Customer Reviews

Fodor's Munich & Bavaria, 1st Edition: Plus Salzburg (Travel Guide)

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

 

 

This book was perfect for getting an over-view and doing pre-planning for our trip to Bavaria. It isn't suited for carrying around with you like a field-guide, though. The section on Salzburg was great and helped us decide to go there, as well. It has a good section about road trips, too.

I haven't taken my trip yet so I can't judge the recommendations or the accuracy of the details. I also bought "Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2008" (which I think is near-great), so I will highlight Fodor's strengths. This book is well-organized. It's easy to quickly find what you want: Use the thumb tabs to get in the right region, then thumb through looking at the orange page and section headings. The font styles and symbols are easy to read. The maps are excellent. The sightseeing map location numbers are repeated by the sight descriptions. The "Where to Stay & Eat" maps are similar but the location numbers are not carried over to the description section. There are more recommendations for hotels and eating places than in RS. For Munich, they are subdivided by neighborhood. The menu guide translates ingredients such as meats and vegetables. Also this book probably covers every town that a tourist might want to see in Bavaria (more than you see in the Table of Contents) while RS covers only the "best". RS is much better for describing the sights, history, and practical details such as the transportation systems, but I think Fodor's will be a good supplement.

excellent travel book, very helpful, great tips, a wealth of information. the only thing I didn't agree with was the rating of some hotels and their cost, otherwise I used it constantly and I highly recommend it.

I wasn't too impresssed with this book. Some of its information is out of date (including entry times to the BMW museum). In addition, there are only about 70 pages devoted to Munich. If you're traveling in the rest of Bavaria, the book may be ok, but it seems like information was just taken out of the Germany book rather than having its own book. In addition, the directions to some of the landmarks were not particularly clear. I would recommend trying a different book.

I love how this book was grouped together with the Special Salzburg section. It is designed the way people travel to this area. Many people who visit Munich also try to do day trips to either the Bavaria or Salzburg, so it was nice to not have to purchase separate books (Germany & Austria or Munich & Salzburg). I also liked how the Bavarian area was grouped, by Munich, Romantic Road, Bavarian Alps, Danube, etc.). I would have given this 5 stars except I found it lacked in detail in a few areas. I know a book like this cannot be all-inclusive, but I felt they could have included more hotel/restaurant reviews in the Salzburg sections, and the world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich barely garners a mention (just two paragraphs). Overall it is a nice book to use to help make plans for your trip to that area.