Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Tunisia

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

 

 

To my regret, I must say that I have not come across any Lonely Planet guidebook as poor as this one - and indeed, I have quite a substantial collection of them, which I have used worldwide. The book surely manages to cover a great deal about Tunisia's culture and society, the country's arts, etc., with plenty of historical facts and data, filled with rich information and thrilling anecdotes, all written in good prose and well edited. Indeed, it is a good introductory book about Tunisia, nice for the armchair traveller, and useful for those wishing to grab bits of pieces and data in a rush in order to know the basics about this beautiful country. Yet, as a guidebook, which is supposed to help the visitor in getting around the place in comfort and style, this book features rather poorly. When I found myself looking for a hotel in Tunis (and that should be quite a primary task for this kind of publication !), I discovered that the guidebook makes no mention whatsoever of most top-hotels, such as the Hilton, the Radisson, and the Best Western. The coverage on places to stay is extremely poor, not even enabling one to know which part of the city to head to for different budgets. As for restaurants, the situation was even worse. Needless to say, the book did not help in finding any entertainment in the daytime or at night, suffice it to say that no mention is made as regards the role of renowned entertainment spots like Hammamet or Soussa for Tunis-based travellers and locals. Information on basic things such as changing money was simply not there either, thus leaving the visitor unaware of the simple fact that, in order to change local currency back into foreign currency, an exchange receipt of ATM receipt must be produced... The information on visas is accurate, but the author misses out mentioning the fact that most nationals do not need a visa to start with ! All in all, the author has put together a nice book about Tunisia, but not so useful for those visiting Tunisia - which is very different. As such, you may well wish to buy it in order to get a feeling of the country, but not bother taking it with you once you go.

I've just finished my visit of Tunisia five days ago. An awesome country, but undoubtedly it was not been the same without this faboulous guide. If you were on Tunis, the capital, and wish to travel to Bizerte, a coastal city in the north, you just might see your guide to see, truly, the train or bus itineraries, ticket prices and best routes...all updated. Multiply this by every village, town or city in this country and you will realize that you have this perfect book in your hands. Go on, pack your bags!!!

This is the worst of many LP guidebooks we have purchased. We were wondering if the author actually went to Tunisia! Much of the information was dead wrong, especially about the transportation and hotel recommendations. This misinformation put us into quite a potentially dangerous yet miserable predicament in Sfax, where we were stranded. The are no reliable transportation connections to the south (to the Sahara), which is completely contrary to the information in this book! We are seasoned travelers and eventually negotiated our way out of the situations we planned in advance using this guidebook (Hammamet, by the way Mr. Willett, was incredibly wonderful!). We felt this book was a complete waste of money and nearly cost us having a great holiday in Tunisia. A great country to visit, "Morocco light", but you are better off without this book.

I'm so glad I took this book to Tunisia with me. My friend had another travel guide, but we ended up using this one most of the time. We used it to read about the history of the El Jem coliseum when we visited. We used the maps to find our way out of the Medina in Sousse. We found a charming French hotel in Tunis with it. We even avoided a carpet tout scam in Kairouan because of it! It was a great resource.

I traveled to Tunisia with a friend in November, 1999. This book was extremely helpful in giving us an idea of the country, the culture and what to expect. Also, we found the accomodation listings and restaurant recommendations very accurate. I only wish that the maps were a little more detailed. For any travelers planning a trip to Tunisia, this guide is indispensible!

This guide is all about restaurants, patisseries, cafes... The description of the sights is often poor. The writter is unable to give you a good visualization of the places to visit. Hotels descriptions are also poor and detailess. So, if your intention is to stuff yourself with food this is your guide, for sure. But if you are interested in places to visit, forget it.

tunisia was lonely by night thats when i read the book it was good .