Mediterranean Handbook: Ferry Routes, Islands and Ports [Paperback]

Jon Gorvett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

The Mediterranean, its ports and islands--a practical guide for independent travelers using boats and ferries. This is an entirely new kind of guide based not on countries but on a sea, its islands and the places the routes across it connect to. Includes all Mediterranean countries with ferry connections: Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, Gibraltar, France, Italy, Croatia, Albania, and Malta. Route plans, ferry timetables, historical background, places to stay, and places to eat are featured for all budgets.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excellent handbooks" --The Bookseller (UK)

From the Back Cover

Against a sweeping background of the mythology and history of the great civilizations based on its shores, the Mediterranean Sea itself is the subject of this new guide. We've treated the area first and foremost as what it is - a sea - and thus have concentrated not on whole countries but on the coastline, islands, and ports, the mains sights within easy reach of them, the ferry routes between these ports and on the historical background that links them all together.
Comprehensive ferry information - criss-crossing the Med are hundreds of ferries, hydrofoils and catamarans, most of which offer pleasant, relatively speedy and inexpensive ways of getting around. We list ferry companies and their services for the entire Mediterranean Sea.

The Mediterranean and history - the sea provided the means by which the people of the area made contact - to trade, discover or conquer. Many of the modern ferry routes still follow these ancient patterns of communication. History and myth come to life as you follow in the path of Odysseus in the Aegean, visit the world's oldest free-standing buildings in the Tyrrhenian or swim where Antony and Cleopatra bathed in the Eastern Mediterranean.

All the practical information you need - planning your trip; getting to the Mediterranean from other parts of Europe, North America and Australia; costs; when to go; what to take

Hostels, campsites, hotels, restaurants

Useful words and phrases

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Trailblazer Publications; 1st edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1873756720
• ISBN-13: 978-1873756720
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,529,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An essential work for the Mediterranean traveller!, June 26, 2010

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Mediterranean Handbook: Ferry Routes, Islands and Ports (Paperback)

For the past few years I have been painstakingly planning a driving and diving trip along the northern shores of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Genoa and then down Croatia's Adriatic coastline to Dubrovnik before heading for Bulgaria and sampling the Black Sea. From there I shall visit Turkey and Cyprus before spending something like 6-8 months in Malta prior to returning home. My route, however, is dictated by two main factors. Firstly, I am heading for the greatest shipwrecks at each destination. Secondly, a suitable ferry route is essential for Cyprus and Malta - if only because my equipment is far too heavy for air travel and I shall be living in my vehicle. So where's the problem?, and why is it taking so long?

The problem is one of ferry route information. Not all the relevant websites include "all" available routes and none appear to be as complete as one might expect. Perhaps different sites favour different operators - I really don't know. As an example of the difficulties involved; To get from Cyprus (in the far eastern corner of the Mediterranean) to Malta (which is fairly central), one has to get a ferry to Port Said in Egypt, drive to Alexandria and then get a ferry to Venice (in Northern Italy), before driving to Livorno from where there is a ferry route to Malta.

Any traveller's itinerary is, of course, peculiar to their own requirements and I mention mine in order to explain the extent of my forthcoming travels. Until recently, I had no idea that all the information I was seeking could be found in a single book - and this is that book!

No, it is not a work one will read from cover to cover and there is no way I am able to certify whether or not the information included is accurate and by what degree of accuracy. Nevertheless, any serious study of the format, information included, major port street maps and all the ancillary facts, figures and data make will reveal this as a competent work - if only because of the amount of detail which has gone into its production.

There is one small error which some might view as my being "picky-picky." The book's front cover lists 14 countries by name as being the destinations which are covered inside. Whilst Cyprus and Malta are fully included within the book itself, the names of both these countries are omitted from that list. Other than that small point, this is an excellent product.

NM

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cruising the Mediterranean, September 21, 2005

By 

Alan B. Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mediterranean Handbook: Ferry Routes, Islands and Ports (Paperback)

I found this book quite by luck, hoping the title would truly indicate its contents. I have been wanting to plan a trip of travel across the Mediterranean from port to port, and this book is a splendid start for such a venture. Also, it is sufficiently rigorous and detailed-- probably because the author is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.