Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Cyprus (Country Travel Guide)

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

 

 

I used Lonely Planet Cyprus a week after it became available (June 2006) and appreciated its compact size, Highlights section, Itinerary suggestions, up-to-date prices, and organizational format. Having said that, I only used it about 5% of the time while my wife and I drove throughout the entire island. Carrying 3 other guidebooks (Rough Guide, DK, and DK Top 10), I found Lonely Planet to be far too brief in explaining the sites, falling well short of Rough Guide's more insightful and intelligent writing. I used Rough Guide 75% of the time and found that to be much better. Still, if someone only had Lonely Planet, they would have a fairly good tool to get around Cyprus to the main sites. It is only half the size of Rough Guide(272 pages vs. 550), which could be handy for travelers seeking to minimize their load. For in-depth understanding and off-the-beaten track exploration, however, Rough Guide would be the better choice.

I've used Lonely Planet guides for dozens of countries. Some are great and some are very disappointing. The Cyprus Lonely Planet definitely falls in the latter category. The author, who appears to be Greek, seems to be very ignorant of the Turkish side of Cyprus. Her comments and description of the Turkish side don't appear to be malicious, they just seem to expose that she did very little research. As for the Greek side, information is okay, but really doesn't make your trip easier and give you meaty explanations. She leaves out important transportation information that makes getting around the small island extremely easy and cheap. The book makes no mention of a bus terminal in the capital city that has mini-buses that will take you to far reaching parts of the island for a few pennies. In addition, she makes no mention of mini-bus transportation on the Turkish side that can easily get you to beaches for a few cents. This kind of information is crucial to me. We really didn't even use the guidebook it was so disappointing. I wouldn't waste my money on this one.

it doesn't seem the fact-checking was very good here, unless a bunch of different museums in cyprus decided to change their structure of hours in the past twelve months (we missed three different museums because the guide said they were open late starting in may, rather than only july and august). also, we lost half an hour going around in circles in Paphos in a restaurant that was put on the right road, but 2 km south of where it should have been. normally, i'm used to lonely plant doing a better job of verification on these kinds of things, and if i'm not able to rely on it for that, what's the point ?

nevertheless, we did get some good tips and ideas here.

The book is very good, comprises lots of interesting facts about both Northern and Southern Cyprus. All the information seems to be well-documented. Recommend it further!

I had never used a Lonely Planet guide book before and I would certainly think twice before doing so again. The only reason I used it was because it was the only thing available in my particular circumstances. The book really ought to be titled "Driving in Cyprus with Children" because there is virtually no information about the logistics of getting, say, from the town to an archaeological site or to the beginning of a nature trail if you are without a car. It would have been nice to know if there were an alternative to haggling with a taxi driver and still paying an outrageous fare to go from Lemesos to Ancient Kurion. Guides like The Cadogan Guides, The Rough Guides, and Let's Go! all have such information. The author coos over "children" on virtually every other page, which I found maddening. (I frankly would prefer that people left the kids at home when they traveled because the kids can't really appreciate a museum or an archaeological site, the parents can't enjoy them for dealing with the children, and everyone else is distracted by the family.) The author's opinions on certain sites are misleading, too. For example, she gushes over a ruined medieval abbey at Kyrenia as if it were one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It's certainly attractive, but not a breathtaking work of art. One could skip it and not miss anything essential about Cyprus. She also goes out of her way to be politically correct about the Turkish occupation (there's even a section called "Both Sides of the Story") to the point that she does not warn the traveler that in the occupied zone virtually NO ONE speaks English OR Greek and that, unlike in Free Cyprus, the people who work in the tourist offices are not helpful in the least and obviously hate their jobs. (This was true in both Kyrenia and Famagusta.) The maps in the books have tiny type and are not very easy to read. If you have children and don't mind driving British-style (on the left side of the road) on winding mountain roads this book may be of some value. I, however, found if virtually useless. This is the first time I've ever rated a book with one star.