Customer Reviews

Mediterranean Handbook: Ferry Routes, Islands and Ports

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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

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.