Customer Reviews

Fodor's Israel, 7th Edition (Full-color Travel Guide)

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

 

 

My wife and I just got back from a fantastic trip to Israel but are sorry to say that our Fodors guide was not a very helpful resource. It is definitely a good book to have when planning a trip, and its colourful pictures and maps would no doubt be nice to look at for someone on a guided bus tour who already had their accommodation and restaurant meals planned. For two independent travellers we found the guidebook utterly frustrating. One major complaint is the maps, which, while glossy and colourful, are absolutely useless because they do not label all of the streets, making it very difficult to find restaurants and other listed attractions (we gave up more than once!). It seems like the writers do not actually expect anyone to follow up on the recommendations they make. Another case in point is the guidebook's information concerning the Dome of the Rock. While it provides a fairly good general overview to the site it does not give a list of opening times to an attraction that is only open to non-Muslims on select hours of select days and only from a specific entrance; we spent a lot of time trying to find our way in. The guidebook provides a beautifully illustrated introduction to the Dead Sea and Masada but was entirely unhelpful in informing travellers how to get there (no times, bus routes, etc. were listed). In general it would be useful to have some bus and train maps and route numbers and other practical information (like what parts of the West Bank Israeli drivers are allowed to enter, and vice versa) that would help people who actually want to travel through Israel and Palestine rather than look at pictures of it.

Israel has long been considered one of the most fascinating and dynamic destinations in the world. Most travelers would think the task too great an undertaking for a travel guide. Not Fodor's! They took the challenge and surpassed all my expectations.

I was fortunate to find such a well researched review. My clients are demanding and continually ask challenging questions that require the most dependable resources at my finger tips. Fortunately, this is it!

This guide has been sectioned into the country's seven major regions and a general area titled "Experience Israel". I particularly appreciated how it covered topics that the typical visitor would want insight into such as: Israel's markets, local cuisine, religion, family travel, nightlife & the arts and of course, where to stay and what to do.

The 7th Edition In Full Color guide includes 64 detailed maps, illustrated features and 265 color photos. It should be noted the photography is a significant improvement over similar books in the past. You'll agree once you have compared!

It's always appreciated when you get "insider tips" regarding dining. What you eat during a vacation can frequently turn out to make or break everything. Funny thing how food has such power over one's thinking. Fodor's writers have made it easy by selecting their favorite restaurants by price, cuisine and experience in the two major cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Their research will remove a lot of stress and guessing by trial and error. It's also a wonderful benefit so as to avoid "disappointment heartburn". Believe me, I have been down that ugly food road!

A final comment on "Fodor's Features". Every country has a number of historical facts and features & Israel is no different. So Fodor's took it upon their broad shoulders to highlight them. Their well documented articles, timelines and notations seem to jump off the page and come to life! Not an easy task for even the most experienced and gifted writers.

Expect to have gained a new friend with this gem. Enjoy your walk through history...past and present & prepare yourself for an Israel that's beyond what you imagined! See you in Jerusalem!

I spent some serious time flipping through the typical tourist books in regards to my month long business trip to Israel. I have read this book from cover to cover and I feel that the book is very well done and I would suggest others to consider it as well. The only reason that I did not give it 5 stars was due to a oversite regarding Jerusalem. Also, I think there could of been more info added. However, good book and I feel comfortable recomending this to others. Enjoy Israel, it is beautiful

I recently returned from a trip to Israel and was very disappointed in Fodor's Israel. First off, I will say that I am probably not Fodor's target audience. I tend to be a very budget conscious traveler. Fodor's covers budget to expensive, meaning one or two listing for each price category. Based on the internet I know there are many more options, which have better reviews. Budget travels might be better off with another guide.

On the plus side, the book looks great! It has lots of pictures and engaging layouts. Looking through the book before the trip it heightened the anticipation. It is also great for showing other people what Israel is like.

For the negatives, I found the layout frustrating when looking for specific information. For example, information about Nazareth is found on the page for lower Galilee, the spread about Jesus in Galilee, and the section on Nazareth. On several occasions I remembered reading something, but had to dig through many pages to find the details because it was in a special spread and not in the section for that town. Another example, the map of the stations of the cross is on p76, but the description of the stations is on p63-64. It was difficult to walk through the Old City, trying to read two different pages with the book in one hand and a camera in the other hand.

As stated by another reviewer the maps are largely useless. Many street names are not marked and frequently the transliteration was different in the book than on the street sign (we could usually figure it out, but it required trying to pronounce the names, not just matching letters--difficult when driving with a line of cars behind you).

