Moon Cuba (Moon Handbooks) [Paperback]

Christopher P. Baker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Moon Handbooks | Publication Date: October 26, 2010

Award-winning travel writer Christopher P. Baker highlights Cuba's best lesser-known local hot spots, including Finca Manacas (the birthplace of Fidel Castro), Parque Lennon, and Rumba de Salvador's Alley. He also offers fun and creative travel suggestions, such as A Week in Havana, 10 Best Scenic Drives, and Cars, Cigars, and Cabarets. Moon Cuba provides in-depth information on Havana and complete coverage of the island — tip to tip.

Editorial Reviews

Review

No other guide whets your appetite like this one The Independent --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Christopher P. Baker was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. He received a B.A. in geography from University College, London, and masters degrees in Latin American studies from Liverpool University and in education from the Institute of Education, London University.

He began his writing career in 1978 as contributing editor on Latin America for Land & Liberty, a London-based political journal. In 1980 he received a Scripps-Howard Foundation Scholarship in Journalism to attend the University of California, Berkeley.

Since 1983, Christopher has made his living as a professional travel writer, photographer, lecturer, and tour guide, and is acclaimed for his specialist knowledge of Cuba and Costa Rica, about which he has written 10 books. He has contributed to more than 150 publications worldwide, including Caribbean Travel & Life, Maxim, National Geographic Traveler, The Robb Report, and the Los Angeles Times. Christopher has been profiled in USA Today; appears frequently on radio and television talk shows and as a guest-lecturer aboard cruise ships; and has been privileged to address such organizations as the National Press Club, the World Affairs Council, and the National Geographic Society. He is a National Geographic Resident Expert and currently escorts cruise-tours of Costa Rica and Panama for National Geographic Expeditions.

His many books include Moon Costa Rica and Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba, winner of both the 2002 Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Book and the North American Travel Journalist Association's Grand Prize. His other awards include the prestigious Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers in 2008, and the Caribbean Tourism Organization in 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 684 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; Fifth Edition edition (October 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598805282
• ISBN-13: 978-1598805284
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Travel > Caribbean > Cuba

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For travelers who get out of the tourist resorts, January 26, 2007

By 

Thomas D. Kehoe (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moon Cuba (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

I've been to Cuba seven times. I met my wife on the second trip. 99% of tourists never leave the resorts, except for an excursion to Habana Viejo (Havana's old city). Most of the guidebooks are for those people, presenting only the places that tourists go. Of those guidebooks the Lonely Planet guidebook (Sainsbury, 4th ed.) is the best.

Only one guidebook covers every pueblito on the island. My 4th edition of the Christopher Baker's Moon Handbook is falling apart from too much use. I'm ordering the 5th edition for my trip in a few weeks. The Moon guide is not only complete, it is a pleasure to read. Baker is a fine writer. The photos and maps are excellent too. The history of Cuba in the back is better than some of the history books I've read. If you want to go to Cuba's less popular national parks (i.e., not Vinales or Topos de Collantes) you'll have to get Baker's guidebook, as this is the only book that covers the undeveloped national parks.

I liked Baker's guidebook so much that I read "Mi Moto Fidel," his book about writing the first edition of the Moon guidebook. My only complaint about the Moon guidebook is that it makes me want to take six months and see all the amazing places he describes. Also, my wife and Cuban in-laws are continually shocked at the out of the way places I want to see. They just want to go to a resort and lie by the pool (they weren't allowed to enter resorts until a couple years ago, so this is a dream to them). I want to go see something the Baker found -- an American fighter-bomber that was shot down in the Bay of Pigs invasion, miles down a rugged trail; or hire an ornithologist to go into a swamp to see a bee hummingbird (the world's smallest bird); or hire a guide to explore the Gran Caverna de San Tomas, Cuba's biggest cave.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing detail!, May 12, 2007

By 

S. Mueller - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moon Cuba (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

I heard this author interviewed recently by Rick Steves and his unbridled enthusiasm for Cuba (as it is today) really tempted me to go. His book gives advice about places to see if you only have a limited time (and, as tourists, we only have limited time) and the considerations for Americans about how to go legally are very practical. The book has web sites to use to reserve the required first 3 nights in Cuba and tips on where to stay, what the currency is, and all the things you'd want to know about any first-world country ... and he adds honest comments about the poor infrastructure and the poverty in the country.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Job, March 8, 2007

By 

Hammockman (Dayton, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Cuba (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

I've literally been around the world backpacking with Lonely Planet guides and like them a lot for budget travel. This is my first experience with Moon and I like this one better. I also ordered the Lonely Planet Cuba guide at the same time and they were released in October and November, '06 so they're comparable in that sense. The Moon is a little heavier which is a consideration if you're traveling light, but that's not insurmountable.