The Rough Guide to Vietnam 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

by Rough Guides (Author) "Although it's not yet possible to fly non-stop to Vietnam, many airlines offer indirect services (in other words, flights routed through one or more stops,..." (more)
Key Phrases: bia hoi, water puppetry, minority villages, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Tran Hung Dao (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The Rough Guide to Vietnam is strongly recommended" The Daily Telegraph

Product Description
The Rough Guide to Vietnam is the ideal companion for exploring Southeast Asia''s most intriguing destination. A full-colour introductory section includes photos of the country''s highlights, from the waterborne markets of the Mekong Delta to the faded elegance of Hanoi. Lively coverage is given to towns and attractions and opinionated reviews give an up-to-the-minute impression of the country''s best-known sights. There is practical advice on exploring everything that may concern the independent traveller, from negotiating Vietnam''s borders to dining in street kitchens. The Contexts section includes enlightening articles on Vietnamese history, religion, music and film. "The Rough Guide to Vietnam is strongly recommended" The Daily Telegraph

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Product Details

• Paperback: 612 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 4th edition (November 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843530953
• ISBN-13: 978-1843530954
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #733,941 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rough Guide better than Lonely Planet, Footprint, January 11, 2001

By	"amitsolomon" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Vietnam (Paperback)

Just came back from a three week trip to Vietnam with three books: the Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide, and Footprint Handbook.

The Rough Guide is the best guidebook around for the country. It is superior to the Lonely Planet guide in the breadth and depth of coverage and especially its accuracy. I liked LP for other countries but here they did a very poor job.

I have not found even one instance where Lonely Planet provided information that Rough did not have. If you are traveling to the north, you may want to consider reading Footprint before you leave -- it has some interesting information.

Also, all hotels -- even the top ones -- can be negotiated down in price. Send them an e-mail and ask for special rates, corporate rates, etc. You can stay at the Metropole in Hanoi for less than half their rack rate.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Guide, July 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Vietnam: The Rough Guide, 2nd edition (Rough Guide Vietnam) (Paperback)

As a user of Lonely Planet guide books, I am a recent convert to The Rough Guide series. I used both The Lonely Planet and The Rough Guide on a recent trip to Vietnam and found the Rough Guide won hands down.

The detailed maps are easier to read and follow, the restaurant and hotels reviews are more current and objective and the historical overview offered is more incisive. The Rough Guide provided wonderful tips for sight seeing in Ho Chi Minh City and further abroad. The accounts of the last days of the Vietnam War brought to life the turmoil and chaos of a city under siege.

Still a fan of The Lonely Planet series, I can clearly state I would recommend the Rough Guide as superior for Vietnam travel. I look forward to using the Rough Guide series for other travel destinations and hope the standard emulates that of the Vietnam edition.

PS The Rough Guide also releases CDs of traditional music of many of the countries they write about. The Rough Guide to Salsa CD is also highly recommended.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rough Guide Outdoes Lonely Planet Again, January 12, 2002

By	Matt Ebiner (Covina, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Vietnam (Paperback)

I was very happy to have Rough Guide Vietnam for my travels in northern Vietnam during December, 2000 - January, 2001. For one thing I felt like I wasn't getting channeled down the Lonely Planet path, as most independent travelers were carrying that book and using it like their Bible. Also, whenever anyone compared my Rough Guide to their Lonely Planet, they said they found RG to be better. Rough Guide goes into more depth than LP in describing the sights and history. LP's maps are a little more comprehensive, but RG's listings of hotels are more user-friendly than LP. I very much enjoyed the book.