Customer Reviews

Fodor's Cuba, 1st Edition: Expert Advice and Smart Choices: Where to Stay, Eat, and Explore On and Off the Beaten Path (Fodor's Gold Guides)

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Fodor's Cuba is billed on the back cover as providing "simply perfect trips." In truth this is a VERY basic simple guide that needs much improvement to compete in the Cuban travel guide race.

I found this guide far too barren and difficult to use. The entire history of Cuba for the last fifty years gets only eight scant paragraphs in a section call "The Way to Revolution" and "Today and Tomorrow!" The index DID NOT list hotels or restaurants and this required that I to flip through the sections until I found the listing I wanted information on (especially a hassle in Havana). There were only 11 maps and they need improvement.

Also, instead of giving the general price of lodging or restaurant meals along with the listing, they give a code (listed in the front of the book) next to the site description ($$$ which = $100 to $150) but, then, that is for a double occupancy in high season. The guide listed my hotel, Ambos Mundos, as $$$ when I paid only $65 for a single in high season, thus the guide was not much help to me on this regard either. There were no email or Internet addresses (especially for the hotels) to speak of, even though the date of publication is 2000. Yet when I checked, almost every hotel had email whereby you could make reservations and get additional information and some had there own web page. Finally, another irritant, which has become common in Fodor's guides, is the intrusive color pages of paid advertisements for various products or service, which I immediately tore out and tossed. I am under the conviction that I have already paid once for the book and this is double indemnity.

On the positive side I found the Havana Dining and Lodging Map very useful; as I did the short list of "must experience" while in Cuba, called 'Fodor's Choice'. If you want just a quick digest that gives you a capsule run down on Cuba, a few basic maps, then this guide will be adequate. However, there are significantly better guides that I recommend you consider first. Conditionally recommended

Strongly recommend this book as a basic travel guide to Cuba. This is the book to take with you because it is compact, offers well-referenced maps numbered to the attractions in the text and has all of the essential information. Yes, "Cuba Handbook," is more comprehensive, and I read all 600+ pages of that lengthy tome. But I found that Fodor's had all of the essential information, skipping only the trivial. Included are great tips about U.S. and Cuban Customs regulations, roads in Cuba and accurate and believable lodging information. I did everything in Cuba and can attest that all of the best things to do are included in this guide. Fodor's even gives you a rave about Remedios and its nearby beaches, which are far away from the tourist trail. I also visited all of their hotel choices in Old Havana, as well as staying in two of them (Ambos Mundos and Hostal Florida), and all are truly wonderful hotels. If you want more about politics, flaura and fauna, buy a more comprehensive book and do your reading before you travel. But for a book that is portable and lists all of the essential information, this Fodor's guide cannot be beat.