bled escapted being drained and having its clay made into bricks, p.110.

Hit the piste with the people who invented skiing 400 years ago, p.44.

Frock up in sheepskins, horns and feathers - and get away with it - at Kurentovanje, p.235.

Discover why the dragons on Zmajski Most wag their tails when some people pass, p.69.

The original English-language guide to Slovenia; 12 years of in-country expertise; 58 maps.
Expanded coverage and practical information on activities indoor, outdoor and underwater.
Leading Slovenian literay figure, Andrej Blatnik, discusses punk rock and football.
Content updated daily: visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveller suggestions.

Serbia, 2nd (Bradt Travel Guide)

Laurence Mitchell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

2nd edition of the best guidebook for Serbia: more informative, more correct and more interesting! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

In the 2nd edition of his already excellent guidebook L. Mitchell has given a considerably enlarged, significantly improved and fully updated story about the country where I work as a licensed tourist guide and therefore I thought I knew it best.

To my surprise, I was able to discover in this book not only a great deal of practical information mainly useful for visitors and tourists alike, but also some really amazing, less known and unfamiliar stories about the country and its people.

The 2nd edition included expanded coverage on various background topics, such as Serbian cinema, literature and music, with boxes on Serbian personalities in these fields (for instance, Emir Kusturica or Ceca, an extravagant Balkan diva) as well as popular festivals like the annual Guca Trumpet Festival and EXIT. Many more boxes on subjects as diverse as the narrow gauge 'Sargan Eight' railway and curiosities like the 'Kremna Prophecies' and the 'Wild Man of Fruska Gora'. However, one of my favorite boxes is `Rocky comes to rescue of Serbian village' which really gives additional flavor to what is generally known or percieved about the Serbian mentality.

More information are also given on natural history and National Parks in Serbia.

I noticed as well that the author extended the listings, now including many of the new restaurants, cafes and bars and low-cost hostels that have opened for business in Belgrade in the last couple of years, along with privately run mid-range, luxury (`boutique') and hotels in the capital and beyond. Belgrade has recently become the capital of night life in the Balkans, attracting lots of young visitors from every corner of the world, and this fully annotated list will help them discover all the variety of day and night entertainment in Belgrade.

Finally, an improved and correct use of Serbian terms (including some given in Cyrillic script with no mistakes) would be of special help to foreign visitors.

Even if you are in possession of the 1st edition of the book, I would recommend that you buy the new one. It's much more informative than previous, has more correct information of any kind, offers a new design and is supplied with more photographs. And most of all, you are going to really enjoy reading it as a new book!

This edition deserves congratulations and will hopefully have many readers. Some of them will no doubt be inspired by the book to visit Serbia and check everything personally.

P.S. Bradt's "Serbia" is an excellent example of contemporary and INTERPRETIVE travel guides and as such it encourages a meaning-making process whereby you are able to make sense of Serbia, its life, culture and people. This is why this book stands out from other available titles. However, if you are only interested in statistical facts and figures, you might consider buying any other ordinary guidebook.

Editorial Review:

The ex-Yugoslav region of Serbia is experiencing a re-launch of tourism that has opened up the country. Serbia covers fundamentals such as getting there, a range of local travel options and accommodation for all budgets and styles.
Now a prime destination for winter sports, mountain resorts and a range of health spas in spectacular settings are also covered.

Rick Steves' Croatia and Slovenia 2007

Rick Steves, Cameron Hewitt

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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.

The Rough Guide to Slovenia - Edition 2

Norm Longley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Insightful and informative, Rough Guide to Slovenia is an essential part of anyone's Slovenia travel kit! 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

As a seasoned traveller, having an accurate and useful travel guide is an essential part of my kit. Recently I have grown tired of mainstream and established guides leaning more towards database listings of where to go and what to do. I want insight. I want to know about a place, its history, culture and the author's personal views. I want to feel inspired to visit a place by the writing. So it's refreshing to see that the Rough Guides still manage to maintain an acceptable balance between information and insight.

