Customer Reviews

Philippines Travel Guide

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the only guide you need to buy when you are planning a trip to the Philippines. The author is the same person who wrote the first 6 editions of Lonely Planet Philippines, which used to be the best guide on the Philippines, but if you are like so many people who are disillusioned by the 7th edition, buy this book. The book is well researched and not as biased as other guide books.

before i criticize, let me say that this book is crammed with great info--much more info than any other (up to date) book in existance on this country. i would say it is worth taking, and i will use it next week on my return to the islands. my suggestion to jens is to beef up some sections in the next edition.
for example, bataan province--jens has about 4 or 5 paragraphs on the entire province! totally inadequate for anyone traveling there. he mentions a new road has been completed to reach the subic area but has no specifics.
the index in the back does not cross-reference any place names or geographic areas (ex: manila, cebu, mactan, etc.). these have to be looked up using the front of the book. this is awkward.
there are advertisements in the book. this is ok, maybe... however in searching for some resorts that are pretty well known, there is no mention of them in this book-- contact numbers, accommodations, etc. i wonder if this is retaliation for these places refusing to advertise? i don't know if this is true, but by accepting advertisements it creates an appearence.
jens advertises he has a lot of maps, and he does, but again many provinces are all but ignored. i will still bring an out of date moon guide, and the latest lonely planet also, and use both of them to augment jens' guide. i just wish i didn't feel the need to pack 3 or 4 guides. i was hoping jens' guide was complete to do it all for me. it's really going to be helpful, certainly, but also frustrating to use.

I have many books & guides on the Philippines but this is the best written and most accurate I have ever seen. While there are many good guides not to be missed out there like Evelyn Peplow's "The Philippines" and Jill & Rebecca Gale De Villa's "Philippines Guide", this one definately surpasses them all, it's the guide I pack on my Philippine trips now. It doesn't deal with as much history as some of the others, but remember, this is a guide and not a history book. The info is exactly what a traveler needs to know. For example, let's say your in Manila and want to visit Naga City,it will tell you how much it will cost, how long it will take to get there by plane,train and bus. It also tells you hotels & resturants in the area & how much everything cost.It tells you of any festivals in that area,stores,churches,banks and other misc places in the area, also has a street map with all the points of interest pointed out for you. There's over 170 maps in this book. There is so much more this book offers that no other does, but it would take too long to long to list them all.So to sum it up, if your looking for the best actual travel guide then this is it.

When I'm traveling, I like to have a book I can depend on. If I read that there's a ferry from A to B leaving on Sundays at 6am, then I like to know I can be sure it'll be there for me. If my travel guide tells me a hotel is clean but basic, I want to know what to expect. If it says a restaurant is excellent, I have to trust the writer's taste if I go there.

All of the above are the case with Mr Peters' book, which I've used over the years in various editions. This latest one is the best there is if you're heading for the Philippines.

The topics covered by the author as far as attractions, accomodations, transportation and local customs are very accurate. This is a must read not only for foreign visitors but for Filipino travelers too because most Filipinos only know about Boracay! Not too many locals have gone and visited the Banaue Rice Terraces as a good example. This book describes a Philippies that has other worthwhile places to visit aside from the usual white sand beaches.

I really don't know why everyone is giving this book five stars. I purchased this book based on the recommendations I saw here, despite the fact it is a year older than the latest Lonely Planet. I do have the Lonely Planet guide that Jens Peters wrote from years ago, so I figured I'd go with his latest. I was wrong. I found his suggestions and assessments incomplete compared to the recent LP and the book is peppered with advertisements, which make me question whether or not these ads influence his writing. I have returned this book and purchased the latest LP Philippines. I'm very happy with my decision. With a dearth of updated Philippines travel guides in the first place, I'd go with LP... at least until Moon Guides update their version!

For planning a trip to the Philippines, one would be hard pressed to find a more complete book. It does a very thorough job of covering the entire country. What is most appreciated, is the detail provided about transportation. You don't really need to rely on taxis and private tour guides to criss-cross the country. The detail about buses in Manila is incredible. In addition, the book is loaded with maps -- although, I recommend purchasing a separate map of Manila itself. If the book has any shortcoming, it would be in covering the hotels within each city. Not enough of them get included. But then, that would require another 300 pages or the complexity and sole-purpose dedication of a Michelin Guide.

I used it for my 3-week backpacking trip in April 2009. Overall, I'd say it was a decent guide. I'm used to using Lonely Planet and this compares fairly well in terms of details and features. Philippines is changing very fast. Even though the book is updated in Jan '09, a lot ofthe info were already outdated. This can't be helped. The country is too big to keep all the details current. Surf the net for the most updated info. Otherwise, talk to fellow travelers during the trip. They are usually the best source of info.

One thing that really irritated me was that this book didn't have any maps of Donsol. It's a very popular destination for the whale shark viewing, but no map of the town??? I had to ask the locals where the lodgings were and consequently got driven all around town in a tricycle for mucho pesos.

Lonely Planet is supposed to come out with an updated version in May 2009. I gave it 3 stars since after next month, I would go straight to LP.

Overall a pretty good guidebook with plenty of good information on lodging and lots of good, easy to read maps. I would suggest there is a little too much emphasis on the "where to eat" section, and not enough emphasis on the other daily basic needs most travelers have. We don't really need to know where the McDonalds, KFCs and Jollibees are as one can usually spot these places a mile away. We always want to know where are good internet cafes, where to take laundry, and where is the best coffee in town.

I have not used this edition extensively but I have used a previous edition quite a bit and found this guidebook the best and most comprehensive of all that I have used, and I have tried all the books that I can find.

I live in the Philippines and travel regularly and so guidebooks are essentially. I use only two, this and the Lonely Planet, in part because until recently I haven't been able to find the new edition of this guide and so was forced to use the Lonely Planet. I will still use both for diversity's sake, but I prefer this because it is bigger and more complete.