Customer Reviews

The Unofficial Guide(r) to Washington, D.C., 7th Edition

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Unofficial Guide to Washington, DC offers comprehensive information in a clear, concise style. There is plenty of basic information about how to get around in the city using the Metro, what time of year to go, how to stay safe, etc. In addition, you will find hotel ratings and detailed entries on all major attractions inside the city. The hotel section is probably the weak point of the guide. It offers a numerical rating system but only a few basic items of information on the hotel. There is no written description with the pros and cons of each hotel spelled out for you.

The section on attractions is where this guide makes up for the lack of hotel info. It covers all the museums, memorials, monuments, government buildings, etc. Each entry is highly detailed with full contact information, nearest Metro stop, tips on when to go, full descriptions, touring tips, and other things to do nearby. It is literally everything you want to know when considering a visit to one of the many tourist attractions in the city.

While planning my trip to Washington, DC I bought three guidebooks to the area. This is the only one that I used in the latter stages of planning and also the only one I used when I got to the city. It was easily the most comprehensive and useful of the lot once I had booked my hotel. If you're planning a trip to the capitol and can only buy one guide, get this one.

We bought this guide because of our very positive experience using the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. This Guide did not dissappoint, although there were a few inaccuracies (i.e. Capitol tours leave every 30 minutes, not every 10; you don't need a time ticket for the White House during the off season). The most helpful information was the detailed description of D.C.'s Metro system. We were pros at commuting by the end of our trip. The restaurant guide was also extemely helpful. We didn't have one bad meal. The Guide also helped us to take a family vote on the sites we wanted to see and plan our itinerary before leaving home (a must). Get this book 3 to 6 months before your trip so you have time to write your congressmen to request VIP tours of the things you want to see. We bought the Guide 2 weeks before we left. Even though we had a great time, our trip could have been enhanced with more planning.

Imagine the comprehensive guide to good deals, unfamiliar sites, and transportation options in the Washington D.C. area! This is a great collection of reviews and suggestions, tips and recommendations. Spend some time in advance of your planning to scope out great deals on rooms, tours and seasonal advantages. You can plan a great trip with unexplored opportunities such as breaks to rest in parks and gardens, or ways to avoid long lines and frustration.

There is even a great section for business travellers. A good purchase and a fine resource.

The maps and the guide to the public transportation system are the best I have ever seen.

I just returned from Washington D.C. and I found that this book is a must read - unless you have two or more weeks to spend traipsing around the mall. Since my trip was primarily a sight-seeing trip, this book saved my family countless hours by listing all of the sights, giving a description of each, letting me know which ones would be of interest to my family, and giving me guidance on how to plan each day in order to minimize wasted travel time. I used "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" to plan my last vacation and both of these books are worth the price many times over.

I just took a trip to D.C. and checked out all the books out there. This one is the best. Simple, concise, and informative. Nice features such as rating different sites for different age groups. Also has great explanation of subway systems, tellig you the closest station for all sites.

I was born in DC and have lived in the area all my life. At the time of this writing (June 1999), this is the best all-around book describing the streets and sights of the Nation's Capital. Note this book is not padded with color photos. There are many line drawing maps, and several pages of B/W photographs demonstrating using the Metro subway system, which always confuses visitors. Be sure to get the latest edition since Amazon still lists older editions as in print.

The best thing about this guidebook is that they are absolutely honest with the reader. If they think a tour or attraction is boring or not worth the time, they tell you. Since there is just too much stuff in DC to see everything in one 5- or 7-day trip, this kind of information is invaluable in deciding what to see and what to skip.

This was the most helpful book on my most recent trip to DC. The authors include many off the beaten path places along with the regular, well known attractions. Although I didn't always agree with the attractions' star ratings, I found the overall reviews quite helpful--A must for anyone traveling to DC!

Absolutely the most accurate guide to Washington, D.C.! The tips and descriptions of the sites were right on the money. Other travelers actually asked how I got all the inside info and I directed them to this excellent book.

These guides are the first thing I purchase before planning a vacation. I find them to be an invaluable source of information and resources. However, the information regarding the exhibit at the National Geographic Society was seriously out of date. The exhibit, touted in the guidebook as being a special draw for kids hasn't been there in 6, count them SIX years. The employees staffing the information desk told us they had repeatedly emailed and written the authors asking that the error be corrected, all to no avail. This was especailly irksome since this museum was off the beaten path AND the edition I had and the edition from 2002 that I found at a Smithsonian bookstore all contained that outdated information. I know I should have called ahead. I also know that after six years and repeated attempts from the staff, that the problem should have been fixed.