Customer Reviews

Best Places Vancouver

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We just came back from a trip to Vancouver and Victoria and had a very relaxing and rewarding experience with the help of this book. The portion relating to Vancouver was great with a helpful discussion of navigating your way around the city and its various neighborhoods. The restaurant/cafe recommendations were very helpful, and we thought, quite on the mark. Lodging recommendations were also on the money (even though we weren't thrilled with what we ended up with, but based on what else was available at that level of rating, the book's rating seemed to be right on). Finally, the section on Victoria and Whistler were especially helpful given our quick 'sojourns' to these areas. Oh yeah, we did a quick cross-reference of the ratings in this book with Zagat's and they were pretty much in line with each other. There were also lovely discussions in general about shopping in Vancouver (quite plentiful) as well as the parks and the top 20 attractions. Highly recommended.

The Best Places books are outstanding for recommending the best sites to see and I particularly like the restaurant reviews. The hole in these books are the lack of maps. There's a double sided fold out map at the back of the book but that's it. There are no neighborhood maps. The books should do more to help me find a restaurant in a town I don't know than just list the address. Until they figure out maps, you'll need a streetwise map to go hand in hand with this series.

Unlike alot of travel books this one is laid out more like a novel with more explanations and full descriptions. This can get a little confusing if you need to find something in a hurry but it certainly provides you with more information. I visited Vancouver back in August for 5 days, so decided to buy the book and be prepared before hand. The restaurent section is superb.I found various small resaurants that felt untouched by any tourist. I felt like a local after being there only a few days. The only thing it lacks is more photos and nice paper stock. I also bought the lonely planet Vancouver book, and each had there own qualities. If the two books were combined it would make for an unbeatable guide.