Customer Reviews

London for Dummies

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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We just returned from our first trip to the U.K. and this book was a lifesaver. I bought London for Dummies several months before we left along with several other more well known guides but I ended up using this guide more than all of the others put together. The advice on customs and the VAT saved me enough money to pay for the book several times over and made my trip back through U.S. customs a breeze.

The information in this book is very well organized and easy to follow. Special tips are found all through the book and get you ready for a few things you might not expect. I found that, mostly because of this book, I was able to travel around London as if I had been there many times.

If you are about to go to London for the first time don't go without this book. Nothing can ruin a trip like getting to a new city and feeling completely lost and alone. I never had that problem and I give a lot of credit to this book for that. Study it before you leave and be ready. It is an easy and fun read and once you get to London you will be glad you took the time to be ready.

I took my parents with me to London for two weeks last year, and this book was absolutely indispensable. I went through it and marked attractions and restaurants ahead of time, and they were very easy to find once we were there. This is written with help from Frommer's, and you can tell. Again, no jokey stories, just lots of very good advice - I also appreciated the tip about using ATM's vs. traveler's checks - MUCH easier!
I would also get a spiral-bound map of the London streets (London A-Z or the Michelin map book) to help you gauge which Tube and bus stops go where. OH AND, purchase 3,4,or 7 day public transportation passes BEFORE you go (can't get them there) - it makes going to all the fun places much easier and cheaper.

This is a wonderful book with one exception. It states your passport needs to have "at least 2 months remaining validity to enter the United Kingdom.." In fact, you must have 6 months! Beware!

I am not one for guidebooks with a bunch of glossy pictures and historical facts about a city or it's tourist sites. I want the practical pointed information that will help me survive in a place with which I am unfamilar; that is exctly what you get with this London Guidebook for Dummies. This book was an invaluable resource prior to my trip and while I was in London. While I did not use the hotel or airfare reccomendations, most of the other chapters were of value.Most valuable were the listings or tourist sites. Dummies provided accurate hours of operation, prices, and directions via the tube to the most popular and "off the beaten track" attractions in London. Dummies gave good feedback on the amount of time to spend at each attraction, and those attractions best visited early to avoid unbearable crowds.
The only fault I found with Dummies was the author's description of dining. He greatly overestimated the cost, structure and type of dining in London. Fixed price meals were nearly non existent, and traditional British cuisine was just as scarce. The resturants in London are nearly identical to those in the United States (save for the linen and water charges). London in fact, is as American of a city in all aspects as I have ever visited abroad...
Overall this is a great guidebook for getting you around London as a tourist.

This book is wonderful. My husband and I took this book with us on our trip to London in the fall and it helped us out tremendously. The recommendations for hotels were great as was the information for all the sights to see. It has great information as to the hours and prices of different attractions. I highly recommend this book.