Customer Reviews

Insight Guide Philippines

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

 

 

This book has a great introductory value. It shows how diverse and beautiful this country is. The photographs are of outstanding quality. The truth is, some of the places I visited looked much worse than their photographs in this book (like Vigan, for example).

One must understand though that this book is NOT a travel guide though (despite some tourist info it contains). It is more like set of National Geographic articles with great illustrations. I still give it 5, because it is so fascinating and beautiful.

More than a travel guide, it spends more time on background and the meaning of sites in the Philippines. Many beautiful photos. Good book to learn about Philippines without going. My American friends that have read this book say it was BiG help to them in understanding not just travel only.

This is one of the books you should get when you're going to the Philippines. It is a very long book filled with good detailed facts. The photographers who took the pictures got very good shots of the Philippines. Another good thing about this book is that is has very good information when your touring the Philippines in the back of the book. It tells you information about the weather, lodging, holidays and festivals, what should be worn, and even how to speak basic Tagalog (the official language of the Philippines). There's a lot of things I haven't mentioned. If you want a good quality guidebook on the Philippines, then you should try this book!

it's true, manila is not the Philippines. Pilipinos of Manila/Luzon have a
Different mentality from Pilipinos of Visayas and Mindanao, I don't recommend Manila as a first choice for foreigners. As in any 3rd world Major city, most people will try to con you, I would recommend Visayas as a first choice, Bohol, Dumaguete & Boracay are generally foreigner friendly. Plus its not congested and has one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Also it is cheaper than manila in a lot of things. Manila pilipinos try to poorly imitate a pseudo-american lifestyle, they adore american culture. While Visayas & Mindanao are more Pilipino culturally but not backward, just more traditional. I would recommend Bohol as you first try. then Dumaguete or Cebu then boracay. usual tip for performers/hosts/drivers/guides/ are a measely $2.00 (100 pesos) and they
are shy to ask, so be generous. If you have ten bucks in your pocket, it can go a long way. Hope this helps.

I have lived in the Philippines and visited there many times. I find the Insight Guide Philippines to be informative, accurate, easy to navigate and a pleasure to use, with beautiful photography! In addition to tourism information, this book gives a fairly in-depth review of the history and culture of the Philippines. It also contains good cross-references to map locations of sights of interest. My informed Filipino friends have asked me where they can get a copy of this book!

I have also used the Insight Guide Thailand, and find it equally as good!

Good 'intro' to the Philippines:
-100+ pages colorfully delineating the historical influences and culture,
-200+ pages Descriptions of regions/cities/sights with historical & statistical info woven in that succinctly captures the meaning of most places,
-40+ pages providing general travel information (i.e. hotels, restaraunts, services, etc.)
-Colorful pictures that capture the emotion of the people & land,
-Good regional maps (although they switched the East Visayas and West Visayas maps!!!).

Great book for someone looking for a crash course on the Philippines in preparation for a first trip. However, even more fundamental that this book, in my opinion, is reading the 'Culture Smart! Philippines' book which is purely (and insightfully) focused on culture. Reading this first will add incremental meaning as you read 'Insight Guides Philippines'. Also, Lonley Planet's Philippines book, while much more of a traditional travel guide, is probably the third book you will want.

This book contains magnificent photographs of the Philippines - its attractions, its people, its history, its festivals. In addition to detailed descriptions of the main Philippine cities and towns, it also contains over 80 pages of "Features" (essays on the culture of the Philippines).

As such, this book is an excellent introduction to the country. It is not primarily a travel guide (though it can be used as one) but a book that you will enjoy browsing through again and again.

THIS BOOK HAD A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WILL BE HELPFUL ON MY TRIP TO THE PHILIPPINES.