Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Eastern Europe

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

While this book adequately covers the absolute major sights in Eastern Europe, if you're planning on going anywhere remotely other than the top five spots (Krakow, Prague, etc) LP Eastern Europe is pretty inadequate. With only about 7-8 pages to cover the entire nation of Montenegro, for example, LP occasionally only acknowledges that entire regions exist. Not mentioning Montenegro's second major airport (Tivat), for example, is a huge oversight. As with most LP regional guides, if you're planning on spending more than about 4 days in a given country, you might as well spring for the country guide.

One wonders how can a used book can be so imaculate....
The book was on an impeccable shape!

Although still haven't field tested it on the road, it appears to hit the important elements of the journey--especially those off the main tourist trail. Good to see transportation details as well.

The book is in excellent condition and has been most helpful in planning a trip to Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. Most of the suggested middle-range hotels had already booked which is a good indication that the guide book had good selections.

You won't find the whole information of those countries, but it has an excelent synthesis.

I'm happy with my purchase.