Customer Reviews

Frommer's Mexico 2001

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

 

 

The reviewer Mr. Gonzalez has mistaken Frommer's for Fodor's. The Rand McNally map that he does not like appears in Fodor's Mexico. Ditto the wrong information about Trotsky. The Frommer's Mexico book has a completely up-to-date fold-out sheet map, as well as more than 60 maps throughout the book. I find these Mexico authors to be a clear voice of authority, and the book is well-written and full of humor. Great for beach destinations as well as more off-the-beaten track locales. I'm a Frommer's convert!

Purports to be a comprehensive guide, but conveniently overlooks everything in the northern tier, including the entire states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, and Durango. Can you imagine a U.S. travel guide that just "forgets to mention" whole regions like the southwest, or New England, or the east coast? You'd probably think such a guide was [bad]-- and that's pretty much how I view the Frommer's guide. Leaving out Monterrey (the third largest city in the country) is inexcusible given the huge range of attractions, hotels, and events that go on in that part of the country. To further overlook the whole border region, the northern Gulf coast, and the desert cities like Hermosillo is just plain ridiculous. If all you want is an overview of the beach resorts and Mexico City, and similar places that have already been covered by everyone else, then this guide will do in a pinch. If you want true comprehensive travel info and true insight to the country as a whole, look elsewhere.

This will be our last Frommer's. Left out info on some of the best markets in Mexico; Leon, Aguascalientes, others; and nothing on Monterrey. We found many inaccuracies as regards directions and locations given by authors. Some maps were in accurate and info was outdated on many of the cities we visited north of Mexico City. Had the same problems a few years back with Frommer's European guides. Don't waste your money like we did. Our last Frommer's!

Over the past three years, Frommer's Mexico has made itself nearly indispensable for both new and experienced travelers to Mexico. The improvements should make this the must-have guide for visitors to Mexico. Coverage has expanded to include destinations off the beaten track. The writing has improved and the tourist tips have become more reliable. Perhaps most importantly, Frommer's Mexico shows a love of Mexico that translates its excitement about the country and its people to its readers.

Like most Frommer's guidebooks, this one serves its target audience reasonably well. Frommer's are best for travellers going to tourist orientated areas with a moderate to high budget. For backpackers on the cheap or other people that want a more complete guide to Mexico, especially off the beaten path places, I would recommend either Lonely Planet or Moon. But for the convential tourist Frommer's is a perfectly good choice.

This guidebook is very easy to navigate and scan. The layout, the maps, the judicious use of color, and the index are immensely helpful, especially since guidebooks aren't typically read front to back.

I also enjoy the depth of treatment overall. It's clear that the authors spend a lot of time in Mexico.

It's a very happy thing with a Frommer's in hand when I'm in Mexico last month. Because this book is very detailed and correct,you could just follow it and don't need to worry about.Especially the restaurants and hotels(3 stars) it suggest,all are very nice and wonderful.

Don't leave to Mexico without getting this guide. It's packed full of useful tips and by the end of our 3 week trip around Mexico it became well used, both by us and by other travellers frequently wanting to look something up (we ended up letting someone we met use the guidebook after we left as they were always asking to use it). It takes you into the little known details of Mexico, educates you on the cultures, guides you through different alleys to get to a destination and the map that comes with it was great to get an overall feel of where we were and where we were planning to go to. Prices were accurate and I liked the fact that this guide book caters to both the traveller that really wants to find out what Mexico is about and travel the back road as well as catering to the tourist in us all that ocassionally wants to step out of the back roads and just be... well... just be a tourist for a day. And as usual, restaurant reviews are top notch (catering for both those on a budget and those that have a bit of money to splurge). I recommend using this book for Mexico and if you plan on extending your travel after that to some of the other countries in the region for a shorter period of time to also have the Footprint guide to Mexico & Central America as it has good info on Belize, Guatemala, etc.

...so far, from just reading it, I can tell you that the maps (especially the vaunted Rand McNally separate) leave a lot to be desired: They don't include all the main roads (I know, I compared with other maps) and they differ in tourist info (Uxmal appears in the maps inside the book, but not in the Rand McNally tear out). Plus, the assassin that killed Trotsky, Ramón Mercader, wasn't Mexican, as Fodor's says, but a Spanish Communist! I mean, come on! I know that, how can the Fodor's people not know that? Also, Mercader used a pickaxe, not an icepick like Trotsky would haev you believe, to murder Trotsky. What the hey, let's hope that the travel info Fodor's provides is more accurate than the historic info.