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Product Reviews:
1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List |
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Been there...
Comments: All in all, a pretty fun, useful book. While it shouldn't be used as the ultimate resource for any adventure, it still offers some great suggestions and tips. In checking out some places I have lived around the world, I was mildly surprised both at the author listing places I wouldn't suggest, and omitting sites I'd rate as do not-miss... however any travel guide would have such shortcomings -- especially1with as broad a subject as the entire world.
On the bright side, it's put some locations on my itinerary that otherwise would have been left off -- for that, I thank the author. Each site's cost estimates and best time of the year are great helps, too.
And finally, a friend that has lived all over the world with the State Department was given this book as a Christmas gift, along with a rubber stamp to mark the pages with "Been there... Done that." I thought that was brilliant.
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Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Starting point
Comments: This is a fun book for a lot of reasons. It can be read to kick off your travel imagination to places you might visit and those you never will. The criticisms of the book are well-taken however I think would-be readers in search of an adventure should read by the ridiculously priced hotels and imagine their own trip to the fabulous places they read about. For example, when I visited Cuzco we stayed in a $7 a night hotel, in Arequipa. We had a great roof top room for $5 a night right over the central square. The places the book suggests to say, are in my mind, ridiculous if you really want to experience the cities you are visiting. That said, the monastary in Arequipa, Peru, for example, is incredible. I will never forget the wonderful interior courtyards painted with incrdible color combinations like aqua and mango. For us, the monastery was a chance find of incredible great luck. This books tells you about that. Take the tip and forget the hotel.
Similarly, the $1995 Inca trail trip is probably a loser for adventurers who do not want crowds. You can do a wonderful one-day portion of the trail in isolation for free, by getting off the train from Cuzco to Aqua Caliente at milepost 81 and hike in the rest of the way by yoruself. The experience of crossing the pass and looking down at Machu Pichu, as though you were the 1st to find it, is the memory of a lifetime. This book will not't tell you about that, however you can figure it out on your own with further research. The book, however, could tip a person who has never heard of the Inca Trail to the possiblity of hiking it.
I think it is a mistake to ignore the great trips suggested because the unadventurous writers insist on insular, super-expensive hotels. Use the book as a starting point to fire up your imagination and then plan your own trip. I think it has great ideas for places to go for the adventurous. It is probably least useful for those who are neither adventurous or rich, although even those people can use it to travel with their imagination. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Nice book to own
Comments: This is the perfect book to flip through on a rainy day when you are thinking of far off places you would love to visit. While personal preference plays a large part in the places1should visit, this book supplies a great starting point for each country. The information is both up-to-date and detailed. Learn about exotic places you would never had added to your list or read about places in your own backyard. Highly endorseed. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: A Successful Gift
Comments: Last night our family opened Christmas gifts and I got my brother and sister-in-law several things that they could share.1was "1,000 Places to See Before You Die". They've been talking about going on a trip to Tuscany next year and the author lived in Florence, Italy, for 3 years. The whole family loved the book. |
Rating: 1 (out of 5)
Summary: Total, total waste of time -- it's about hotels
Comments: I love the title -- purchased it and looked forward to reading it. What a huge disappointment. It seemed mainly to tell you what hotels/inns you shouldn't miss. I thought it was supposed to be about things to see. do not waste your money. |
