Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to Ireland 9 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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This ninth edition is the latest version of an excellent guide to the beautiful land and lovely people of Ireland. Situated on the edge of Europe, between Britain and the North Atlantic, Ireland offers something for practically everyone: its scenic rugged coasts and surprising beaches, its incredibly green hills and rugged valleys, and its cities, fascinating mixture of the ancient and the modern. Ireland has a Christian tradition dating back to the dawn of the common era, well marked by cathedrals, chapels, monastaries, and hermits' hut. It is one of the bastions of Celtic culture. Ireland's more modern history is both thrilling and heartbreaking, and can be found in modern Dublin and in a 19th century famine cottage.

The guide offers the standard travelers information on Ireland, along with sections on its unique culture, sports, and food and drink. Subsequent chapters explore each of its counties and major cities. A concluding section offers a sampling of Ireland's history, literature, and music. There are suggestions for room and board. The informative text is supplemented by lots of maps, graphics, and photographs. Coupled with a good motoring map, this guide may be all most tourists need to explore Ireland.

As a sample, consider County Kerry in the west of Ireland. From the principal town of Killarney, one may visit Killarney National Park, which features Ireland's highest mountain, reached through the picturesque Hag's Glen. Beyond the beautiful Killarney Lakes is the stunning Black Valley, home to an extended trek around several small lakes and farms. Beyond Killarney is the Ring of Kerry, a driving tour around a beautiful peninsula jutting into the Atlantic. At its tip are the Skellings, small islands once home to a remote colony of Christian hermits. On the adjacent Dingle Peninsula are the remains of an Iron-Age fort, only a few miles from views of the Blaskett Islands, once an isolated community whose heritage is celebrated in a unique cultural center on the mainland. Just down the road is the Gallarus Oratory, a dry-stone early Christian chapel.

"The Rough Guide to Ireland, ninth edition" is very highly recommended to those travelers planning a visit to Ireland.

I love travel books. I'll buy them even if I don't have a vacation planned. But travel books come in 2 different types:

1. The books that are full of pictures to help you plan where you want to go and what you want to see before you go. OR, you use them when you get back to refresh your memory of what you saw. They are too heavy to actually carry with you on your trip, if you are trying to pack light. DK Eyewitness guides are a great example.

2. The books that you actually carry with you to help find accommodation, local travelling tips, eating guides, etc. Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Rick Steves, etc.

Rough Guides provide great tips on accommodation and eating recommendations in all price ranges; as well as practical tips for travelling, such as which direction traffic flows most easily around a particular scenic route (The Ring of Kerry).

I have now used the Rough Guide for both Ireland and Guatemala. I have been very pleased with both. The book may seem thick, but really they aren't too heavy to carry everyday. I found several great hints both before I left and while I was travelling. In fact, I compared my guide with a fellow traveller using Rick Steves, and we found that both offered tips, though rarely the same. We felt Rough Guide's were more practical.

Before I purchased the actual book I previewed the digital copies of both Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. I originally wanted to carry only the digital copy, but realized that may prove impractical at times (on the plane, when you want quick access to notes, etc.). I went ahead and purchased the actual book. Before I went I had the DK Ireland and Backroads Ireland guides to help plan my trip, but the Rough Guide was the only book I took with me.

For future trips, I will not hesitate to use the Rough Guide. Of course, keep in mind that guide books may be published by the same company, but not written by the same authors, so one brand may not be "the best" for all countries. I will still preview the top brands before purchasing. But, in a rush, Rough Guides is becoming my go-to.

I have long used Lonely Planet guides, but the recent USA guides were spotty in coverage and some of the reviews of Iceland and Ireland (our destination) were not great. Rough Guides were recommended, so I took a chance. Reviews said they were soaking with details and almost too much information. While I like too much information, I found that it was scatter shot in its unevenness. Perhaps I am comparing it to Lonely Planet, and my head thinks in a Lonely Planet way, but I could not picture my trip to either Iceland (where I've been) or Ireland (which is new). I'm someone who needs to have an idea of what to expect before I go, and Rough Guide did not do that for me.

For the most part, I'm interested in the sites and not lodging or pubs or whatever. I also like a city laid out, and Lonely Planet guides do a good job with an overview before breaking each region down. I also appreciate the Lonely Planet sidebars on saving money by buying this or that pass, or local traditions and the like. Again, I may think in a Lonely Planet way.

I can picture these guides being very useful, and taking a ton of notes as I go. For everyone who is just winging it (roughing it!) the scatter shot presentation might work great. Having not been to Ireland before, I'm not confident enough to throw my lot in with Rough Guides. I bought the Lonely Planet guides and feel good. Note, I have not yet gone to Ireland, so Lonely Planet might yet let me down and I'll be sorry I left Rough Guides behind. The latter is the second-best guide I've found.

The guide provides a wealth of information for Ireland. Perhaps the best guide I found. Too bad the binding is not of better quality. The first time I opened the guide some of the pages came loose.

We havn't gone to Ireland yet, but this guide is helping us plan our trip. Its very easy to use and it has good information regarding prices....