I was also surprised at the amount of data out of date for a book published in 2009. For example in Haifa, Jacko's Downtown location has closed (I don't know when it closed, but the building has been wiped clean and we confirmed with our hotel it had closed). Some prices had also changed quite a bit (One example, Petra is listed at JD21, it is currently JD33, and will be increasing later this year to JD50!).

The bottom line is that Fodor's was not a good match for my travel style (rental car, independent, budget). I'll stick with LP and Rough Guide in the future.

This will be my family's first trip to Israel. We will be traveling with a group; and some days will have afternoons to ourselves. This book is an excellent way to find interesting restaurants, sites, etc. for when we have free time. The book is easy to read, with whole chapters devoted to main areas (Jerusalem, Haifa, ). I recommend this book to everyone.

I travel to Israel every year and bought this to research the north, which I am not familiar with. The first thing I did was to browse the areas that I do know, Jerusalem and a little of Tel Aviv. I was very unhappy with the lack of detail on the maps and the astonishingly poor editing throughout the book.

The maps are some of the worst I have seen. The roads names are in the Hebrew transliteration (Hebrew word using our letters) when the English terms are very commonly found on Israeli signs. It doesn't make that much difference as there are so few roads actually marked. Many major sites of interest are not labeled at all, even where there is plenty of room (like the Tel Aviv Center for the Performing Arts, which other guides have managed to mark).


Some editing examples:
Pg. 135, Best Bets for Jerusalem Lodging: The Mount Zion Hotel is listed under both the cheapest (cent sign) and moderately expensive ($$$) categories. The latter is correct. The food is variously described as good and bad in other sections.

Pg. 202: Review of the restaurant "Elvis Inn", it transposes Elvis's birth and death days. Not a big mistake by itself, but I came across several things like this in the half hour I spent looking at this book.

On the city map of Haifa, the two Dan Hotels are mislabeled (reversed).

I looked at the ATM section as, as recent as last year (after the publication of this book) many Israel ATMs don't take US cards and I was hoping they would mention that and list some locations of ones that do work. Instead I found some basic info followed by the two paragraphs, which are typed verbatim and followed each other on page 532:

"ATM machines (called "caspomats" in Israel) are generally not enclosed but rather installed in a wall, usually next to a bank.

The automated teller machine, known locally as a kaspomat (the word was actually in italics this time), ....

Where is the editor????

As an aside, the ATM in the arrivals area (luggage claim area) of Ben Gurion airport has a US friendly ATM. There is also one in front of the bank next to the King David Hotel.

Overall, I am seriously unimpressed. Since I don't trust the accuracy of this book, I will rely on another (I bought the "Insight Guides" and it is much better) and internet research. This book certainly isn't worth the money I spent and will not be taking up precious suitcase space.

This book is very useful in planning my trip. The details are just what I need to know & the authors give extensive information and very good maps/ photos.

contains excellent information about specific sights. Was able to find every place we will visit on our 15 day journey through region and index, and understand the historical implications of each place. Many helpful maps also included.Have gone back to it time and again with different questions, and almost always found the answer. GREAT resource!

Excellent Review of Israel -

Recently toured Jerusalem and Northrn Israel. Excellent guide book and reference with price comparator.
Well worth the $17. My "bible" for the Old City.

I had been preparing for my first visit to Israel, and wanted to find a practical and not overtly politically-slanted travel. I was surprised how hard that actually was (by all means avoid the blantanly anti-Jewish-slanted travel guide issued by the otherwise reliable Eyewitness Travel Guides). I finally settled on this particular book.

"Fodor's Israel (2009 Edition)" (548 pages) is a fairly traditionally structured travel guide, starting with general introductory subchapters on Israel's history, its culture, cuisine etc. I thought that was very helpful. After that the book dives into the main areas of the country (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, The Galilee area, The Dead Sea area, etc.). I can't comment on some of the reviews posted here that this guide contains some inaccurate information. But I will say that I found the travel guide quite helpful for the places that I did see. Take the Dead Sea/Masada area: it takes up 30 pages in the book, and while again I can't vouch for every single statement made in those 30 pages, I found it quite helpful for me personally. Other criticims that have been leveled at this book include the fact that it is an all-color photo edition, which is just a laughable thing to criticize. I, for one, found the color pictures enticing and enjoyable. In all, I really enjoyed this travel guide quite a bit.

Apart from the travel guide, I can't say enough about my recent visit to Israel, my first time there. I had high expectations, and they were met, and then some. One of the most pleasant surprises in my long travel history. Just a beautiful country, with so much to offer on so many levels. One of the most striking things is that in the 7 days I was there, I bardly saw any military, police or security personnel, which absolutely amazed me (in the most pleasant way). Can't wait to go back there at some point.