Customer Reviews

Turks & Caicos (Bradt Travel Guide)

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When I'm planning a trip I usually buy a Frommer's or Fodor's guide--whichever has the more recent date--but customer reviews here on Amazon indicated that the Frommer's was already out of date in some respects and Fodor's won't publish a new In Focus guide until July 2009 so I took a chance on the Bradt guide. Overall it's just okay. I most likely would not buy from this British line again. First of all, according to the current Amazon listing the guide is 272 pages long indicating that it much more complete than others on the market. It is not---the guide is only 198 pages.

If you're looking for a guide with a voice--that is, some opinion and judgment--this is not the book for you. Most of the info is dry and factual. You won't find any lists of top ten beaches, restaurants, best experiences, such as Fodors and Frommers provide. Info on accommodation and restaurants is very brief also.

You might be happy with this guide if you're a scuba diver however. One of the authors is a diver and there's a lot of attention paid to dive operators and good dive spots (six pages) but if you're a snorkeler you're out of luck. There are only three or four paragraphs on snorkeling and not as much info about excursion operators as I would have liked. Where the guide is strong is in its coverage of flora and fauna and natural spots including some color plates. It's nice to have coverage of fish you might see in the T&C but four whole pages on stargazing was a waste of paper. And why would anyone think a recipe for Key Lime Pie belongs in a travel guide?

Some information is already out of date, for instance J&B Tours, a water excursion company no longer operates and stopped doing so something like 8 months ago. There are misspellings, too, the popular restaurant Anacaona, for instance, is listed as Anacona. Little things, yes, but it makes me wonder what other errors I didn't catch. In short, if you need a guide before July 2009 when the new Fodors comes out this will do the trick but otherwise wait if you can.