Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Greek Islands

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally a guide built for travelling. Stitched and perfect-bound to endure many one-handed readings, drops and spills. Used this for a few Cycladian islands and Athens, on a mid-level budget and was as satisfied as can be. Great recommendations -- what to do and what is a waste of time (very helpful) and they seem to find a number of gems off the beaten path. I can't say enough about the maps which are included for every island and most towns. Every other guide seems to think that this is non-essential information, leaving you to hunt for a local map at your ports of call. Buy this ahead of planning the trip as their direction and suggestions may have a significant impact on your itinerary.

Like its companion book (Lonely Planet Greece), this is an excellent guide (but just to the islands)! It is concise, reads very easily, and gives good common-sense recommendations on what to see and where to stay. It is as up-to-date as you can reasonably expect with changing prices and euro/dollar fluctuations. A very, very practical guide from the budget tourist to middle class. Excellent pictures, very good maps, a fine job! It reminds me, in a way, of the Michelin guides to Europe. Having said that, Lonely Planet Greece gives you basically the same information on the islands, plus mainland Greece, for just a few dollars more. So unless you are flying into Athens and going only to the islands, you are probably better off with the parent book.

Reviewed by David Lundberg, author of Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece

I spent the entire summer of 2000 backpacking the Greek Isles. This book was an indispensable tool over the course of 15 different islands and Athens. Most of the travelers I encountered (a few Americans and loads of Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Swedes, and more) had this exact book. The lodging details, maps, recommendations, and descriptions were very accurate- as accurate as you can be in a compact package such as this. I entered my journey relatively unprepared and this book was truly a lifesaver. I was living in Italy when I started and just "winged it" from there. With this LP Guide, I was able to be quite spontaneous and just look up details of upcoming islands as I needed. The other travelers I encountered who used this book were also universal in their praise. Any travel guide that can help me this much for 3 months is, I repeat, indispensable. Now do yourself a favor and don't do what the typical American traveler does which is i)staying just a day on each island, ii)only seeing Athens, Santorini and Mykonos, and iii)trying too hard to cram 10 European destinations into 10 days. Take some time off and appreciate the cultures! Enjoy.

I own a LOT of Lonely Planet travel guides and have always been happy with the insider information they provide. This book, however, is lacking in MANY ways. First of all, there are hardly any photos. Secondly, it seems like the same island description has been pasted onto each island. It goes something like this, " This is one of the most beautiful islands....". Lastly, it falls way short in hotel listing. In Mykonos, for example, the book only list 3 hotels in budget, 3 in medium price range, and 3 deluxe hotels. You've got to be kidding! All that's listed as far as excursions in Mykonos is the number of a travel agent and a gay cruise. Sorry,..not interested...in either!! I want descriptions and suggestions. Did Lonely Planet really ever visit all of these islands? VERY disappointing!

I used this book for Crete and Santorini and it just didn't get the job done. Fortunately, I had Let's Go Greece 2005 with me as well. It had much more accurate and useful information, at least for the the two aformentioned islands.

LP Greek Islands is useful for keeping your Athens cafe table from wobbling, though. So, it has that going for it.

I really felt like this book should get just three stars, but compared to most other travel guides about the Greek Islands it is definitely one of the best ones. However, I was disappointed that it lacks the kind of detail and good street maps that many other Lonely Planet guides offer. There must be something about the Lonely Planet guides for Greece because the one for Crete is really substandard. And since this book contains the same kind of information about Crete but in a condensed format, it means you really get short-changed on that island. Like I said, this is definitely one of the better guides about the Greek Islands, but I have to say I think the Eyewitness Travel Guide for the Greek Islands edges it out slightly. I should point out that I do not typically use travel books to find hotels and restaurants because those subjects always leave out tons of other options and are often outdated. I find the web more useful instead. This book does include a lot of that information, which I essentially ignored. If you like that kind of information in a book then you might prefer this one over the Eyewitness Travel Guide.

Amongst books for budget travellers going independently to the smaller islands its two competitors are "Greek Islands, the Rough Guide" and "Greek Island Hopping". They're all good. Of course if you're going on a cruise to Mykonos, Delos, Santorini and Rhodes you don't need these books and you'd be as well off with Frommer, Fodor or Eyewitness. It doesn't have as much detail as Greek Island Hopping (my favorite for taking with me, now that Grock's Candid Guides are out of print)but unlike that book it covers the whole of Crete. Some stuff is obviously lifted from the same authors' book on Mainland Greece. For example there's a page on the Greek railroad system which is not going to help you much on the islands.

I have been hopping in Greek islands 3 times now and I have had plenty of guide books with me. This was simply the best. There was hardly any old information like in other books and it is enjoyably to read (text is not too small etc.)

This was my first of many 'Lonely Planet' trips. The Athens hotel reccomendation (our first stop) turned out to be a small place with a lovely breakfast served on the communal 4th floor balcony filled with tropical plants and overlooking the Acropolis. With each stop on the Cycladic Islands, we appreciated this direct and detailed guide that shows you what qualities to look for in an authentic Greek restaurant, tells you why all the cats and dogs are around, while all the while allowing you the freedom and comfort to explore.

The media has recently reported that many travel books are now written by people who don't actually travel to the places they review. While using this book in Greece I had the nagging suspicion I must have bought one of those books.

For example, the book reviews several beaches on Patmos but doesn't mention a single hotel around Grikos Beach, even though there are at least half a dozen places to stay. Also, I'd expect a book to do more than just list the beaches on an island--but to let us know which ones are crowded, which are nearly inaccessible, and which beaches are hidden "gems". The books gives no such information, leaving you to waste time finding it all out yourself.

Also, the book doesn't indicate which beaches can be walked to and which require your own wheels or some other form of transport.

The book's information regarding ferries and connections was completely inadequate, making it impossible for us to plan a ferry trip before reaching the place we planned to leave from.

Finally--don't bother with this book if you already have LP Greece. The islands book is just a shorter version of Greece w/o the mainland--literally word-for-word.