Customer Reviews

Adventure Guide to the Yucatan, Cancun & Cozumel

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(From Planeta.com Journal) - Second edition of a highly-recommended guidebook to this fascinating corner of Mexico, a region which the authors describe as "a big hitch-hiking thumb." Their interest and hard work has paid off in both editions. The book is loaded with hotel and transportation info, great maps and interesting art work. Eco travelers will love this guidebook. The Conords provide full details on kayaking, hiking, rappelling, and camping in the region. They also feature more out-of-the-way attractions such as natural cenotes, ancient ruins and colonial towns. Of special note -- this is the first guidebook to feature a section on colonial era hacienda hotels , including both luxurious hotels and working haciendas where readers can experience authentic Yucatecan living in fine accommodations that are also economically priced. Indigenous artists in Maya villages are also profiled. As if all this weren't enough, the second edition includes a "Top 20" feature of things to do and see in the Yucatan. By far, this is the most comprehensive guidebook to the region.

We have just returned from a trip through the Yucatan. The people, places, food, history and arts of this part of the world are magnificent. Without this book we think we would have surely missed most of the great things we experienced. These authors' evaluations of lodging cites (locations, quality, how to contact and faults) and travel in the Yucatan was 'right on'. This book helped us to pick the best Mayan historical cites to visit so that we didn't have to rush from site to cite in an attempt to find the best. In talking with other travelers worn out from trying to see all Mayan cities, they assured us we were in fact seeing the most amgnificent ones. These authors led us to all the special natural cites and to the countries' best 'local' artists. Many of the best 'things' in the Yucatan (and in all of Mexico) are not at all well marked and do not look so inviting from the outside (by US standards), however this book never led us astray and having learned to trust it we experienced the best of the Yucatan. Don't plan a trip or attempt to visit the Yucatan without this book.

This book should be considered a must-have for anyone planning a trip to Mexico. Whether you're looking for a beer-soaked party in Cancun for spring break, an active adventure vacation in the rain-forest, or a cultural trip where you can experience the "real" Mexico, this book has it all and then some.

I used it on my last trip to Cancun, and it saved me a bundle in terms of time, energy and cash.

Trust me, this book is worth 10 times it's weight in gold for the information it provides.

Bruce & June Conord clearly know the Yucatán like the back of their hands and share their insider tips with honesty and a healthy sprinkling of witty anecdotes. The second edition of Adventure Guide to the Yucatán, Cancún & Cozumel is a testament to their dedication and passion for Mexico.

Chock-full of detailed and first-hand evaluations of hotels (including colonial era haciendas) and places to enjoy the distinctive Yucatecan cuisine, the Conords will help you get the best value for your money, whatever your budget. User friendliness and readability is enhanced through large type, uncomplicated maps, attention-grabbing sidebars, three pages of 'handy-hints', and a list of "20 Things Not to be Missed" to help you plan your adventure through the peninsula (described as a "big hitch-hiking thumb").

The well-organised sections present all you need to know to create your own itinerary to suit your interests and budget. There is an excellent section on the holidays and cultural festivals in the Yucatecan calendar, so you needn't miss out.

The chapter on Mérida is especially thorough: there's something happening every day of the week and this guide will allow you to visit two working haciendas - to see how the valuable local henequen (sisal) is grown and used.

The emphasis certainly is on 'adventure,' but in keeping with the guide's inclusiveness, the authors have defined this as broadly as possible to include activities for the "first-timer" - as well as for the experienced scuba diver or expert on Mayan temples. The result is a guidebook that genuinely offers something for everyone.

So, you can hardly go wrong with this guide - whether your idea of an active holiday is exploring the lost cities of the Maya, discovering the peninsula's Colonial past, wandering the markets (and Mayan villages) for handicrafts, or simply lying on the best beach, sipping a margarita - the Conords have done it all. Each section is replete with loads of things to do on foot, on wheels, on or below the water, and even on horseback. And as you'd expect, their preference is to use local guides wherever possible.

The awards that Adventure Guide to the Yucatán, Cancún & Cozumel is beginning to collect are well-merited, for there can be no better-informed travel veterans to help you get the most out of your Yucatán adventure.

I can't say enough good things about this book. My husband, 13 year-old son, and I went to the Yucatan in July/2001 and this book gave us the info we needed. It helped to maximize our vacation dollar because of all we saw that we would have missed without it. Thenks to this book we were able to not just be tourists, but explore more of the "unseen Mexico". From what ruins to see(and when) to how to speak Mayan. We carried it on every leg of our trip and consulted it repeatedly(Even the section on what to do when/if you get sick). We bought a couple of other books, but this was the one that was the most informative and fun. Thanks Bruce and June!

As a frequent traveler to the Yucatan, I find this book to be the definitive guide to the region. The Conords don't simply list addresses and phone numbers here; they invite you for cafe con leche and dulces from the panaderia and fill you with tales of their experiences in the Yucatan. I am not one to talk to the television, but I caught myself verbally agreeing with the comments that the Conords made throughout this very accurate tome. It is not often that a guidebook reading gets my synapses working to recall the wonderful memories I have of the Yucatan, but this book did just that. The fact that the Conords effectively achieved this response from me, guarantees that they truly experienced the wonders of the Yucatan. Reading this book will insure that you too will have a positive Yucatan experience. The helpful Mayan and Spanish dictionaries in the book as well as the interesting Maya culture tidbits interspersed throughout the book give you the background that you need to start your adventure.

I have just skimmed this book but it seems to have all the requsites for traveling, eating, and sleeping. Most guides do.

But it then does what most guides don't, and that is describe Yucatan and its people with understanding and love.

...you can take this book into the countryside and get to know the extraordinary modern Yucatec Maya, a people I've studied for 30 years. The Conords are in touch with what it means to have the privilege of knowing this society and culture. Imagine, the largest intact language group in all the Americas! Imagine, agriculture that is the same as that depicted on the walls of ruined cities over a thousand years old! Imagine a people so secure in themselves that they remain in the forest, regarding the 21st century with a mixture of bemusement and pity.

The Conords are to be congratulated for setting this table for the traveler.

Adventure Guide To The Yucatan: Cancun & Cozumel is another terrific Hunter Travel Guide by Bruce and June Conord. They include everything you could possibly want to know about the entire area, city by city and separate listing for all the best points of interest. Their history included for each place is lightly and readably written with a little humourous touch. They even include movies and light reading to make your trip more enjoyable. And all the Spanish you may need to know is in the excellent Appendix. This book, which won the Natia Best Travel Book Award is a must if you're going there. Bruce & June Conord are pleased to announce the publication of the third edition of their book, from Hunter Publishing. Completely revised and updated for 2004, the award-winning title now includes 32 pages of full color photographs taken by the authors, as well as nearly 100 black and white pictures
illustrating 420 pages of useful information

This book is dangerous. Reading it will make you want to drop everything you are doing and travel to the Yucatan. And if you are going there, this book is as important as your plane tickets! Conord's love of the Yucatan comes out in his lush descriptions of what can be found and what to expect in this wondrous place. I couldn't have survived without it.

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Adventure Guide To The Yucatan packs in a wealth of information on travel in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, from the more touristed spots of Cancun and Cozumel to byways few tourists see. Hotels, restaurants, transportation and sightseeing are all covered for destination-oriented travelers and the adventure/outdoors focus lends to the young active traveler's enjoyment of the guide.