Customer Reviews

Fodor's Belize 3rd Edition (Travel Guide)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have always considered Fodor's travel books to be the best. They covered the highlights of each country in terms of a brief history, what to expect, places to visit, restaurants and where to stay. Their reviews were concise, accurate and covered a range from moderate to expensive. Most refreshing was an absence of the pretentious attitudes that often characterized other guides. (Frommers being the worst offender.)

I've visited Belize before, but since it had been a few years, picked up Fodor's Belize 2007 guide. First thing I noticed is it is now one complete book devoted to the country, where in the past it was grouped under the title of "Central America". In this case, more does not translate into better. Much of this book is irrelevant filler.

Most disappointing however is that the writers seems to have "phoned it in" while lounging by the resort swimming pool. In short, if you love expensive hotels or trendy restaurants, this is the book for you. If you are interested in visiting more of the real country, try another publication.

For example, Dangriga is a fascinating part of Belize, but lacks traditional tourist infrastructure. While it may not be the most popular part of the country for the Fodor writers, I would expect at least an update of hotel descriptions. Sadly, some are easily two years out of date.

Yet another example is seen in the coverage afforded to Belmopan, the capitol of the country. Belmopan is also not a major area for tourism, but people do visit. There are some small hotels and B&B's available, nothing fancy, but clean and friendly. Yet the only listings shown in the 2007 Guide are for resorts located many miles away (One suggestion is at least a 45 minute drive from Belmopan. Its a beautiful air-conditioned jungle lodge but so far away, to list it is absurd.) Again, the writers may not like having to stay in a small hotel, but they should at least list them for others who may visit.

Not surprisingly, the only place this book excels is when it comes to Ambergris Caye and San Pedro. It does give a very good listing of hotels, restaurants and activities. While the focus is on the more expensive, it does cover a representative range.

I hope this guide does not mark a new direction for Fodors. I personally enjoy staying in more upscale accommodations, but would not avoid a section of a country simply because there are no 4-star hotels. A good travel book should give a complete range. I stopped using Frommers because of this arrogance. I hope Fodors is not following in their footsteps.

My husband and I just returned from a 16 day trip, and this book was definitely worth the money!! It is the most up to date Belize guidebook you can buy right now, and almost all of it's information was right on. We also bought the Belize Moon Guidebook, and comparing the two, I would say that Fodors is more upscale. Usually, it's assuming you're going to rent a car and hire guides for your trips (both of which cost $$$), and it does a better job of describing more expensive hotels and restaurants. This is great if you have the money, but we were on a budget, so this info was useless for us. The Moon book did a better job covering places and topics for a budget traveller (like what to do if you get a GI bug--something no one wants, but when it happens, you're glad it's covered in the book!). That said, Fodor's was still really helpful because it's the most up to date, so it's maps, attractions, restaurant, and lodging recommendations could usually be relied on (Kudos for the Fodor's recommendation for Tradewinds in Plancencia--this tip alone made me glad I bought the book!). Overall, it's the perfect book if you are planning a more upscale trip, but it's still very helpful (4 star) if you're a budget traveller and I would defintely recommend purchasing it along with the Moon Belize book.

Great book! We booked the accomodations through a travel agency but found that they were both Fodor's choice. The resorts were well described, and using their recommendations on where to eat on Ambergris Caye were spot on! The only thing I would have liked would have been more detailed maps of the different areas (Cayes in particular) but that may be out of the scope of this book. Highly recommend!

This is the most up to date, accurate reviews and ratings of where to go and what to do in Belize. We had everything lined up before our trip.

Fodor does a great job - travel is what they do. This is a great planning resource for anyone thinking of going to Belize - very comprehensive and up to date (2009). Nice summaries of the various regions, and their particular charms, plus the usual resort and activity ratings.

This book answered most of the questions I had prior to taking my trip to Belize. The questions it could not answer were questions that only could be answered in specific situations by actually being there. For an in depth look at Belize and how to prepare for your trip, it is an excellent guide book.

This book was invaluable in planning a trip to Belize & Guatemala! I purchased another guide in addition to this one, but this quickly became my go-to guide for the weath of information and specific details about sites, restaurants, etc. The maps were good. I found all the information to be up-to-date and honest.

Fodor's provides reliable, fairly accurate information on places to visit, eat, and stay in Belize and also nearby Guatemala (Tikal). We traveled throughout Belize, visited Tikal, and dived off of Caye Caulker, using the Fodor's guide extensively. The bits of history, culture and background information added to the experience, and the practical recommendations on food and lodging were spot-on.

We have been to Belize and are headed back. Packed with new knowledge...seller delivered on time and I am happy!

this book was helpful but not as good as the rough guide.
the prices were about as exact as the rough guide (RG a year older version too) as well as the reviews. it did have a few places the rough guide didnt but the same in reverse.
i think i liked the map better in this book though.