Cultured Travel Guide Books - The Rough Guide to Romania 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) |
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List Price: $17.99
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 914.98
EAN: 9781843533269
ISBN: 184353326X
Label: Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: 2004-11-29
Publisher: Rough Guides
Studio: Rough Guides |
| Spotlight Customer Reviews: |
Customer Rating:  
Summary: Good, but dated
Comment: Romania is so rapidly becoming a hip tourist destination that any guide over two years old is sure to be out of date. This guide is no exception. Use it for a crash course in Romania history, culture and geography, but plan to rely on more local sources for the best places to sleep and eat.
This book irritates the hell out of Romanians because it states some painful truths. First, Romania is a poor country. It's a place where "the dollar goes a long way," to quote the overused phrase. And while it's becoming less poor, Romania still lags behind other former Warsaw Pact countries in developing a healthy economy. Don't expect modern conveniences and a cheery service ethic... yet.
Second, quite a few places in Romania that you might think would attract your attention (such as Bucharest and the Black Sea coast) are really not worth your time. Bucharest has more in common with Minsk than Prague, so don't expect an undiscovered carbon-copy of that famous Bohemian city.
Third, forget about Dracula and all that related misery. Learn something about the local history before you visit stunning Transylvania. The mythological hype may leave you disappointed with the reality, so it's best for you to know something about the reality first. This guide will help you do that.
Finally, the lovely Transylvanian towns Romanians love to brag about were founded and built by Germans. Ouch! Of course, it's the Romanians who have maintained, and are now restoring, these beautiful far-flung outposts of the Holy Roman Empire, but the authors of any good travel guide (such as this one) will refer to places like Cluj, Brasov and Sibiu as "Saxon" towns.
One can infer from the text some important conclusions about your potential destinations.
Most over-rated destination: Bucharest - likely to be just your point of entry and exit.
Second most over-rated destination: Bran (Dracula's) Castle - without all the attending mythology, what do you really have? Interesting architecture, which Romania is blessed with.
Most under-rated destination: Iasi - Capital of Moldavia
Second most under-rated destination: Sibiu - medieval capital of the Saxon colonies
A new edition is forthcoming from Rough Guides that will help address stale information.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Dense reading
Comment: The book appears to contain a great of timely information. It's just hard to access and it is dense information. Not many pictures.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointed
Comment: I am currently in Romania, with this guide in my hand, and I must say that I am quite disappointed with the content.
- The map for Iasi is very inaccurate - so much so that I had to buy an other map and since then I did not get lost
- I am traveling to Brasov this weekend and was pretty excited as this guide mentions that there is a festival of Junii that occurs on the first Sunday of May - this was incorrect as I found out on an other site - it is actually on the first Sunday after Easter...somewhat different, somewhat dissappointing.
My suggestion to travelers: On the whole it is ok - but it will not be your only source of info, so you might want to look at other guides as well.
As a sideline, I had traveled to India with the Rough Guide, and was very satisfied with the content. I never had problems with maps, I liked the way it was organised. I guess this does not hold for all Rough Guides, which is highly disappointing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: THE travel book for Romania
Comment: I have traveled to Romania many times, and I have read all of the travel books and travel magazine articles that I have been able to find. This is THE book to take with you on your trip to Romania. Conde Nast Traveler magazine just came out (December 2006)with an article about Romania, and it described this book as "the best overall guidebook for Romania." I very much agree-- and it prompted me to write this review. The other travel books I found were a big disappointment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great guide. Good in depth and practicle information
Comment: It was a very helpfull book. A lot of info about everything from accomodation, restorands, sites and history.
Worth every penny.
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| Editorial Reviews: |
| Synopsis The updated fourth edition of the Rough Guide to Romania is the definitive guidebook to one of Europe's most extraordinary nations. A brand-new full-colour section introduces the author's highlights 'the things not to miss' of the country. There are detailed accounts of all the attractions, from the Danube Delta to the bustling capital of Bucharest and the gothic castles of Dracula's Transylvania. The guide reviews the best places to eat, sleep and drink, for every budget. There are practical tips on everything from tracking wolves in the Carpathian Mountains to making the most of the country's many vibrant folk festivals. In the contexts section the authors delve deep into Romania's history, culture and wildlife. This new edition boasts a bigger section on Bucharest and more detailed hiking information throughout the country.
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