Customer Reviews

Michelin Spain & Portugal Tourist and Motoring Atlas: Tourist and Motoring Atlas (Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas : Spain & Portugal)

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

 

 

I have been a long-time fan of Michelin maps and guides. Their products are first-rate, and the detail has been the standard against which other maps are measured. Last year I traveled to New Zealand, an area for which Michelin does not have a map. I purchased what I felt was a good map, but it proved on the road to be lacking in detail, particularly when compared to the spiral-bound map of the country that my friend showed up with. His map had detail to make a map lover drool, and I knew that going forward I, too, would need to come up with a more detailed map to guide me. My wife and I were traveling to Spain, and so I purchased this latest version of the Michelin map with high hopes.

The reality of my recent map experience, however, left us extremely disappointed. My wife and I are both good map navigators, and we often travel extemporaneously, which requires clear information to change routes on the fly. The size of the map on the printed page in this book seemed to invariably put cities either on the edge of the page, or right where the spiral binding was, forcing us to guesstimate which of the roads leading into town was correct. The fact that the book contains many city maps would seem to be a terrific aid. To our dismay we found these maps covered only a small central area, and neither the information necessary to get you from the highway into the city, nor the information to navigate around the city. Fortunately for us, we had a GPS to assist us, which helped considerably, and we used the maps in our guide books. Also, when in doubt as to how to get into town in Europte, follow signs to the Center.

One big thing missing with a spiral bound map is the lack of the big picture. A fold-out map provides a full picture of a region or country, providing an overview for planning. For example, when I plan stops, I circle the cities on the map and then try to "connect the dots" to make the itinerary have a rational flow. Having concise areas on each page provides more detail than a folded map might, but not enough to make an appreciable difference if you need to see the big picture. We often struggled to make sense of which roads to take when we were traveling large chunks of the country.

Perhaps some of Michelin's spiral maps are better than this one. As a map person, I found this map frustrating both for itinerary planning as well as while driving.

If you expect to be able to drive all over Spain with this atlas alone, you will be disappointed. I bought this primarily to help plan a driving trip across Northern Spain, and in conjunction with the GPS we got with our rental car, had virtually no trouble getting anywhere. There just isn't enough city detail. Word up: you should not plan to navigate to your hotel in Bilbao with anything less than directions from your hotel because even the GPS is useless there (too much construction).

The pages are not particularly heavy or laminated, so this book is definitely for grownups - a certain delicacy is required when moving between maps so that you don't tear anything.

All that said, I didn't tear any of the pages, I'm glad I bought it and would do it again.

Outside of Europe, it's hard to find up-to-date map books for Spain/Portugal. This one was published in 2009. The pages are clear and well organized, with plenty of detailed city maps. It may not be as good as a GPS, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper.

One limitation of this atlas is that, on facing pages, the map splits awkwardly across the spiral binding. But then the same thing happens with bound books, so it is not a fault of the spiral binding. And a clear advantage of the spiral binding is that it opens completely flat, so there is no worry about cracking the spine.

Though this map is detailed, it is not user friendly. I can't even find the names of highways! Perhaps the map is a little too detailed, which forced them to leave out some necessary, helpful information...

This was a good map. It came in handy when we were travelling up the Douro River and along the coast.

The product was as expected exellent! and what was better the fast delivery to my address.
This was my first purchase from Amazon.com and it will not be my last.

This book is just okay.

The thing I dislike is that the maps are very hard to read and the way they are annotated is very confusing.

Fortunately, while in Spain, my friend who was doing all the driving had another map book in the car from which I was able to navigate.

Para quien quiera viajar por estas hermosas tierras este atlas es imperdible. Todo muy detallado y con una cuidada selección de mapas de las principles ciudades.
El sistema de anillado lo hace muy práctico, siendo adicionalmente robusto.
Mi próxima compra: Italia y Francia