Customer Reviews

Greece: The Practical, On-Site Assistant for the Enthusiastic (Even Experienced) Traveler (Instructions for Use)

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

 

 

Wow! Talk about a lot in a small package. You'll get this - 108 very small pages - and you may think you've been had, but that's not the case. The density of info in here must be close to a travel guide record. Compact, 'get to the point' style and an absence of big glossy pictures means there is a lot of data here.

As others have said, this is about 'practicalities' - making phone calls, hours of business, traffic, car rental, booking trains, taxies, road signs, strikes, food, shopping, medical care, etc., etc. If you'd like to live in Athens for a month or travel independently, this is the book you need, not yet another list of hotels and restaurants that will be gone by the time you get there.

The author lives in Greece, writes about it on her blog, and is just the epitome of common sense.

By Bill Marsano The splendidly helpful "Instructions for Use" series is unique in that its slim, pocket-size guides don't tell you WHAT to see but HOW to do it. Greece is the subject of the latest entry in the series (Italy and France have preceded it), and it may be even more necessary, especially for first-time travelers. Greece, after all, uses an alphabet few Americans see outside of college fraternities and sororities, so this book's excellent language guide alone with be of inestimable help. And in addition to ordinary forms of transport, Greece offers an unusually wide array of nautical options--not just large, ship-like ferries but barges, hydrofoils, catamarans and caiques--each of which makes its own different demands on purse and person. Tucked in-between all the major instructions are handy and often surprising minor ones, such as DON'T buy produce off a pickup truck (here, we're used to thinking the pickup has just come from the farm . . .) and DO bring plenty of mascara (it's extremely expensive in Greece). And in addition to all this you get a link that allows you to download a handy (and free) trip planner. So . . .Don't Leave Home Without It, and Remember to Carry It With You.--Bill Marsano is an award-winning travel writer.

We used the the one for Italy (we took it on our second trip and still used it more than any of the others we bought), and for France, too - priceless. I just got the one for Greece and it looks wonderful...can't wait to use it on our October trip. They're little gems, full of info you can't find anywhere else - whatever I was looking for...I found! They're tiny, too, so they're easy to keep handy in any pocket. Don't leave for Greece without it!