Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Sydney Encounter

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

 

 

This book is absolutely perfect for traveling in or around Sydney. Its small size belies its extensive information pertaining to nine major neighborhoods in metropolitan Sydney (City Centre; the Rocks & Circular Quay; Chinatown & Darling Harbour; Inner West; Surry Hills; Kings Cross; Darlinghurst & Around; Paddington & Woollahra; Bondi Bronti & Cooge and Manly). Each of these neighborhoods comes with a readable inset map and descriptions of sights to see as well as places to shop eat and have fun around the given area.

If all of this wasn't enough, the rest of the book contains a brief rundown of Sydney's history and culture as well as things to avoid while in the city.

I will be spending 10 months in Sydney starting in March 2008 and I can tell you that this book will never be far from my person.

Content: 5/5
Presentation/Functionality: 5/5
Durability: 3/5
Overall: 5/5

I've found this book to be a wealth of good ideas for activities while in Sydney. The reviews are concise and interesting and the information is timely. Great book. Mini-maps are very helpful as well.

Overall I would highly recommend.

This book really helped us choose restaurants and activities. We got a feel for neighborhoods which I really appreciated.

I've never been to Sydney and the information in this little book is almost overwhelming. However, I've read the highlights and suggestions and I'm beginning to get a picture of what I'd like to see and do in Sydney. The Lonely Planet guides are for the budget concious traveler, so I like to pair them with something a bit more upscale -- to review and compare. I'm not going to stay in a hostel, but I want to find some low end good eats. And if Lonely Planet says to splurge -- you should definitely consider that! I find this little book is a good balance on what are the "must sees" as well as an idea of where you may want to explore off the beaten track. I like the walking tours. For itineraries (best to do in 3 days, I like Frommer's best.) A great guide for the budget traveler.

This tiny book might be the only travel guide you need for Sydney. We have used the previous edition when we were in Sydney. Its small size makes it very practical, but no detriment to providing enough information about different parts of the city. There is some information about the recent history of the city as well. Botanical Gardens were the only place that we thought was worth a visit, but did not get enough mention in this book. It could use a few more pictures to get a better feel for each neighborhood, but otherwise the format of the book was perfect. Without such pictures, Darling Harbor, especially at night, and some of the beach areas turned out a lot more scenic than I expected.

We found this little book extremely useful. It has loads of easy to find information. Everything is well organized and the neighbourhood maps are very good. We also appreciated and used their excellent restaurant recommendations (get reservations!). The book provides just enough info to describe every attraction so you can judge whether you want to see it or not.
The map in the back was less than perfectly helpful, use your hotel one. The book is durable and small, and stood up well to being shoved into my purse and pulled out and rifled through many times every day for a week.