An Archaeological Guide to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

I think the book is wonderful. Having written that, what the other readers said of its failings are true, and it should not be taken literally when planning a trip. To show an example, a friend of mine did not realize that there is now a paved road to Calakmul and did not go there. The book also failed to mention that there was a hotel at the time of publication, the Mirador Maya. Now there is another, the Calakmul. Both are basic, but the area is not the wasteland one would expect from guide books.

Interested in going to the Yucatan and seeing some of those incredible Mayan jungle ruins? You must have this book beforehand. Rating each of the sites with 4 stars for the most interesting down to one star, you get great background information as well as a really good map of the site, what are it's most interesting features, and how much time you might want to spend there. The information is very detailed, archaeological in viewpoint, but usable and interesting for tourist types. Use this in conjuction with more current roadmap information for trip planning as the roads are always changing, but the 900 year old Pyramid of the Magician isn't going anywhere. I did not take this with me on my trip, but had gotten so much information from it that when we arrived at the sites in the morning, I already knew the site layout and which way to start so as to have the best sun for photographs. Even the smaller 1 & 2 star sites are worth seeing if they are near your travel path, and this book does a great job on those sites which you will not find in the tourist books. This is the only book I found that gives the pronouciation for the names of the sites in Mayan, even now I occasionally surf through the book for fun. Not a typical travel book, but well written and interesting.