Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Turkey, 7th Edition

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

 

 

I love Turkey. I stayed in a small village in Central Anatolia for a total of 12 weeks over 2 summers studying archaeology. The second summer, my husband and I travelled in Western Turkey for 2 weeks. Neither of us really knew what we were doing (or knew much Turkish). We depended on the Lonely Planet to find out how to get to the places we are going and where to stay and eat. I have read several guides, and the Lonely Planet has the best practical information, although I did notice some small inaccuracies.

I would suggest supplementing the Lonely Planet with another guide that has more archaeological and historical information, if you are interested in it. Also, you will need a book or the advice of a friend to help you narrow down what to see. The Lonely Planet can leave you overhwelmed.

The cover of this guide is a good ice breaker for your trip. Just comment why in the world would they choose it and immediately you will have people to talk to, no matter where in Turkey you are. But don't judge a book by its cover. Lonely Planet is usually the best guide around and this is a good example of that. I spent 3 weeks in Turkey and not once did I feel I needed info not available in the guide. Maps are abundant and contrary to other reviewers, I find that there is enough history for those interested in traveling to learn (it is a travel guide after all, not a history book) [overall I would guess there are say 30 pages of history in the book].

Why 4 stars and not 5? I felt the writers were too enthusiastic about everything, and that made it hard on the traveler to decide what was worth visiting and what wasn't. Let's face it, every location is not the most attractive town in Turkey, yet the authors claim that for way too many towns. So take their praise with a grain of salt and you will be fine. Also, the amount of hours bus trips take are not all that precise. (+-20% in my experience).

I love Turkey. I stayed in a small village in Central Anatolia for a total of 12 weeks over 2 summers studying archaeology. The second summer, my husband and I travelled in Western Turkey for 2 weeks. Neither of us really knew what we were doing (or knew much Turkish). We depended on the Lonely Planet to find out how to get to the places we are going and where to stay and eat. I have read several guides, and the Lonely Planet has the best practical information, although I did notice some small inaccuracies.

I would suggest supplementing the Lonely Planet with another guide that has more archaeological and historical information, if you are interested in it. Also, you will need a book or the advice of a friend to help you narrow down what to see. The Lonely Planet can leave you overhwelmed. Plus, sometimes the "cute" writing style got on my nerves, but probably just because it was so useful that I was reading it too much.

My son & I were very pleased with the Lonely Planet book on Turkey. We found the information up to date and accurate. Matter of fact, we could not have done the traveling in Turkey we did without it.

This book really disappointed me, I have found it full of mistakes and incorrect information. The cover looks attractive, but that's all, don't expect any more of it. I have read all the guide books about Turkey, and need a good one go for Blue Guide, Fodor's, Michelin, Bedeakers'.