Customer Reviews

Frommer's Caribbean from $70 a Day

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50 years ago Frommer was a trendsetter in books on budget travel. He wrote guidebooks for the 'average' traveller who couldn't afford luxury hotels and didn't need crystal chandeliers (or even private bathrooms) and caviar, but wanted to see the world.
Today, Frommer is one of several publishers of such guidebooks and is, in most aspects, the worst. (Though the guides that focus on only one or two cities are usually quite good.) The books typically list only a small handful of hotels and restaurants for each destination. Attractions listings are also quite limited. While Moon and Lonely Planet don't give quite as many details about each listing, they provide far more options, as well as better, more detailed information about the practicalities of travel. (How to get there, what the ticket is likely to cost, how often transportation runs, etc.) And with the internet offering websites on most hotels and major attractions (though few restaurants, especially outside the U.S.)

readers seeking out details can usually just check the website.
("Let's Go" guides are also excellent, though targeted at the lowest end budget traveller, and they don't cover the Carribean.)

Other problems with this particular guide: Several islands are omitted without explanation. (Anguilla and St. Barts are not typical bargain destinations, but they do have inexpensive lodging available, and are both easily visited as day trips if desired.)
Annual updating seems minimal at best.

Not a terrible guidebook, and if visiting the carribean and you want to cover all bases, this is a good choice to supplement some better guides and some time on the web. But perhaps it's better borrowed from the library than purchased.