Ireland (Eyewitness Travel Guides) [Paperback]

Tim Perry (Author), DK Publishing (Author), Ian O'Leary (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2010

DK Eyewitness Travel's full-color guidebooks to hundreds of destinations around the world truly show you what others only tell you. They have become renowned for their visual excellence, which includes unparalleled photography, 3-D mapping, and specially commissioned cutaway illustrations. DK Eyewitness Travel Guides are the only guides that work equally well for inspiration, as a planning tool, a practical resource while traveling, and a keepsake following any trip.

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

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive, engrossing and just plain fun-to-read guidebook than the Eyewitness Travel Guide: Ireland. Spilling over with all sorts of useful information for the traveler, you'll find three-dimensional drawings, floor plans, detailed neighborhood maps with a street-finder index, and even historical timelines. Broken into several sections (including "Introducing Ireland," "Region by Region," "Traveler's Needs," and "Survival Guide"), the guide paints a complete picture of the country. Readers will especially love the hundreds of color photos of everything from the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare to the Connemara landscape of County Galway to out-of-the-way pubs and street-by-street illustrated city walks (Dublin's Southeast walk takes in famed landmarks such as Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green and the Shelbourne Hotel). You'll also find listings for Aran sweaters, Waterford crystal, and Celtic recordings. --Jill Fergus --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This compact, handsomely illustrated guide to Ireland opens with a general overview of the island's history and culture. The tour of the country begins in Dublin, then circles south and west, ending up in Belfast. At the back of the book are sections on lodging, food, shopping, and other practical information. It is similar in style, content, and price to Knopf Guides: Ireland, published in July 1995. Eyewitness Travel Guides claim to be "the guides that show what others only tell you." This volume does seem to have slightly more illustrations than the Knopf guide (as well as more hotel and restaurant listings), but its paper cover will not be as durable as Knopf's vinyl cover, and it is a bit heavier to carry. Still, this is a thorough guide that travelers, especially those off-the-beaten track, will find most useful. Recommended for public libraries.
Mary C. Kalfatovic, Telesec Lib. Svcs., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: DK Travel; Rep Rev edition (February 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756660734
• ISBN-13: 978-0756660734
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 115 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The only guide we needed.... February 22, 2003

By Colleen M. Schneider TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Turtleback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband and I recently took our first trip out of the U.S. and decided to take a dream trip to Ireland. We started reading this guide well before we left to get an idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. The guide is fantastic. The pictures and details about each place helped us to choose many sites in a small country with so many beautiful places to go. We took this guide everywhere with us. As first time European travelers we needed to know all the basics; how to get around, what a round-about was (we don't have those here), where to convert our money, hours that the places are open and when they close, customs of the country, etc. This book really layed it out and helped us in deciding where we wanted to go. We ended up traveling from Dublin to Connemara, to Cork, to Waterford and finally back to Dublin. We felt that we were able to pick facinating sites, covering Newgrange, which is older than the pyramids, to castles, (Blarney & Bunratty), Cathedrals in Dublin, Trinity College, shopping on Grafton Street and buying beautiful scarves and sweaters to take home at Blarney Woolen Mills. Some sites we passed as we drove across the country and decided to make part of our journey, such as Jerpoint Abbey, others we had planned, such as the Rock of Cashel. We also bought the street maps for Dublin done by DK. Our trip was fabulous and we now only choose the DK guides when we take a trip either in the states or abroad. For a beautifully done, comprehensive book, you cannot go wrong here. Take it from the first time traveler....this one had everything we needed.

