Customer Reviews

Frommer's Washington, D.C. 2007 (Frommer's Complete Guides)

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

 

 

This was the first guidebook I purchased when planning a trip to Washington, DC. Frommers always covers the bases and this book is no exception. Hotels, restaurants, local attractions, and more are all covered here. I also found the "Best" lists that Frommers always includes to be useful. It helps me zoom in on the best of the best experiences when time is short on a trip.

The problem I had with the book is that the level of detail for many of these entries was lacking. Hotels get a nice write up but the vast majority of those covered are above the budget for a typical traveler. The information on the tourist attractions also seems fairly comprehensive... until you compare it to the The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C. (Unofficial Guides) and realize how much more clear and complete that guide is. While I used this guide for the early stages of planning, it was my frustration with it that prompted me to look at other books and I ultimately stopped using this one and didn't even bring it with me on the trip. The Unofficial Guide has roughly 100 pages of additional content and none of it is filler.

In closing, this is not a bad guidebook for Washington, DC. Most of the basics are covered competently and I'm sure a lot of people have used it and been satisfied. Once you read the Unofficial Guide, however, you'll realize just how much useful information is left out of the Frommers Guide.

This was the first guidebook I purchased when planning my trip to Washington, DC. Frommers always covers the bases and this book is no exception. Hotels, restaurants, local attractions, and more are all covered here. I also found the "Best" lists that Frommers always includes to be useful. It helps me zoom in on the best of the best experiences when time is short on a trip.

The problem I had with the book is that the level of detail for many of these entries was lacking. Hotels get a nice write up but the vast majority of those covered are above the budget for a typical traveler. The information on the tourist attractions also seems fairly comprehensive... until you compare it to the The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C. (Unofficial Guides) and realize how much more clear and complete that guide is. While I used this guide for the early stages of planning, it was my frustration with it that prompted me to look at other books and I ultimately stopped using this one and didn't even bring it with me on the trip. The Unofficial Guide has nearly double the pages of this book and none of it is filler.

In closing, this is not a bad guidebook for Washington, DC. Most of the basics are covered competently and I'm sure a lot of people have used it and been satisfied. Once you read the Unofficial Guide, however, you'll realize just how much useful information is left out of the Frommers Guide.

FROMMER'S WASHINGTON D.C. 2007 is a great book on Washington, D.C. and its surrounding suburbs, discussing all of the historical sights, museums, and some interesting shopping, but giving very little space to the malls in the suburbs. However, even if you're not going to visit Washington in the near future, anyone who says that they're a loyal American will really get a lot out of this book.

We used this guide daily - took it everywhere we went.

The descriptions of the places we visited - tourist sites, Smithsonians, art museums, things-to-do, restaurants - were accurate and succinct.

Frommer's Guide has a highly detailed map of the Metrorail inside and a quick-reference guide inside the back cover; the METRO is a great way to (literally) get around DC (SF Bay Area's BART pales in comparison.) Many free maps of the city are available at various sites, but the heavy-duty foldout included with this guide is the one we used the most.

I would think that even a long time resident of DC could benefit from this guide.

From dining to sightseeing to sleeping, we are always happy with the tips and recommendations in Frommer's Guides.

This book is full of information that you will use, not just wordy passages to fill the pages. It's a pretty quick read and in my 30 day stay in DC I used it almost daily.

This was the first time I used a Frommer's guide and I will definitely choose Frommer's again for other places when I plan to visit.

This book, accompanied by a Streetwise Map of DC, is all you will need to make the most of your time in the nation's capitol!


Update/Additional Comments August 4, 2008
I am adding this comment because my previous review doesn't give much info. The Frommer's DC guide will help you in many ways:

How to travel to/from/within DC

Where to stay in DC with pricing info, etc.

Food in DC - where to eat with kids, special occasion dinners, late night snacks, happy hour specials

Leads you to the most popular sights as well as special interest locations

With relation to the sights and dining, the location, metro stop (or other transportation), hours and details of visiting are provided with each entry

After reading this book I felt like I had a friend sit down and tell me all about DC and the best way to enjoy it.

Excellantly laid out with invaluable "tips". Could not have planned my 6-day vacation without it.