Fodor's European Ports of Call, 1st Edition (Travel Guide) [Paperback]

Fodor's (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008 | Series: Travel Guide

More Americans than ever are taking cruises in Europe, the fastest-growing cruise region in the world. Fodor's European Ports of Call is filled with concise and practical overviews of over 70 major cruise ports throughout Europe, offering cruise passengers everything they need to know to make the most of their day ashore and enjoy unique shore excursions independently.

For each European port, Fodor's provides:
·A detailed overview of what awaits passengers on shore, including transportation options
·Coverage of all major sights, including admission costs and hours
·Restaurant recommendations for lunch ashore
·The best activities and excursions for more active travelers
·Accurate and useful maps for each port

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: 512 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; 1 edition (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400007550
• ISBN-13: 978-1400007554
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I began my journalistic career at the age of 32, following the conclusion of my 'sabbatical decade.' From 1980 through 1990, I bicycled across America, pedaled through Europe and island-hopped the South Pacific.

After backpacking through Bali, bussing through Java, hopping a boat to Singapore and crossing Malaysia to Thailand, I flew into Burma, tramped to Dhaka and endured a 32-hour train ride from calamitous Calcutta to bustling Bombay.

From there, I hopped a plane for Greece and traveled to Switzerland before returning home, where I settled, quite naturally, into a career of travel writing.

From 1996 to 2009, I contributed to HEMISPHERES, United Airlines' award-winning inflight magazine. The North American Travel Journalism Association, awarded my article, Ship Shape, which appeared in the September 2005 issue of Hemispheres, in the category of 'Best Cruise Writing.'

I make my home in Asheville, North Carolina and live part of the year near Copenhagen, Denmark.

When in Asheville, I enjoy mountain biking, hiking, lingering in coffee shops and frequent trips to the gorgeous Biltmore Estate. When in Scandinavia, I enjoy biking, lingering in coffee shops and trying to learn Scandinavian words.

My work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and numerous consumer magazines. I am the author of four books, including Remembering Charles Kuralt,' a biography that Publisher's Weekly called 'a sweet and lovely homage, a welcome commemoration.'

I am currently the Chief Evangelist at avidcruiser.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guide Book Revisited, February 22, 2009

By 

AvgMom2 (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fodor's European Ports of Call, 1st Edition (Travel Guide) (Paperback)

I deleted my earlier review where I gave this book 3 stars. The reason why I changed my mind and decided to give this book 5 stars was because as I started to plan my shore excursions for my upcoming European cruise, I realized how helpful...no, make that VALUABLE... this book was. This book became an integral part of my planning and I saved a lot of money by making my own plans and not have to rely on the cruiseline. I especially appreciated the info on the unfamiliar ports and how far they were to the major cities by transportation. I mean, really, I've never heard of Livorno! Where on earth was Malaga? (Livorno is a port in Italy to go to Florence/Pisa and Malaga is a port in Spain to go to Granada.) One of the reason why I initially did not liked the book was because the chapters were sorted in an alphabetical order; thus, if I have several ports in one country, I have to flip back and forth. I resolved this problem by buying colored tabs and I assigned each country a color code (i.e. green tab for Spain, blue tab for Italy, orange for France, etc, etc.) This solved my irritation and now I am happy with the book. This book will give you glimps of ports of call with maps and insights. Highly recommended if you are going on European cruise and have never been there before.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cruise ports help, August 22, 2009

By 

Grandma J "Still a bride" (Houston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fodor's European Ports of Call, 1st Edition (Travel Guide) (Paperback)

We are a group of travel friends who took a cruise from Istanbul to Venice with stops in Greece, Italy, Montenegro, etc. Shore excursions are very pricey on ships - this book save us a huge pot of money since it was clear a number of our ports were small walled cities in which we could wander with the guidebook. We did take tours in Athens because of time constraints and its size but the rest was easy to follow. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful and concise, but you can find better, April 22, 2010

By 

a viewpoint (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fodor's European Ports of Call, 1st Edition (Travel Guide) (Paperback)

I bought this book to help plan my excursions for a Mediterranean cruise my wife and I will be taking. If you plan to do the cruise liner's expensive tours, then you will find this book contains all the helpful info you need. But if like us, you are heavy on adventure (and perhaps a little light on cash) and you plan to take the do-it-yourself approach, then you will need much more info. In that case, you should turn to the internet. If you love to have the info in book form, then Rick Steve's books are a better choice (although you may need 5 or 6 of them as opposed to one).

This book is good for helping you decide which sights to see. But if you plan to do it on your own, you'll need to know where the train station is and how to get there. Websites like tripadvisor, portreviews and cruisecritic are great, as are the Rick Steve's books and website.