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good guide, but falls short September 28, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

On the plus side, the Eyewitness guide is easy to read and gives you a more accurate idea of what to expect at the various attractions across Ireland, and has a decent section on Northern Ireland, which is often noticeably lacking in many other guides. However, it is VERY limited in terms of its listings of lodgings, restaurants and pubs. I bought the guide while living in my husband's native Northern Ireland on the recommendation of a friend, but found I had to continually refer to other guide books to find hotels, B&B and restaurants that normal people (those of us with incomes under $100,000/year) can afford. Also, the listing of hotels, etc., at the back of the book is rather frustrating, as you have to flip back and forth many times to determine if there's an accommodation, etc. near where you want to travel. Basically, it's a good companion guide, but not very effective on its own.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for visiting sites of interest February 6, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I have been to Ireland now several times leading groups of university students, and I always recommend this book to them. Not only does it have a wealth of information, but the drawings and diagrams of the sites that they visit are of immeasurable help in appreciating and understanding the places that we do visit. Since we travel quite rapidly on this course, this is invaluable as a planner and as a reference. And at first, I only bought it for myself!!

154 of 166 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars What I did over summer vacation. . . March 21, 2001

By M. Thakery

Format:Paperback

The following is a true story. The only proof I have to offer is that I have absolutely nothing to gain by lying about it. . .

In september of 1996, I walked into my boss's office and informed him that I wouldn't be back the next day. I have a feeling that he knew I wouldn't be coming back the next week. . Or the next month, either. As a 7-year member of a Fortune 500 management team, I had to deal with some fairly stressful situations. I needed a break. A big one.

Brian, the understanding boss, stood up, shook my hand, turned around and took this book off his shelf. "I've always wanted to go" And with that he, almost sadly, handed me the tome.

I went home, cancelled my paper, had my mail stopped, made arrangements for a neighbor to feed my fish and started packing.

2 kites, 1 touring bike, 1 fly rod, 1 fly vest, 3 changes of clothes and 1 plane ticket later I was sitting staring out the window of a largish plane listening to a Nun tell me about the last flight she'd taken (from Ireland) and how she got air sick. This was to be her second flight.

Now the point of this little aside - Over the next 8ish hours, the Nun and I (she didn't get sick) read every page to one another. She had lived in Ireland for 40 some years and still hadn't heard of all the palces and sights in this book. It's that good. I visited small out of the way places that I figured would be overrun, only to find that they were just as had been explained in the DK book. I even took 2 walking tours with my new friend in the habit.

The book doesn't pretend that it will have every B&B listed in it's pages, nor should you expect it to.... the "Bord Failte", or the "Irish Board of Welcomes" puts out a comprehensive listing of all B&B's in the country that are approved as far as having met their requirements. Anyway, pick that and a 10 punt phone card up at any news dealer in the airport even before you look for a cab.

As far as good pubs, just wait until 6:30 and hook up with the frst large group you see walking around. They'll be glad to take you with them. The whole country is just sickeningly friendly. And they're not looking for a tip. I had a waitress run to catch me on the street when I left a tip at my table. Had I been listening on the plane, the book explains who does and who doesn't expect a tip, where to hail a cab, the best places for lunch, what you want to do and why.

3 months later, I returned home with a completely different attitude about the world.

Anyway, the book has well earned it's stars as far as I'm concerned.

I can strongly recommend this book. . . And Brian? You should have gone. Read more ›

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for plannig your Irish adventure. July 3, 2000

By J. Sexton

Format:Paperback

I used this book for as my baseline for planning my week long trip to Ireland. The book is so well organized, it makes it easy to plot a course in Ireland and then to decide what to see while you are travelling from Point A to Point B. The beautiful photography and bird's eye view drawings give the reader an idea where to expect the greatest highlights. There are also very detailed descriptions, explanations, and historical narritaves. The book makes most of the guided tours at historical sights unnecessary. Often there was more information in the book than there was available on site. And the extra knowledge helped us greatly in avoiding most of the "tourist traps".(Helpful hint: Blarney castle was the biggest tourist trap/dissapointment on our trip. It that was the only castle in Ireland you saw, it would be OK. But you can find better castles along the side of just about any country road. And these castles won't have cheezy giftshops, entrance fees, photographer fees, electricity, repairs using modern technology, or 2 hour long lines.)

Even if you are not planning a trip to Ireland, the book is still very interesting and informative just to get an idea of all the treasures that await you on the Green Isle.

I promise this book will be the "Bible" of your journey to Ireland.