Product Description: Fancy lazing on the beaches of the stunning Adriatic coast? Want to be awed by Soviet architecture in the former Eastern bloc or live it up in hedonistic cities from Tallinn to Tirana? Eastern Europe is changing fast so keep pace with this, the only guide to the whole of the region.
• HIT THE ROAD - with 181 detailed maps and itineraries of all corners of Eastern Europe, including new coverage of Kaliningrad
• UNRAVEL THE PAST - insightful history and culture coverage gets you under the skin of this fascinating region
• GET OUT AND ABOUT - we show you were to ski in Slovenia, bathe in Hungary and hike in Slovakia
• SLEEP SOUNDLY - handpicked accommodation options to suit all budgets; try welcoming Polish pensions, grand old Russian hotels and Croatian family homes
• DRINK UP - where to find the best vodka, tastiest pilsner and finest wines
Nowhere near enough detail While this book adequately covers the absolute major sights in Eastern Europe, if you're planning on going anywhere remotely other than the top five spots (Krakow, Prague, etc) LP Eastern Europe is pretty inadequate. With only about 7-8 pages to cover the entire nation of Montenegro, for example, LP occasionally only acknowledges that entire regions exist. Not mentioning Montenegro's second major airport (Tivat), for example, is a huge oversight. As with most LP regional guides, if you're planning on spending more than about 4 days in a given country, you might as well spring for the country guide.
Maps are good, info is medicore In 2007, I was fortunate to visit nine of the countries covered by this book, and I used it in each new town. First off, the book prices are way underpriced. Not every hotel in those parts have websites, and relying on this book to give you a "rough idea" is a bad idea. Restaurant prices were also not even close. Second, nightlife descriptions tend to give you the same venues as any tourist brochure. Ask a local about a Lonely Planet highly-rated club in Zagreb and they'll laugh that it's a tourist haven. Although they note local contacts that are consulted for each region, you couldn't tell by some of the recommendations. And finally, the politically-charged "Country Profiles" are often factually wrong. Ukraine's Orange Revolution didn't "unite the country" to pour out into the squares, most of those people were paid to stand there and rally. This book is good to check out at the library or read at a bookstore for 20 minutes to get a rough idea, but is not very helpful if you plan to rely on its facts once you get out to central and eastern Europe.
World Traveler The book is in excellent condition and has been most helpful in planning a trip to Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. Most of the suggested middle-range hotels had already booked which is a good indication that the guide book had good selections.
A top quality guide for business and pleasure travelers alike. Eastern Europe is Lonely Planet's comprehensive travel guide compiled by thirteen authors who spent 4732 combined hours of on-the-road research, covering the nations of Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Each nation's section features maps, festivals and events, specific dangers and annoyances for travelers, a concise mini-history, recommended places to sleep, eat, and see, and much more. "Bulgarians shake their head 'yes' and nod their head 'no'... If in doubt, ask 'da ili ne?' (yes or no?)." At nearly one thousand pages in length, Eastern Europe strives to squeeze in everything a world tourist absolutely needs to know about a staggering diversity of nations, cultures, and customs, and is a top quality guide for business and pleasure travelers alike.
USEFULL RESUME You won't find the whole information of those countries, but it has an excelent synthesis.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
