Customer Reviews

Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips

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3 star:		(2)
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If you take one trip a year and never go to the same place twice, even the most fortunate person will probably visit no more than 50 different places in a lifetime. What a great idea it is to be more aware of what your choices are before taking one of those 50 trips.

The book is organized around nine themes as described thusly on the contents page:

1. Across Water (Unforgettable voyages, from luxury cruises to dugout canoes)

2. By Road (Chasing the horizon: legendary drives and secret detours)

3. By Rail (Watching the world pass by your window)

4. On Foot (The pleasures of the oldest and greenest mode of travel)

5. In Search of Culture (Life-enhancing odysseys for lovers of all the arts)

6. In Gourmet Heaven (Seeking out the world of flavors)

7. Into the Action (Hands-on adventures for those who'd rather do it for themselves)

8. Up and Away (Flights, skyways, and bird's-eye views)

9. In Their Footsteps (Pilgrimages for readers, dreamers, and history fans)

Typical trip choices are usually described in one or two pages with color photographs and maps taking up at least half of the space. An entry contains brief advice on when to go, how long the trips last, how far ahead to plan, special packing advice, and Web sites for more information. Highlights of such a trip are also briefly described so you can get a sense of what you'll see and do. Some trips are, however, listed in as little as a paragraph.

Naturally, you have to judge a book like this very carefully. By definition, you haven't taken most of the trips!

I looked at trips I've taken that were terrific and noticed some weaknesses in the advice. Here are a few examples:

1. Each entry is treated as though there's nothing else nearby that might be of interest. As a result, you need to check the geographies to see how you might combine several trips listed in the book into one. For example, many of the New England trips are located not too far from one another and you should consider doing more than one on a visit.

2. The timing of how to enjoy other events isn't always considered in enough detail. For instance, Boston's Freedom Trail is listed in the book. But you aren't told that if you come around Patriot's Day (a Monday in April) you can also see re-enactments of the battles of Lexington and Concord and the running of the Boston Marathon on the same trip.

3. Some of the advice seemed just plain wrong from my point of view. When I went to the Galapagos, I was there for 10 days in the dry season and 4 days in the wet season. The wet season was awful! People there said to be sure to always come in the dry season (which ends around the beginning of winter in North America). The book made no mention of this issue in discussing when to go. Also, many of the most interesting things to do in the Galapagos aren't mentioned.

As a result, use this book to start dreaming a little about what you might go see. I was fascinated by some of the choices for Australia and New Zealand that I had never heard of but which looked very beautiful. But do plenty of homework beyond the book to find out what you really need to know before choosing and organizing a trip.

Bon voyage!

I love to travel and I think this book is fantastic! Browsing through this beautiful book, I had to add several travel destinations to my list of places I someday want to visit. If you want some great vacation ideas, from US to exotic oversees destinations, this book will provide many. Paging through the book is also an educational opportunity to discover a bit more about places around the world.

The book is not organized by location (although there is an index for finding specific destinations), but rather the itineraries are listed under the following categories:

Across Water
By Road
By Rail
On Foot
In Search Of Culture
In Gourmet Heaven
Into the Action
Up and Away
In Their Footsteps

Each destination or journey entry includes a page of photos and information. A small map showing the location and route (if applicable) is included as well as a list of highlights. There is also a paragraph or two about the trip and each destination includes sections labeled: When to Go, How Long, Planning, Insider Information, and Websites. These provide some good information and tips for travelers and the website listings give the readers a way to find more details if they want to plan a trip.

The book contains a wealth of ideas and there is certainly something for everyone. Just a sampling of the trips in the book:

Sampling Food along the Mediterranean
Following Che's trip in Argentina (as depicted in the movie "The Motorcycle Diaries")
Cycling Across Transylvania
Riding the Moroccan Camel Train
Driving from Utah's Bryce Canyon to Capital Reef
India's Golden Triangle (Dehli, Jaipur, Agra)

This is a beautiful book that is very well done. National Geographic does not disappoint here!

This is a great "coffee table" style book, filled with interesting information and the sort of excellent photography one would expect from National Geographic. What's most remarkable, however, is simply the price. This is a big, heavy, tome of a book--hardcover--and I would have expected it to easily cost twice what it does. It's a real pleasure to browse through, and I learned of quite a few places I had not heard of or would not have thought about as options for travel destinations. It is not a resource per se. Think of it as a collection, a wide array, of mini-travelogues with good photography (even if on a fairly matte paper stock), and given the large size of the book, this allows for fairly large-format images. A good value.

The format is wonderful--one simple page for each recommended location or activity. Each page includes the best time of year to travel and other recommendations. We've been to some of the selected locations, and the descriptions were very good for a one-page summary. It also helps you think of places to travel that you might not have thought of or considered. The pictures are beautiful. Great gift idea from friends who travel.

This book can be a little annoying at times. The chapters are divided into catagories such a "travel by train," or "travel on foot." This means if you want to say go to Peru, you have to look at the index for Peru and flip to all the scattered writeups. You might miss something. I think there could be a little more info written too on each "Journey" mentioned. Sometimes it's not enough to get a true excitement about the place, event, or experience. Overall I do like the book though. Great reference and gives enough info to do some research on your own when making plans for your trip. Great photos.

This is the perfect cocktail table book, and everyone that has looked at it loves it. I plan to order more for gifts.

I travel a lot, and this is very well done, with good photos and descriptions. It even gives the right time of year to travel to each place. Great book, and would highly recommend it.

This book generally fulfilled my expectations as a travel book. It gives a great number of amazing destinations with enough info to allow you search further. I also liked the idea of splitting the trips by means of travel (boat, plane, train, car, 2-legs, 4-legs, etc).

On the other hand, as an amateur photographer/photo enthusiast and an overall National Geographic fun, I found the photos as well as the printing quality of the book not of the best quality, or at least not of the quality that NG normally provide in their photo books.

Overall, a great publication that I would recommend!

Check out also "Where To Go When" (Eyewitness Travel Guides) - DK Publishing. Highly recommended, great travel book, great photo book too!!!

This is an amazing book. It has everything you ever need to know about amazing vacation spots. It even tells you the best time of year and best travel route. I especially liked that each section also included the top 10s, like top ten boat rides, etc throughout the world. This is a must have for anyone who loves to travel and is also just a great coffee table book. Everyone who visits finds themselves lost in the pages of this amazing book!!!

Great book for those interested in a little bit of everything. It is broken up into several sections that provide a nice variety of travel types (ex. culinary, culture, boat, plane, etc.) Incredible pictures for each entry.
This book is best used as a means of getting ideas for travel because it provides only general information rather than the specific "how to" for each journey.
Overall, a really interesting read.

i purchased this book as a birthday gift for my brother. now i don't want to give it to him. i want to keep it.
the photos in this book will knock your socks off. it's a lovely book and it's so much fun to just pick up and turn to any page. i recommend this book for people planning a trip AND for people who just want to see what a wonderful world we live in.
my only complaint: IT'S HEAVY!!
enjoy.