Lonely Planet Eastern Europe [Paperback]

Tom Masters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

Discover Eastern Europe

Make like 'King' Wenceslas and look out from Prague Castle then ponder your own metamorphasis at the Franz Kafka Museum.
Go gently on the world's longest-and slowest-trolleybus route from Simferopol to Yalta.
Get naked, hot, sweaty, and whipped with birch twigs with the locals in a Moscow banya.
Plunge into startlingly clear seas from Albena to Zadar.

In This Guide:

Thirteen authors, over 38 years combined experience living in Eastern Europe, 4732 hours of on-the-road research.
Updated practical information on the entire region and the world's newest country: Montenegro.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lonely Planet guidebooks are, quite simply, like no others.' --New York Times

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
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* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 988 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 9th edition (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741044766
• ISBN-13: 978-1741044768
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #890,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2007 Edition: Well Updated & Comprehensive!, March 27, 2007

By 

Laszlo Wagner (Hungary) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Eastern Europe (Paperback)

Not all Lonely Planet guides are equal, but I found this one to be very good!
It covers pretty much all the former socialist countries westwards from Russia, including the Baltic states, Central Europe, the Balkans, Ukraine, and even obscure, very rarely visited Belarus and Moldova.
It already has a separate country chapter for Montenegro, which only became independent in the summer of 2006!
Inside, you will find all the details that can be expected from this series: in addition to the usual background info on history and culture as well as listings of recommended sights and activities, LP does provide useful practical details like prices and contact details of accomodation options as well as fares and journey times for public transport. These seemed pretty accurate to me, though are bound to change within the lifespan of this book.
The detail provided about each country described of course can't compete with single-country guides, but is probably sufficient for most people planning to visit several countries in one trip. As a rule, there are enough places described to fill at least 2 weeks in each country. In comparision to LP's Europe on a Shoestring which covers the whole continent but goes into more detail about the more visited Western European countries, this one has about 3 times more info on Eastern European ones.
I would highly recommend this book for both those who are still in the planning stages and need info to decide which countries in the region to visit, and for actual use on the road to those planning to visit several countries on one trip.
Of course, if you only want to concentrate on 2-3 countries only, you may find individual country guides more detailed - though right now quite possibly less up to date! LP and Rough Guides both publish such guides to the more popular countries in this region, while Bradt covers even the more obscure ones like Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia or Slovakia as separate titles.
For the region as a whole, this book is the one to get for sure though!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top quality guide for business and pleasure travelers alike., July 8, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Eastern Europe (Paperback)

Eastern Europe is Lonely Planet's comprehensive travel guide compiled by thirteen authors who spent 4732 combined hours of on-the-road research, covering the nations of Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Each nation's section features maps, festivals and events, specific dangers and annoyances for travelers, a concise mini-history, recommended places to sleep, eat, and see, and much more. "Bulgarians shake their head 'yes' and nod their head 'no'... If in doubt, ask 'da ili ne?' (yes or no?)." At nearly one thousand pages in length, Eastern Europe strives to squeeze in everything a world tourist absolutely needs to know about a staggering diversity of nations, cultures, and customs, and is a top quality guide for business and pleasure travelers alike.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Maps are good, info is medicore, March 21, 2008

By 

I. Saam (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet Eastern Europe (Paperback)

In 2007, I was fortunate to visit nine of the countries covered by this book, and I used it in each new town. First off, the book prices are way underpriced. Not every hotel in those parts have websites, and relying on this book to give you a "rough idea" is a bad idea. Restaurant prices were also not even close. Second, nightlife descriptions tend to give you the same venues as any tourist brochure. Ask a local about a Lonely Planet highly-rated club in Zagreb and they'll laugh that it's a tourist haven. Although they note local contacts that are consulted for each region, you couldn't tell by some of the recommendations. And finally, the politically-charged "Country Profiles" are often factually wrong. Ukraine's Orange Revolution didn't "unite the country" to pour out into the squares, most of those people were paid to stand there and rally. This book is good to check out at the library or read at a bookstore for 20 minutes to get a rough idea, but is not very helpful if you plan to rely on its facts once you get out to central and eastern Europe.