The Czech Republic and Slovakia: The Complete Guide with Great City Walks and Country Drives (Fodor's Czech Republic and Slovakia) [Paperback]

Fodor's (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fodor's Czech Republic and Slovakia | Publication Date: January 28, 1997

The best guide to the region, completely updated

Walking tours of historic Bratislava and Prague, with Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, and Kafka's haunts
Wonderful drives to medieval villages, hikes in the Tatras
The best music---from jazz bands to Mozart quartets
Where to buy folk art, porcelain, jewelry, and crystal

Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budget

Luxury towers, Art Nouveau palaces, country villas, 18th-century inns, and cozy pensions
Elegant restaurants, local hospody, pvinici, romantic cafés

Fresh, thorough, practical--from writers you can trust

Costs, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands
All reviews based on visits by savvy writer-residents

17 pages of maps--and dozens of unique features

Important Contacts A to Z; Smart Travel Tips;         Fodor's Choice; What's Where; Pleasures & Pastimes, Festivals; further reading; Czech vocabulary; complete index; and more!

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The best guide to the region, completely updated

Walking tours of historic Bratislava and Prague, with Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, and Kafka's haunts
Wonderful drives to medieval villages, hikes in the Tatras
The best music---from jazz bands to Mozart quartets
Where to buy folk art, porcelain, jewelry, and crystal

Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budget

Luxury towers, Art Nouveau palaces, country villas, 18th-century inns, and cozy pensions
Elegant restaurants, local hospody, pvinici, romantic cafés

Fresh, thorough, practical--from writers you can trust

Costs, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands
All reviews based on visits by savvy writer-residents

17 pages of maps--and dozens of unique features

Important Contacts A to Z; Smart Travel Tips;         Fodor's Choice; What's Where; Pleasures & Pastimes, Festivals; further reading; Czech vocabulary; complete index; and more!

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; 3 edition (January 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067903000X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679030003
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,768,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Travel > Europe > Slovakia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent current facts - including prices - on everything!, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Czech Republic and Slovakia: The Complete Guide with Great City Walks and Country Drives (Fodor's Czech Republic and Slovakia) (Paperback)

I found this book to be an excellent source of factual information for such things as admission prices, hotel and dining prices, contact names and numbers for embassies, travel information bureaus, etc. It was the only guidebook which I found that had the proper visa information for Canadians in it.

If you're interested in doing some reading before you go, there is also a "recommended books" section at the back.

This book also has a wonderful English-Czech common-phrase section at the back with a great pronunciation guide. Many other travel books for this area seem to have phrase books but few (none that I've seen so far) have pronunciation guides.

I also appreciated the maps and the walking tours. I suppose that doesn't really make me one of those off-the-beaten-track kind of travellers, but if you only have a limited amount of time in which to see the Czech and Slovak Republics, chances are you don't want to miss all of the major sites.

The guidebook appears to be written primarily for North Americans and this shows in some of the descriptions of things (I'm a Canadian so I found this very helpful but if you're from outside of North America you may not appreciate this like I did), especially when restaurants and hotels are discussed - lodging that is typically recommended is that which is up to "North American standards" with all of the North American "comforts of home".

I only had a few criticisms of this book:

1) It's not really meant for budget/student travellers. The International Hostelling Association is mentioned at the beginning and a contact name and number is provided, but otherwise, there is no mention made of hostels, and not a lot made about other budget accommodation.

2) This book is also lacking in pictures - although I guess most content-rich guidebooks are. However, the maps are quite good.

3) There is not a lot of rich historial detail - although there is probably plenty to satisfy most visitors. Anyone taking an extended trip to the Czech and Slovak Republics (as I am) may want more historical and cultural details than what is provided by this guide.