Customer Reviews

Moon Handbooks: Belize (4th Ed.)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's nice to have an old friend back, with a face lift and fresh new travel tales. Chicki Mallan's Belize Handbook has been a favorite of Belize travelers since its first publication in 1991. Like all Moon guides, it was known for its meticulous research, fact-packed layout, sensible organization and candid reporting. But the 3rd edition, researched in 1995 or before, was getting long in the tooth. This new edition, with updating by Chicki Mallan's daughter Patti Lange, brings it up to speed in most areas.

The layout is highly readable, with divisions that make sense, interesting sidebar boxes, and a good index. The maps, as in past editions, are clear and informative.

Belize, however, is changing fast, and even this guide, which came out in October 1998, is already out of date in a number of areas. Some hotels, such as Inn at Robert's Grove in Seine Bight (which opened in 1997) and Embassy Hotel at the international airport (which opened this year) are left out entirely. It is especially behind on developments on Ambergris Caye, which is changing faster than anywhere else in the country. The list of omissions here is long and ranges from the opening of Mata Chica resort to the new addition at Rubie's.

I'm also less than enthusiastic over the new approach to listing prices. Instead of giving specific rates, in most cases hotels are just listed in their price categories, from "Shoestring" to "Luxury" and often a hotel will be listed as having a spectrum of rates, such as "Inexpensive-Expensive." While I know from personal experience in writing guidebooks that it's impossible to keep up with constant rate changes, in my view it's better to list actual rates at a point in time than to leave the reader wondering whether premium-luxury means US$150 or $275.

That's the bad news. The good news is that despite its limitations this new edition is absolutely worth buying and using on your next trip to Belize. It's state-of-the-art in Belize guidebooks, with excellent maps, good black-and-white photos, tons of interesting facts and detailed coverage of nearly every nook and cranny of Belize. That's why, of course, this is thought to be the best-selling guidebook to Belize, with Moon claiming some 75,000 copies sold to date.

--Lan Sluder

Editor & Publisher

Belize First Magazine

NOTE: Josh has just finished updating for the new 7th Edition, which is in press and should be out by Fall 2007. The 6th Edition was published in November 2004. Joshua Berman spent months traveling and living in Belize while working on the major update for the 6th Edition. The Moon Handbook has been my favorite Belize Travel Guide since the 4th Edition and it's great to have a fresh update! Just, FYI, I am a marine scientist, living and working in Belize half-time...about 6 months each year. From my perspective, this handbook gives the most TRUE represenation of Belize... and I have all the others on my bookshelf. Unfortunately, the publisher selected a cover photo that was taken on a Pacific Ocean Coral Reef. The species on the front cover to not exist in Belize. Fortunately, the information inside the book IS most accurate. Just remember, during your visit, "If ya drink di watta, ya mus com bak".

As a new traveler, this book was a God send. Just recently having returned from Belize I can say without a doubt that this guide is indeed a "must have". It came in very handy when looking for places to stay, things to do and how to get there. Some prices have changed slightly since publication but for the most part it is quite accurate. I highly reccommend this travel guide.

My husband and I just returned from a 16 day trip to Belize, and this was definitely our favorite guidebook on the trip! We bought this book as well as Fodor's Belize, and together they were the perfect combo. The Moon book was right-on for budget travelers who want to be more than a tourist--the authors' sense of humor & interest in getting to experience new cultures really made the book. We used the local buses for transportation and tried to stay in places under $50 US (which isn't hard in Belize!), and this book was right-on with recommendations and descriptions. The only negative was that it is getting a little more out of date in regard to lodging, restaurants, and prices, but that's why we bought the Fodor's book as well (Fodor's Belize 2007 edition). Overall, this book is 5 stars, and because of it, we had an awesome trip!

Moon Handbooks Belize was the first and best guidebook to Belize for many years. The current edition is a bit out of date, but I just found out that Moon will be releasing a newly updated, rewritten, and re-organized edition of their Belize book this fall that will be right back on top. Moon Handbooks are the most thorough, thoughtful, and intelligent guidebooks out there, for Belize and beyond.

It's fitting that this 6th edition of Moon Handbooks Belize has won the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award granted by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) in the Best Guidebook category. Joshua Berman has done a splendid job adapting and updating a previous edition by Chicki Mallan - Moon Handbooks Belize has been reborn! It's a state-of-the-art example of Moon's new book design, and you won't find a better guide to Belize than this.

A wonderful, specific book, that we consulted on an almost hourly basis on a recent trip to Belize. Great for both the Novice (it was my first trip) and for the experienced Belize traveller (my archaelogist friend/travel companion has dug there yearly for eight summers.) Includes chapters on nearby Tikal in Guatemala.

Highly recommended.

This book was extremely helpful in making decisions about what we wanted to do on our recent visit. It seemed to be more detailed on what to see or do in the various locations.

This handbook was concise and informative. I especially used the 2 maps of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. I couldn't have found my way around without it--especially since there were limited signs and directions in San Pedro.

I also found the recommendations helpful for restaurants and sites. I was the only one in my group with a book and everyone relied on me for the maps and information.

Overall, the size of the book fit nicely in my purse. I've carried it with me on 3 trips to Belize and my trips were better because of it!

I bought this book a couple years ago when we couldnt decide on the Yucatan or Belize, we still havent went but this book was put together really well. Maybe here sometime we'll get around to going to Belize. When that day comes i'll picking up the newest Moon book on this country for sure.