Customer Reviews

Bogotá and Beyond: A One of A Kind Guidebook to Bogotá, Colombia with over 350 Pictures

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've never been to Colombia and was always a little afraid to even think about travelling there because of all the past problems, but the author made me much more comfortable about putting it on my list of future travel. I always buy Frommers as a reference and they're great but I only end up reading a fraction of the book. Bogota and Beyond was easy to read and very much to the point about the essentials of travelling there. I like the fact that I'm reading a travel book from someone who is actually living life in the place they're writing about. The pictures are a big plus!

Bogotá and Beyond: A One of A Kind Guidebook to Bogotá, Colombia with over 350 Pictures

Traveling anywhere, if I can see the accomodations, sights, restaurants and get a general feel for the area, I try to purchase this type of guide. Mr. Johnson did exactly as he set out to do, provide thumbnail sketches of all of the above with a local's eye to cost and interest.
It is not your formulaic guide by a large publisher; but someone who knew the area, costs, and relative value for your money. I saved the cost of the book my first day in the city and saw things not included in the other guides. Well Done.

What a horrible travel book. It offers virtually no valuable information other than crappy black and white photos of hotels and restaurants. The book is completely useless! So much so that I am actually taking time to warn otherts (this is the first product for which I've left a review).

This book is the biggest waste of money for a travel book.
Here is what's in the book : hundreds of pages of pictures of hotels and restaurants, less than 10 pages of info about Bogota.
Here is what's NOT in the book: ANY info about history, geography, people, culture of the city.
I have never written a review before but I was so upset that this sort of trash can be promoted as a travel guide I felt I had to warn people. [...] has much better and current reviews of hotels. I have no idea who would need this book.

As a frequent traveler, I'm always looking for books that differ from the usual Lonely Planet and Frommer guides, especially when it comes to individual cities. I really liked this book, especially the e-book with color photos, because it gave me the feel of someone who has actually lived there (and I could put it on my mobile phone). Sure, other guides are chocked full of every tidbit of information that you can imagine, often written by a team of travel writers, but when it comes down to actually visiting a new city, I ask the locals who live there where to go and what to do. This book conveys that. When I first arrive somewhere new, there's 3 things that I need to know right away: transport system, lodgings, and restaurants. The photos and maps were excellent; instead of having to go to a place to "check it out," I was able to see right there if I was interested. Also, I enjoyed Jaime Johnson's friendly writing. I'm anxious to see his upcoming guide on Medellin, as I've spent a lot of time there and hope to pick up some new tips!

With all the pictures of the hotels and with their website addresses, this book saved me hours of time researching where I wanted to stay in Bogota. The pictures are great in the book, but the color pictures are beautiful in the free e-book that came with the book. Well worth the money.

As a frequent traveler and purchaser of many travel books, I sincerely appreciated the time saved in researching accommodations and restaurants. The pictures in the guide book and the e-book were very helpful. Money well spent.

The first time I went to Bogota I stayed at a crap hotel that was in one of the other popular guidebooks that, of course, had no pictures of hotels. I wish I had this book then. While i wish I did not to not have to experience the first night in Bogota, the city turned out to be a great place.

Bogota and Beyond is the first guidebook I am aware of that focuses on just accomodations and restaurants for the region. I recently spent a couple of weeks in Bogota and the book saved me a lot of time and money with more and better accomodation choices than any other Colombia guidebook I could find. The free e-book with color photos is a huge bonus. If you are going to spend any time in Bogota, I think this is a must have book.

Over the past decade, I've spent a lot of time travelling the world using books such as Lonely Planet as a reference. After awhile, I got fed up with "new editions" with no new info, just updated pictures to make it look new. This guide, as well as the Medellin edition, is a TRUE traveller's guidebook. It skips the "cute" side notes that most guide books use to beef up their books and gets straight to business with the important, necessary info. Most travellers I know, don't rely on a guidebook for the history of the country they're going to spend time in. I usually like to explore and find out things on my own, but this book kept proving itself to me over and over again. Actually, I don't ever think I ever had a guide book become such a part of my decision making- I can't believe I just said that!