Travel

The Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel series are to be seen clutched in many tourists' hands across the world, and rightly so. If Travel: Where to Go When (edited by Craig Doyle) is designed to be pored over at home rather taken en voyage that has allowed the publishers to produce a handsome, large-scale volume guaranteed to set you dreaming of exotic faraway places.

This is the perfect holiday planner, concentrating on the world's most desirable travel locations, with specific attention paid to when it is best to visit them. The team of consultants (acting under Doyle's expert direction) have provided a series of concise and informative essays on everything from the wonders of the Galapagos Islands to the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, and from the mule trails of the Cinque Terre to the highly civilised streets of Boston, USA. The latter destination is a good example of precisely what the book does well: pithy, not-a-word-wasted essays giving all the essential information on the destination, with a sidebar on the left of the page detailing how to get there, suggested accommodation and restaurants along with all the information about the weather you're likely to need (the latter is particularly useful -- how often have you seen abroad tourists either underdressed or overdressed, not having done their homework?). On the right hand side of the large, eye-catching spreads are historical details -- never couched in dry prose, just a concise and lively presentation of the facts. A major plus, of course, is the sumptuous photography; everything from a brightly painted, flower-bedecked skeleton at the Mexican Day of the Dead to a glowingly lit night canal in Amsterdam does perfect justice to its subject. --Barry Forshaw

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Good for answering..."where can I go next?" - Rated
I love going to new places and this book is great at giving you enough information about lots of different types of places you can visit to allow you to decide whether you would enjoy going there. The pictures are amazing and really give you that holiday feeling.

My only criticism..it was missing places that I felt should have been in the book!

Nice to flick through but not much more depth than a brochure - Rated
This is a lovely coffee table book, and I enjoyed a good couple of hours flicking through and dreaming of going to all the lovely places in it. However, when I finished I did think it hadn't offered much more than flicking through some travel brochures - something which made me question the price tag when you consider that these can be picked up for free in any travel agents.

All that said it has beautifully shot photos and has the USP of the month by month planner of the best places to go. It also tells you about some of the less well know things to do (although in some cases it misses some of the best out because of it).

I would actually give this 3 and a half stars if I could. My summary is that it is beautiful but shallow.

Excellent book - Rated
I bought this for someone else, but have spent many happy hours browsing through it and planning my next trip. It is very informative and the photography is excellent.

Best Travel Book I have ever bought - Rated
I can only echo the comments of the other reviewers. This is quite simply one of the best travel books around at the momemt. Informative and beautifully produced that will have you pouring over it regularly.
If travel is your passion - get it.

Stunning - Rated


I was given this as a Christmas present and I have spent hours looking through it since then - it's such a beautiful book.

The book is set out by month and there are about 20 pages per month. In each section (month) it starts with a page overview of all the places that are good to visit at that time of year and puts them under headings (Festivals and culture, Unforgettable journeys, Natural wonders, Luxury and romance, Active adventures and Family getaways). Each destiniation (under one of these headers) then has a paragraph about why to go and then a web address so you can do further research (brilliant idea). It also has a weather watch for all over the world so you can see which regions might appeal to you (depending on whether you want sun or snow etc). The following 18 or so pages are dedicated to more indepth info on some of the destinations. For example there is a section in August on New Zealand and this page includes how to get there, weather, accommodation, how much it will cost 2 people per day on average and also a suggested itinerary. The book goes into detial of about 8 or 9 destinations per month.

Aside to the useful info (not just about what't there when you get there but where to go at particular times of year), the visuals are stunning, breathtaking even. I am a huge fan of the Eyewitness Travel guides anyway as I love to look at the pictures and read about the history and culture of places I have been to (and also places I want to go to) so when I was given this book I was thrilled. It's so much more than a coffee table book and it's one I will treasure for years to come - I can sit for hours looking longinly at the photos.

I highly recommend this book - especially as a gift (you'll be loved for it) or just treat yourself. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.