Frommer's Puerto Rico, 4th Edition [Paperback]

Darwin Porter (Author), Danforth Prince (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 1998 | Series: Frommer's Complete Guides

Life is short. Vacations are shorter. Relax! Trust your trip to Frommer's Choose the Only Guide That Gives You:

• Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip no matter what your budget.
• The latest, most reliable information—all completely up-to-date!
• Lots of easy-to-read color maps.
• The widest and best selection of hotels and restaurants in every price range, with candid, in-depth reviews.
• All the practical details you need to make the most of your time and money.
• One-of-a-kind experiences and undiscovered gems, plus a new take on all the top attractions.
• Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.
• A fresh, personal approach that puts the fun and excitement back into travel!

It's a Whole New World with Frommer's Find us online at www.frommers.com

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Frommer's offers you all the information you need on:

The Best Beaches
The Best Scuba Diving
The Best Golf & Tennis
The Best Hikes
The Best Natural Wonders
The Best Family Resorts
The Best Honeymoon Resorts
The Best Big Resort Hotels
The Best Moderately Priced Hotels
The Best Attractions
The Best Restaurants
The Best Offbeat Travel Experiences --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Frommer's. The best trips start here.

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer.

• Insider tips from a local—find the best bars in San Juan, hiking trails in El Yunque, snorkeling sites, honeymoon resorts, and more.

• Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.

• Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget.

• Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 4 edition (August 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028622715
• ISBN-13: 978-0028622712
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,915,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why doesn't someone write a decent travel guide to PR?, October 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Frommer's Puerto Rico, 4th Edition (Paperback)

I've used this guide for three PR vacations, and each time I want to throw it across the hotel room. But I can't because the other guides are even worse or even less comprehensive. What's the problem with this one? The lack of description: it gives you no feel as to what makes each beach/hotel unique. Invariably every second beach is summed up vaguely as 'one of the best beaches on the island,' even if one has brownish sand and no snorkling while another "best" beach is pristine white, loaded with fish, and secluded. It's the same with hotels, too, except there's no explanation of what the mood is like there, what kind of people stay there, what the view is like, what the rooms are like, if there's a bar to hang out in after dinner, how close the beach is.... It's almost comic, except when you're trying to figure out where to spend your precious time and money.

Another frustrating problem is that no one took the time to edit this guide. One beach or hotel will be mentioned in two (or three) places in entirely different tones, so it's hard to guess whether a place is just wacky or dirty (or, in the instance of La Parguera, too polluted to swim in one mention; just fine in another). Also, uninspired writing means a breathtaking mountain retreat like the Casa Grande Hotel in Utuado comes across as completely unremarkable and possibly worth skipping. Can't the writers come out and say "This place is great" or, if necessary, "This place is a dump?" A reader might wonder if these guys visited anything but bloated resorts at all. PR deserves better and I certainly expected better from Frommer's.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book had few redeeming qualities., June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Frommer's Puerto Rico (Paperback)

My husband and I purchased this book to go on our honeymoon and were sorely disappointed. The descriptions were vague and often downright incorrect. Luquillo beach, which the authors described as one of the best beaches in the Carribean, had dingy grey water and was filled with garbage. This is only one example of many many misrepresentations. The guide leaned almost exclusively to very expensive restaurants, and even these were nothing to write home about. We had more luck after we ditched the guide and started exploring on our own. Its one good point was some interesting background on the history of Puerto Rico. However, this was not enough to make me buy another Frommer's guide.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Cultural Tour of Puerto Rico for Mid-Income Tourists, January 11, 2003

By 

D. R. Ransdell (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frommer's Puerto Rico (Paperback)

This is a good guide for seeing the cultural sights of Puerto Rico, especially in San Juan. The book is geared towards travellers only moderately concerned with budget. A few pieces of information are outdated, such as bus numbers and changes in price, but the numbering system (up to three stars) is useful for the first-time traveller with little knowledge of the country. Detailed descriptions of the sights in San Juan help visitors get a sense of the city's history while the walking tour takes them around to key spots. There is a comparable walking tour of Ponce, along with a description of the Museo de Arte de Ponce which prevented me from missing out on this fine museum. Ponce is the only place where we tried one of the listed hotels. Although the book described Hotel Belgica as "roughing it," we thought the accommodations were fine and enjoyed the unusual atmosphere of an old-style hotel. The book is full of useful tidbits. For example, en route to Parguera (which should get two stars, not one), the name of the road changes several times along the way (101, 116, 315, 305, 304). No wonder people get confused. Additional information: The book should include a warning that the $5 boat trip to the Phosphorescent Bay near Parguera doesn't let you see much, so it's best to go with the friendly folks at Paradise Scuba Center (the address is listed). Additionally, the Rio Camuy Cave Park sometimes sells out of tickets by 9am (especially on weekends), so it's best to get there early. Finally, good snorkeling is available in San Juan on the west side of the Wyndham Hotel (Condado).