Customer Reviews

Estonia, 4th: The Bradt Travel Guide

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

 

 

I live in Estonia and am now on my indispensable third edition of Bradts guide by Neil Taylor.

This is very much a book for the discerning traveller. The 40-odd pages about the general history, economy, geography and culture of Estonia are excellent. No other guide covers these subjects so extensively. The practical information is always up to date (important in a country where so much is changing so fast) as Neil Taylor visits regularly and has good networks `on site'. The travel information is scattered with interesting texts and quotes from such Estonian luminaries as Ants Oras and Lennart Meri, the Welsh/Estonian MP Lembit Opik (who gives an apt 1-page guide to Dos and Don'ts) and British travellers of the 1930's. In addition I can recommend the well planned suggested tours.

This is the only guidebook in English that concentrates on Estonia without lumping it together with the other two Baltic States. This is very much to Bradts credit as the States are far from homogenous and deserve a volume all to themselves. Bradt's Latvia and Lithuania are also recommended.

Bradt's is always growing and changing so, if you're heading for Estonia and want reliable information about the country's natural beauty, turbulent history, what to see, what to do and how much it will cost, don't go without it!

Hilary Bird, Vanemuise, Tartu, Estonia

This newly revised guide is an excellent and comprehensive introduction to Estonia, the newly reborn Nordic country on the Baltic Sea.

I have been a regular visitor since 2000 and have travelled extensively around Estonia and cannot fault this book in any of its details, whether on history, recommended destinations or the ambience of hotels.

Whereas some guides tend to concentrate mainly on the capital Tallinn, this one goes on to give extensive detail on the regional towns. To anyone contemplating their first visit to Estonia they should plan to venture beyond Tallinn because that is where the true beauty of the country lies, in the forests and lakes and fields of wildflowers; and this book makes excellent reading on where to go.

The substantial entry on Estonian history is also essential to give an understanding on how extraordinary its current progress is and how a modern Scandinavian democracy has risen elegantly from 50 years of oppression and colonisation.

This excellent guide is one of the best. Even the very fine guides from the 90s have out of date infomation that this volume rectifies. I appreciate the book's scope and practicality. The new color photos add a great deal. Next time in Estonia this one is coming along.

Although a previous review criticised this book for not helping with the shopping, there are those of us who can negotiate these things on our own, or who went to Estonia armed also with more touristy guides for those matters (such as the fine "In Your Pocket" series). The Bradt Guide to Estonia, however, is for those of us who wish to know more about the history, culture, and especially the natural history of a place before we travel, that we may arrive informed. Indeed, not many travel guides even touch on a region's natural history, but this one does more than that, and also has some good stories that prepare the traveler. It's good reading.

Estonia is an up & coming country & I was happy to have found this book! The author really has an appreciation for the culture, people, country. I like that he is not Estonian & therefore his perspective (to me anyway) is more genuine. He goes into a lot of detail on their culture, economy, history... My family is headed there in a few months & I have really enjoyed reading this travel book in detail. Most of the time, I skim them over. I plan on taking it with me too. Dog ear those pages, hilight the points of interest & then get out there & experience! :)

On a cruise next year, we will be able to spend 9 hours in Tallinn, Estonia. Since we have never been there before, I found this book to be very helpful with a map of the city and interesting places to visit. It was also interesting to read the history about a country so far away. I feel prepared for our trip.

We spent 5 days during July 2007 in Estonia. First time I had purchased a Bradt book. I found the Lonely Planet Estonia Latvia & Lithuania superior. There wasn't anything in Bradt that wasn't covered well in Lonely Planet. Bradt does have larger font, fewer photos and way too much info about various trips about, but much of it is personal opinion and more detailed history than this traveller needs. I did not find any factual errors in either.

This book was neither a satisfactory travel guide nor history/cultural guide to Estonia. While trying to be both, it was neither. I was looking for more specific information that a tourist would need for visiting Tallinn and the countryside, ie ferry information, shopping, more on accommodation.Also the quality of the publication (paper & graphics) was very disappointing. I found the Lonely Planet Guide to Scandinavia & the Baltic States to be more helpful and certainly of a much better quality

The book I purchased was delivered to my house in great condition. It was if I had just bought the book at a book store.