Ecuador and Galapagos - Footprint (Footprint Ecuador & Galapagos Handbook) [Paperback]

Daisy Kunstaetter (Author), Robert Kunstaetter (Author), Robert Kuntstaetter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Footprint Ecuador & Galapagos Handbook | Publication Date: April 2007

From the islands that inspired the theory of evolution, to a valley where people live forever; from the centre of the earth to the Avenue of the Volcanoes, Ecuador excites and amazes at every turn. Footprint's highly acclaimed guide is essential for all free-spirited travellers wishing to get to grips with this small but perfectly formed country. This in-depth and fully researched and updated guide also includes a comprehensive background section with Spanish words and phrases, to introduce you to its rich and diverse culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Head, shoulders and spine ahead of the rest." Adventure Travel; "My favourite series is the Handbook series published by Footprint... They have better maps and trail advice (than the "Lonely Planet") as well as tips for travelling in a particular culture, and advice for women travelling alone." Boston Globe (Daily) MA"

About the Author

Robert & Daisy Kunstaetter, who have been based in Ecuador since 1993, have contributed to many different Footprint titles over the years, including the South American Handbook and, since the first edition, Ecuador & Galapagos.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Footprint Handbooks; 5 edition (April 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904777384
• ISBN-13: 978-1904777380
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,814,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super inclusive, for all budgets, July 14, 2008

By 

Margaret A. Cleary (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ecuador & Galapagos, 6th (Footprint - Travel Guides) (Paperback)

Footprint guides are, bless them, practicaly encyclopedic. Some people find the wealth of detail overwhelming, but the advantage is that one can pinch pennies on one part of the trip and splurge on a worthwhile luxury at another time, without having to consult different guides. Also, they include more places, letting you know whether there's something of interest in a place (or not), rather than leaving a place out and leaving you to wonder. They include tour organizer information too, should you want to leave some or all of your planning to someone else.

Granted, there is some shortand involved to get all that information in. The print can be small, the pages, thin. But, for example, if I see something marked as "recommended" in Footprint, I consider it a solid gold endorsement, because it's not given out often and reflects the comments of thousands of readers.

"Footprint Ecuador" shares these qualities. Ecuador is a tiny country just bursting with wildlife, architecture, and people worth spending time with, and Footprint's details on things like how long a bus trip will take and how much it will cost allow one to plan confidently how to spend one's limited time there. And once in a while there is a wry, dry comment that will make you laugh.

I visited a jungle lodge 3 1/2 hours by canoe from the nearest town, hiked on a volcano, visited native markets, lazed on a beach, explored colonial cities, saw blue footed boobies (without going to Galapagos, which was outside my budget), and talked, talked, talked with Ecuadorans.
This book helped me everywhere and has given me a hundred reasons to want to go back and explore some more.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for our 7 weeks in Ecuador, August 3, 2008

By 

Julie Peters Akey "kabuka1" (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ecuador & Galapagos, 6th (Footprint - Travel Guides) (Paperback)

I had a difficult time deciding between Footprint's guidebook and Lonely Planet's because we've used both brands in the past. Ultimately, I chose Footprint for our 7-week Ecuador trip becasue it was published more recently; I am completely satisfied. This guidebook was accurate in its descriptions and prices. EVERY place we visited lived up to its reputation from the book. Although most tourists usually only visit Quito, Otavalo, and the Galapagos, the book had plenty of detailed information on many other magical places across Ecuador. The only changes we noted were that train service to Cotopaxi was discontinued and the Devil's Nose train ride no longer allowed riders on top. With assistance from Footprint, we were enchanted by Ecuador and will certainly bring Footprint the next place we explore.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An Insipid, Anemic Guide, February 22, 2006

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ecuador and Galapagos - Footprint (Footprint Ecuador & Galapagos Handbook) (Paperback)

This is a review of the 2010 guide. I have used various guides to explore South American and sometimes Footprint was the best (i.e. Peru Handbook). However, in this case FootPrint Ecuador is the worst of the lot. The guide is difficult to use, uses symbols for restaurants that define price but not quality, symbols for accommodations L,AL,A,B etc. that give you a price range but nothing about the quality of the place. Then there are the advertisements; the guide is peppered with advertisements which causes one to question the integrity of the guide, especially when a travel agency or a hotel, that has a full page ad, is strongly recommended by the authors. Hum.
But the worst part of the guide is the insipid, anemic write ups on restaurants which are absolutely worthless.

For example, just to pick a few from the guide (in Cuenca) the El Jardin Restaurant > "Good International food, pricey", or the El Jordan > "Middle Eastern and Ecuadorean dishes. Elegant Décor". Whereby, Frommer's Ecuador (recommended) writes a paragraph on each of its recommendations, it rates them by the quality of food, the service & the ambiance then gives you a price range. For example it wrote about the same restaurant, El Jardin >" This elegant restaurant has dimly lit dining room features wraparound wall of glass with view of the Rio. Tables feature... Spaghetti Carbonara or Veal Cordon Bleu...everything is wonderfully prepared and presented", and it goes on. Wow! what a difference. Accommodation reviews, in this guide, are a bit better but not by much.

The history, politics and culture sections are basic, but do not give you any more information than you could get out of Wikipedia. The index is basic and could be much better. The guide also lacks an accommodations or restaurant index.

If you want a good guide I recommend Frommer's Ecuador or Lonely Planet Ecuador. There are many good guides out on Ecuador & the Galapagos, this is not one of them. Not Recommended