Australia (Eyewitness Travel Guides) [Turtleback]

DK Publishing (Author), Ian O'Leary (Photographer), Kate Hemphill (Contributor), Jessica Syme (Contributor), Rachel Neustein (Contributor), Steve Womersley (Contributor), Eleanor Radford (Contributor), Peter Caruso (Contributor), Stefan Laszczuk (Contributor), Laura Cook (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2006

Recognized the world over by frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike, Eyewitness Travel Guides are the most colorful and comprehensive guides on the market. With beautifully commissioned photographs and spectacular 3-D aerial views revealing the charm of each destination, these amazing travel guides show what others only tell.

Product Details

• Turtleback: 616 pages
• Publisher: DK Travel (August 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756615690
• ISBN-13: 978-0756615697
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Travel > Australia & South Pacific > Australia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Supplemental Reference, November 25, 2006

By 

Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Australia (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Turtleback)

The DK Eyewitness Travel book for Australia is a decent travel guide, which includes a lot of pictures to help the traveler see what the attraction is while doing their planning. This 2006 revised edition runs over 600 pages, and includes an introductory section as well as 8 sections on the various areas of Australia, including one for Sydney by itself. It also has a section for Travelers' needs, which include accommodations, restaurants, and shopping information, and a section titled "Survival Guide" which contains a lot of useful information for travelers.

While the pictures are quite striking, they do seem to come at a price of more information about each of the attractions as well as the general areas. For my trip, I found the section on Tasmania to be rather sparse. The section on Melbourne was significantly better, but even there it would have been nice to have more information. I also question the practice of grouping all the hotels and restaurants together in a single section for the entire country. It seems as if the traveler would be better served if information of that sort was included in each of the sections rather than all together. They do organize the items by region within those sections, but in a hurry one might not notice if they stray outside of their area.

This is a useful reference, but I think it works best as a supplemental reference along with other material. If one needs a single reference, you should look elsewhere.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must if you are traveling to Australia on your own, June 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Australia (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

As a result of spending a summer in Australia, I own numerous travel guides about the country, and this one is one of the best. If you, like me, need color pictures in your travel guides, then you won't want to miss out on this guide. The photography is extensive and wonderful. The book is divided into multiple sections, each covering a specific region of Australia. There is a brief overview of each region, and then the book lists multiple attractions in that region, with a brief description of each one. At least half of the attractions listed have photographs, and buildings such as museums and government buildings usually have photographs of the interior and the artwork inside. Each attraction also lists the telephone number, opening and closing hours, and the rail/bus/subway stop that you will need to use. At the beginning of the book, there is a brief history of Australia, and information on traveling around the country, money, food, etc. is at the end.

The book does list some hotels and restaurants, but does not really cater to the budget traveler (buy Let's Go for this). The book also does not have extensive maps, so don't count on finding those in here either. I always buy multiple guides when I travel, so this was not a problem for me, but I can see how it would be for some people. Even though the price is a bit more than some other guides, I would not miss out on buying this book, or any other Eyewitness Guides. I consider them an absolute necessity for travel, and one of the best series out there.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars just decent, August 22, 2005

By 

L. Bradley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Australia (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

I was letdown after all the good reviews this book received.The layout is good, it is easy to read and there is a lot of useful information in the book. The letdown for me was that all the restaurants and bars listed are expensive so this isn't very helpful for the budget conscious. BUT this book is way better that the Rough Guides or Lonely Planet. However I will be ordering Frommers to take with me when I go to Australia...