The Rough Guide to Slovenia is now in its second edition and there have been many improvements. The most obvious is the new glossy cover; a full page photo with a translucent band across help to make the book much more aesthetically appealing to the eye, which is a vast improvement from the bland cover of the previous edition.

The colour intro contains a useful quick reference guide to the country's highlights, and scattered throughout the book you'll also find two new colour inserts that help to give more emphasis on the two things the country is most famous for: caves and outdoor activities.

More importantly though, is the content. The author manages to maintain an easygoing style which almost makes you feel like he is actually talking to you. Whilst striving to provide accurate information he is also not afraid to give blatantly honest reviews of places and accommodation. His description of a place in Bled where I have personally stayed is right on the button:

"This popular lakeside place has a convivial atmosphere despite the rooms being dated and cramped."

It's for this kind of honesty that people buy a travel guide. If we just wanted a simple list of places to stay and go we would ask at the tourist office, or read the brochures. But independent travellers who want to plan their own itinerary want to know what the place is really like, so they can make an informed decision as to where to go and stay.

While boxed sections highlight special events or places of interest, the bulk of the information is neatly woven into sectioned paragraphs each written with a clarity and authority that is indicative of the author's thorough research and in-depth knowledge of the country. The second edition also contains more detailed maps than the previous edition and its map of the Triglav National Park is the best I've seen yet.

Extremely well written and packed with accurate and useful information, the Rough Guide to Slovenia is an essential aid to anyone planning a trip to this beautiful and diverse little country.

Reviewed by Ian Middleton: Travel Writer and photographer, and author of Mysterious World: Ireland.

Editorial Review:

The "Rough Guide to Slovenia" is your definitive handbook to one of Europe's least discovered countries. The 24-page full-colour introduction highlights all the 'things not to miss', from Ljubljana's vibrant nightlife to the stunning cave network at Postojna. The guide reviews all the top hotel and restaurant options to suit every taste and budget and the brand-new 'Author's Pick' feature highlights the very best. This updated second edition includes expert guidance on a host of outdoor activities, from mountain hikes to skiing and whitewater rafting. The guide takes a detailed look at Slovenia's history, folklore, music and wildlife and comes complete with maps and plans for every region. It's like having a local friend plan your trip.

Kosovo (Bradt Travel Guide)

Gail Warrander, Verena Knaus

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

Best buy for Kosovo visitor 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book because I will start to work in Kosovo in the next few months.
I already read this book and it is full of precious information you really need while being there.
I already have experience with Bradt Travel guide for Macedonia while I was there also for my job.
The books are very usefull and contain a lot of information about almost everything.
This is at this point the only tourist guide existing about Kosovo.
Buy it !!

Editorial Review:

Kosovo is likely to become an independent state in 2007, making this Bradt guide a ‘must-buy’ for visitors from the country’s diaspora (which is believed to number over a million), for the many NGOs living out there and, as always, for those keen to explore off the beaten track.
Ringed by high mountains crossed by a series of conquerors over the centuries, the country boasts Ottoman mosques, Serbian Orthodox churches, monasteries, vineyards and extravagant KLA war memorials. The capital Pristina offers a surprising contrast with its growing number of vibrant restaurants, bars and shops, along with Kosovo’s top ski resort, Brezovica, which offers some of the best skiing in southeastern Europe.

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

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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.

Montenegro, 3rd (Bradt Travel Guide)

Annalisa Rellie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

definitive guidebook to emerging destination 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Annalisa Rellie has written a smart, indgithful and passionate survey of this fascinating small country. Her descriptions tend towards the poetic but her insight is strong. It's a thorough and authoritative guide which I found to be really practical and useful. Well done Mrs. Rellie, and well done Bradt.

Editorial Review:

The newest member of the UN, Montenegro has vastly improved its infrastructure and offers superb eco-, adventure and sports facilities. From natural history and mountain walks to seaside breaks and hidden monasteries, the guide covers every aspect of this often embattled republic. The author also provides comprehensive coverage to help plan and prepare, as well as updated information on hotels, restaurants and how to get around.