Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Singapore (City Guide)

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

 

 

We are planning a short trip to Singapore and I found this book to be very good at pointing out things that were a must-do and what was a waste of time. Also had very good lists of things such as indeginous foods (and what was in them), language barriers (very amusing section), things to watch out for etc. Also had a great overview on food, where to eat and what was not worth it. It was good at listing things that were a one-day trip must do and a 3-4 day trip must do.

I definately liked this book over some of the other travel books I have read. It has a very personal touch (some amusing anicdotes) and a good perspective on things.

There are other good reviews here on the content, so I won't focus on that.

I bought the Kindle version of this book to try it out for one thing, and it was easier than finding a book store!

First off, I commend Lonely Planet for releasing this in an eBook format. After travelling for eight months, it became quite difficult to find guide books, find *genuine* guidebooks, and not to mention, lug them around. At first, I thought Lonely Planet only released PDF versions, which are next to useless on an electronic device. This eBook is immeasurably better than a PDF, and is easy to read. But even with Kindle's highlighting and book-marking features, it is a bit cumbersome to navigate back and forth like you would in a regular guidebook.

Scenario: you are following the walking tour map with your Kindle, turning it this way and that. You look like a bit of a weirdo for one thing :) But then, what is sight 5? So click back-back-back to read up on point 5. Then you need to page forward-forward-forward back to the map. Hit the five-way controller to get back to the map, click to enlarge, then back to the map, rotate device. Also, walking around with Kindle in hand, I was a bit worried about knocking or dropping it.

I think once eReaders have touch-screens, guidebooks will be a bit more realistic. Until then, stick to the physical guide book is my advice.

Be aware that this kindle edition (8) has no maps or photos. These are critical items for a guide book thus I rate this poorly.

Full of useful information, but overall i dislike guidebooks that dont include pictures of the major sites...i just think its too confusing and difficult to decide which places to check out in a limited amount of time based on just comments-- sometimes a picture is much more helpful than half of page of text. For those who are looking for a very detailed explanation or need help with food and lodging, but if its just site-seeing spots you need help with i'd say look elsewhere~

Just got back from two weeks in Singapore and took this guide with me for reference. I found it to be thorough and complete with information on the less "touristy" area as well as the normal places to see. I would reccommend this book for anyone who wants to see the real Singapore.

Lots of information about Singapore! Some cool facts from the book - Singapore is the 3rd biggest oil refinery hub. Apparently there are more botanical species in a tiny reserve in Singapore than there is in North America! There's also a lot of information of how the Government handles the opposition - only 2 out of 84 members of parliament come from the opposition.

Like every Lonely Planet guide, this gives its readers a wonderful experience of the food and culture of the place. A lot of restaurants have a 'self-service' board put up. I never went close to any of them for the longest of time because I didn't know what they meant by self service - if they wanted me to serve food myself, why did they make it super hard to reach for the food! Finally I realized, 'self-service' in Singapore means you need to get to the counter and ask to be served, the person behind the counter will not come up to you asking how you'd like to be served.

Although this book is filled with useful information, it reads more like a dry college textbook than a travel guide. Normally Lonely Planet travel books, have a variety of photographs to really give you an idea of the location. This book is strictly, small print text (no photos). This would be a great book for someone who is less visual...but when I'm getting ready to travel to an unknown place, a lot of pictures, in conjunction with descriptions works better for me.

This was actually a rather disappointing purchase. The main problem being the maps - or lack of. Well the maps were there but I wasn't able to make them big enough to see. On the positive side, it was useful to be able to search for things and go straight to the relevant part of the book. Overall I think it better to just get a normal book which is what we had to do.

I got this before a 3-day visit to Singapore, and like another reviewer I think it was very good for a short trip where you will just hit the highlights. The walking tours are well written and the ability to search the e-book for specific things is very useful. The Kindle version does have maps, but no pictures. Also, the book is a couple of years old and in a dynamic city like Singapore that means many of the "future attractions" listed in the book are now complete, like Universal Studios on Sentosa Island. Overall I would recommend it but would suggest you get a good map to go with it so you don't have to rely on the hard to read version on the Kindle.

This book for someone unfamiliar to Singapore is a worthy investment and will make life straightforward in Singapore. Fortunately the city, and nation, is quite small unlike most other destinations so the city book covers quite a bit.

Singapore, if you have not been, is a great get away for all - and very friendly for families. This book (I feel) is especially ideal for families whisking you off to Dolphin shows on Sentosa, for a good lunch near pr at Raffles, and to affordable (or not) shopping excursions.

Singapore is an easy place to navigate - this LP makes it all that more easy.