Customer Reviews

Moon Handbooks Argentina

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Moon is going head to head with Lonely Planet and Rough Guides and it losses badly.

Do not let the 2004 publishing date fool you. The information in this guide was gathered in 2001/2002. Buenos Aires prices have seriously changed since then and this guide has nothing about these changes. All of the hotel and restaurant rates in this book are irrelevant. Some prices have changed up to 300%! For example, in Buenos Aires, the NH City Hotel is quoted in the guide as being $97 per night. When I went there I was quoted $270 per night. A serious difference.

For all of Buenos Aires the guide lists only 14 restaurant recommendations. Imagine a guide for New York City with on 14 restaurant recommendations! Then, restaurant recommendations are poor selections in comparison to other guides. The writing about restaurants (and accommodations) vacillates between being trite and meaningless. For example, one of the 14 restaurants the guide recommends is a pizzeria (go figure) which says... "unchanged since the days of Carlos Gardel, whose photos line the wall." That's it. From that you will make a decision?

Also, the maps in this guide are very difficult to use. Unlike other guides that give you separate maps for restaurants and accommodations, this guide crams everything on one map: hotels, restaurants, sights to see, etc. You spend far too much time trying to figure where something is ... folks, there are much guides than this one. In short - avoid this guide.

If you are ONLY going to Buenos Aires, then, just for B.A. then take Fodor's `Argentina' (4th edition). Fodor's has very good maps of the city and it has great recommendations for accommodations. Caveat: only use Fodor's `Argentina' for Buenos Aires, outside of the capitol Fodor's crashes and burns. The best all around Argentina guide is Rough Guide Argentina 2005. This guide is Not Recommended.

Moon Handbooks Argentina is an all-purpose guidebook for business and recreational travelers to this great South American nation. Suggested plans for exploring the entire nation in twenty-one days, traveling with focus on nature or overland routes, historical tours, a fifteen-day art and architecture viewing, a tastebud excursion through wine country and more are just the beginning. Sections point out the highlights and quality resorts in various different provinces, as well as the most effective means of travel, and offer capsulized background information on Argentina's land, flora, fauna, cultural landscape, environmental issues, history, economy, and more. A listing of internet resources rounds out this recommended guide for anyone determined to see Argentina's beauty with their own eyes.

Moon Handbooks have always been useful to me on any trip. They not only cover all the usual stuff you find in a guidebook, but also the unusual and out-of-the-way things you'd otherwise miss. Unless you stay in a condo or all-inclusive hotel and never leave, you should always take a MOON GUIDE with you!

I really like this guide. They spend a lot of time giving you useful information instead of flashy, full color photos. The photos can be nice sometimes, too, but if you really just need detailed information for planing a trip, I recommend this guide.