Fodor's U.S. & British Virgin Islands, 22nd Edition (Full-color Travel Guide) [Paperback]

Fodor's (Author)

Book Description

Series: Full-color Travel Guide | Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.

Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. Although you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in the U.S. & British Virgin Islands!

•Updated annually, Fodor’s U.S. & British Virgin Islands provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guidebook.

•Fodor’s U.S. & British Virgin Islands features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.

•If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in the U.S. & British Virgin Islands.

•Experience the U.S. & British Virgin Islands like a local! Fodor’s U.S. & British Virgin Islands includes choices for every traveler, from scuba diving, kayaking, and horseback riding to the best beaches ideal for relaxing and family fun, and much more!

•Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.

Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In terms of comprehensiveness of coverage, the very accessible format, and the enthusiastic tone, this series remains one of the best on the market." –Booklist
 
"Fodor's super-informative guidebooks are known for accuracy and attention to detail…" –The Sacramento Bee
 
"The Fodor's guides are notable for their ratings of sights, restaurants, shops, accommodations and attractions." –Chicago Tribune
 
"The great detail, infectious spirit, and attractive format are distinguishing traits of these guides, which are entries in one of the top series in the business." –Booklist
 
"Fodor's can help you plan the perfect adventure" –The Arizona Republic
 
"Always thoughtfully written and easily readable, Fodor's travel guides have become a must-have when traveling to unfamiliar destinations" –Mid South Magazine
 
"Widely recognized as the gold standard of mainstream travel" –Honolulu Advertiser

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; 22 edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400008654
• ISBN-13: 978-1400008650
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #365,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Travel > Caribbean > Virgin Islands

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the money, November 27, 2008

By 

Jazzman (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fodor's U.S. and British Virgin Islands 2009 (Travel Guide) (Paperback)

I am usually not a huge Fodor's fan, but I do recommend this reference as a good general resource for under $12.00, especially for BVI first-timers. It includes the USVI, so if you're planning to be on St. John or St. Thomas, this will be helpful for that, as well. In 240 pages, it provides all the basics, as well as some helpful maps.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as in depth as one would hope, February 15, 2010

By 

GW (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fodor's U.S. & British Virgin Islands, 22nd Edition (Full-color Travel Guide) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

The guide was very positive (a bit too positive) about every destination and didn't necessarily offer a constructive view. If you have a limited amount of time and budget and don't specifically know where you want to go in the Caribbean this guide won't help you narrow it down quickly. I offer the National Geographic website "Island Destinations Rated: Caribbean" as a much better introduction to the islands not written by the local tourism development head that can quickly give you some of the pro's and con's.

Besides this I used this book to try and plan a trip to the Virgin Islands, specifically St. John - however while many things were adequate I felt the book fell short. At a mere 35 pages on St. John (less if you take away full sized pictures) this guide was far too brief for my tastes and I found myself going to the internet to research more. I think if you printed all of this out on your own with 8X11 paper you would get about 10 sheets. If you plan on staying on St. John for a week (not an altogether unexpected plan) you would definitely want more than that right? More detailed driving maps, hiking maps, better beach reviews & pictures, more food recommendations including menu highlights and more detailed points of interest. Fodor's targets the upscale tourist and tends to highlight very touristy areas and businesses - the same things you would get from a tourist brochure for free.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very pretty book but lacks local flavor, January 31, 2010

By 

Z. Freeman "Zach" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fodor's U.S. & British Virgin Islands, 22nd Edition (Full-color Travel Guide) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

This is a very nice looking little volume detailing the U.S. & British Virgin Islands. Since my wife and I were planning to visit there this year I thought I should read up on where we should go and what we should do.

The book is grouped into chapters by island, with recommendations for Beaches, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, Sports and the Outdoors, Shopping, and Nightlife for each island. There is also a separate section for diving and snorkeling as well as chartering a yacht. Each chapter is labeled with a quote from a Fodor's online user. These quotes may have seemed like a good idea, but they seem a little unhelpful to me. The opening section of each chapter is the most helpful, where the writers give a brief breakdown of the island - a little history, a little contemporary update and a little bit of what to expect as a tourist.

But while this book does provide plenty of strikingly beautiful "full color" pictures throughout, it's a little lighter on information than I would have liked, especially when it comes to "local" recommendations.

Though the book is written by two local travel writers, the biggest complaint I have with it is that most of the items marked as "Fodor's Choice" throughout the book (whether restaurants, hotels, or beaches) seem to be the most high-end tourist-centric places. Rarely do they recommend an out of the way local eatery or a small-but-homey villa for vacationing. Perhaps the writers are writing for a more upscale audience, but it seems to eliminate much of the local flavor of a vacation spot if the majority of the recommendations are labeled $$$$ (most expensive). I just don't think I need a travel book to tell me that the Ritz Carlton on St. Thomas is going to be a great place to stay.