Moon Handbooks: Philippines (3rd Ed.) [Paperback]

Carl Parkes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Moon Handbooks Philippines | Publication Date: October 22, 1999

A twenty-year veteran of travel in the Philippines, Carl Parkes provides fascinating cultural insights, reveals personal tips on restaurants, nightlife and reliable places to stay.'

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Superb writing and systematic presentation of data".

-- International Travel News

Product Details

• Paperback: 570 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 3 edition (October 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566911680
• ISBN-13: 978-1566911689
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,255,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Travel > Asia > Philippines

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good indepth info for the adventurer, April 9, 2004

By 

James S. Dodds - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philippines Handbook (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

If you have a short time in the Philippines and want easy, but good, trips laid out in detail Lonely Planet is better. But if you really want to learn about the Philippines, get a handle on the remote areas, leave the tourist track and plunge into wilderness or hang out with remote tribes, Moon is much better. I use them both.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easily the most detailed guidebook to the country, November 12, 2003

By 

Laszlo Wagner (Hungary) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moon Handbooks: Philippines (3rd Ed.) (Paperback)

While it may not be as up to date about practical info (like prices or schedules) as say Lonely Planet, I found this book unbeatable for its in depth coverage of the country!
It covers every single province (out of ca. 80) making sure that no remote corner of the country is overlooked.
The emphasis on regional clutures / ethnic groups was particularly interesting to me.
It is THE best book for those planning to spend a longer period in the Philippines going off the beaten track, though carrying a LP as a back-up for practical info is useful.
Certainly for those only going on a 2-3 weeks beach holiday the in depth info contained in this book may be irrelevant, and they might be better off with another book stronger on resorts and prices...

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "New" edition hopelessly out of date, April 13, 2000

By 

AndyC "AndyC" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Handbooks: Philippines (3rd Ed.) (Paperback)

Moon guides are in general well researched, balanced, informative and truly valuable travel companions. Northern California, for example is quite excellent.

This "new" edition of the Philippines Handbook, published in late 1999, is, however, a sharp contrast to Moon's normal standards.

Sloppily edited and badly out of date its errors are too numerous to mention, the accomodation sections being especially unreliable. I checked out accomodation comments for several cities which I personally know well including Manila and Cebu and the data in this book are either very out of date, very incomplete, or just plain wrong. Information on shopping in both Manila and Cebu is similarly outdated or just plain absent.

No travel guide, unfortunately, takes this interesting, challenging and rapidly developing country seriously. The "new" (1977) Lonely Planet guide is little better than the Moon guide

In summary, if you have an older edition of either guide, use it. These "new" editions are a sham.