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Title: Jamaica (Country Guide)
ISBN: 1741044405
Author:
Michael Read
Publicate Date: 2006-01-01
Publish: 2006-01-01
List Price: $19.99
Average Customer Rating: 2.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $4.98
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $3.57
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: No one does it better
This book stood me in good stead when I visited Jamaica earlier this year. Typically of Lonely Planet's materials, however, I found this book to be of the most use in preparing for the trip. Whether I am different from other travelers or not, I like to come to a destination at least somewhat aware of the history, culture, geography, etc. There simply is no comparison between the background information you can quickly gain by perusing Lonely Planet's introductions to a country and that provided by other popular guidebooks. I felt well prepared to plan and understand my trip to Jamaica after reading this book. Indeed, I believe my trip would have been much less enjoyable had I not had a basic understanding of the people and sites I eventually saw on my trip.
Though somewhat less importantly to me, a few inaccuracies in the specific destination entries mar this otherwise fine guidebook. I was quite pleased with the hotel I chose based in part on the recommendation of Lonely Planet (Country Country, by the way). Other entries seemed unexpectedly out-of-date for the relatively recent publication date. This may be out of Lonely Planet's hands, but it was a concern nonetheless. I certainly would have been uncomfortable had I been more off the beaten path, when I discovered an attraction or a place of lodging had been closed.
All in all, I would not have changed any of my experiences in Jamaica. Similarly, I would change very little about this book. The relatively extensive history allowed me to choose attractions intelligently and understand the context. The chapters on wildlife, food and music allowed me to choose authentic Jamaican experiences over the generic. Typically well done.
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2: Lonely Planet Jamaica -- Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
I am a longtime advocate of Lonely Planet guides, having first used them nearly 10 years ago on my travels through Africa and more recently in my Caribbean travels, as well as on jaunts to First World locales in Europe and the U.S. I have always found them to be well-researched and reasonably trustworthy guides for young(ish) adults. For some, they are even considered to be the "Bible" of intrepid travellers! However, I have recently detected a gradual but unmistakable decline in the quality of Lonely Planet guides, demonstrated nowhere as clearly as in the woefully inadequate pages of the LP guide to Jamaica (published 2006).
My husband and I just got back from a week in Jamaica, where we rented a car to explore, using the LP as our sole guide. We found the LP's maps of Jamaica to be deplorable--and, in some cases, outright wrong! They are certainly not suitable for those wanting to drive themselves around the island. In fact, the LP's author did not seem to be too keen on the self-drive option, as he rarely even mentions this option, nor does he include helpful info such as driving times between major towns. I was very surprised to see this, as in the past I have found LP to be particularly good at providing this sort of information.
I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewer that says everything (especially prices) seems to be out of date. I do realize that using a 2006 book for a 2008 trip carries such a risk, but the disparity was so great as to render the info practically useless.
The biggest problem with the LP Jamaica guide is indicative of the general downshift in quality of the LP series -- I have noticed it in all of the most recent LP guides I have purchased. The author's reviews (of accommodations, restaurants, attractions, etc.) alternate between blandly uninspired to blatantly biased. One the one hand, you wonder if the author has even visited half the establishments he includes, given the unhelpful generalities he uses (If I read the word "pleasant" one more time, I'm gonna scream!). Sometimes the descriptions clearly do not match the establishment and you're left feeling cheated (and sometimes angry, especially if you've driven a very long way to get there!!). On the other hand, some of his reviews are very obviously influenced by whatever perks he received from the establishment; glowing reviews that hype up this hotel or that restaurant, only to be shattered when the reader arrives and has a totally negative experience. This is what I expect from the "average" travel guides I typically try to avoid. In no way are these the "unbiased reviews" upon which LP has built its mighty reputation. The author should be ashamed of himself, and LP should really clean up its act by getting rid of writers like this and rebuilding the basic integrity that has made it a great travel guide series.
There are a myriad of other small errors and omissions, although I probably could've overlooked some of these had the author gotten the big stuff right. Unfortunately, he (and, more critically, Lonely Planet) have *really* missed the mark on this book. For me, it represents money wasted and a lot of unnecessary frustration on my trip to boot. Think twice before purchasing this guide.
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3: Somewhat typical Lonely Planet
I have been a user of Lonely Planet for over 10 years. I would say that this one is fairly good but not as in depth as other ones on other countries. The hotel prices are not correct, (everything was more expensive than noted), and the reviews of the hotels themselves were not really that detailed to lead you to make a proper choice. This is of course in comparison to other authors for other countries and the level of detail there.
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4: Actually is the only recent guide from Jamaica
I bought this guide because is the only guide from Jamaica published in 2006. Not bad, I haven't gone to Jamaica yet but it has been useful for planning my tryp. I think that I will take some of the advices that I've read.
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5: Ridiculously out of date
While one can expect a guidebook to be somewhat out of date, this one is so out of date it is ridiculous. Published in January 2006, one would expect the information to at least be accurate as of mid-2005. However, that is far from the case.
Here are few examples of errors:
- The Blue Mountain Inn near Kingston, which receives an excellent review in the book, has been closed since mid-2004.
- Portofino's Restaurant in Kingston closed in 2004, and is now Chez Maria.
- The Fairy Glades Trail in the Blue Mountains closed in 2000 because of thefts of orchids, and can no longer be hiked.
- Jade Garden restaurant in Kingston has not served dim sum since mid-2004.
While there are some decent maps in the book, such out of date information makes me wonder when the author actually visited Jamaica.
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