Backpacking in Mexico [Paperback]

Tim Burford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bradt Guides | Publication Date: March 1, 1997

A comprehensive new guide to Mexico's long- and short-distance hiking trails and volcanoes. Written especially for the American backpacker by an experienced and intrepid explorer, the guide includes thorough information on getting around by public transport, and accommodation advice for off-the-beaten-track areas.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A comprehensive new guide to Mexico's long- and short-distance hiking trails and volcanoes. Written especially for the American backpacker by an experienced and intrepid explorer, the guide includes thorough information on getting around by public transport, and accommodation advice for off-the-beaten-track areas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1st edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1898323569
• ISBN-13: 978-1898323563
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,546,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not perfect but worth the price, March 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Backpacking in Mexico (Bradt Guides) (Paperback)

Although the book had valuable information on remote areas of Mexico the "narrative" approach to giving directions was a little dated in the age of widely available GPS. Distances are often expressed in terms of time and landmarks are at times vague.

Even so I have used the book on several trips and found it better than my usual "inquire locally" approach. At least I don't feel that I'm going in totally ignorant of a location. The book is particularly valuable in picking a destination to your liking.

If you are at all a naturalist you will appreciate the detailed lists of flora and fauna. The general travel information was also quite detailed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much and too little, August 20, 2005

By 

Flat_Tire (Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Backpacking in Mexico (Paperback)

I think this book tries to be too many things. It aims at giving backpackers all they need. All they need won't fit into 240 or so pages. Most of it covers the same ground as do other, better, guidebooks: bus connections, hotels, restaurants, background and history, sightseeing descriptions, etc. Also, note that the book was printed in 1997 so the details are hopelessly outdated anyway.

Where it's different from the usual guidebooks (Lonely Planet, Moon, etc.) is in giving some information on hikes. Unfortunately, narrative directions like these are notoriously hard to follow. Trail maps are too much to hope for, but GPS coordinates would be a huge help, as another reviewer has already noted. In any case, there aren't enough trails included to justify calling it a hiking book.

There are some good things in it. The authors clearly know their flora and fauna and it shows up in the text. They're not afraid of expressing opinions as so many guidebook writers are. The essays give a personal feel to subjects travelers will want to know about.

My recommendation is that backpack travelers to Mexico should invest the low price and read the book through. That would enable them to plan a much better trip and the savings in money and time would easily repay the investment. I wouldn't carry it along on the trip because I'd want to reserve that space in the backpack for better guidebooks, but I'd tear out the few pages that didn't duplicate the same material and carry them along.