Lonely Planet Micronesia 4/E

This is a great general introduction to Micronesia. I have sent the book to my friends several times, and as they came out to Saipan, they were able to experience on the "Island Hopper" Continental flight, places such as Pohnpei, Chuuk, and later on Yap and Palau. Good explanation of what to expect, what to see, and tips on making your trip relaxing and beneficial. I thought it was well done and have recommended it to others traveling through our islands. The photographs and sketches were not only colorful, but helpful. Kaslehlie!

The book is great!Is in perfect condictions like if I have boght it in a store!

This is a nice, concise guide, to micronesia, covering Palua, Kiribati, the Marianas, Nauro, The federated states of Micronesia, and other small islands that stretch between New Zealand and Hawaii. There are a number of recommendations for the best way to travel between islands and how to plan your journey. THis is not a book that is aimed for the specialist, for scuba-divers it needs to be supplimented and the same goes for those intending to travel by boat. However the book is excellent when it comes to history, restaurants hikes and hotels. It is a wonderful guide-book, indispensible for the island hopping traveller. Seth J. Frantzman

I have been to Micronesia twice. The first time I lived there for a couple of years, and the second time I went as a tourist. I purchased this book before returning the second time. It had been seven years since I had been in Micronesia, and some of it had changed drastically while some parts hadn't changed at all. This book was a great guide, and helped me to find some of the better spots that I had somehow managed to miss while I lived there. Here is how the book stacked up. THE GOOD: 1) This book covers all of Micronesia, and that is no small task. It has information about all parts, ranging from Palau to the Marshall Islands. 2) This book gives a lot of information about each island. It explains the history, tells you what you should take, tells you about hotels and restaurants (from the five star establishments to the low end ones), tells you about how to travel to each island as well as how to travel around while on the island and many other bits of useful information to make your stay more enjoyable. 3) The maps are good. They aren't super detailed, but are nice maps of the islands and the villages on them. Quite good enough for any sight seeing or exploring that you might want to do. 4) This book tells you about the popular and good diving spots, hiking spots and historical points. So even though some of the book may be outdated (the nicest hotels in Guam) there are some things that will probably never change (how to hike to a nice hidden waterfall on Pohnpei.) THE BAD: Parts of Micronesia are changing quickly, and this book fails to capture those changes. For example, the list of popular places to stay, eat and shop on Guam wasn't very helpful since the island had changed so much in the past five years (since the book was published). To counteract this information lag, I just picked up tourist publications while I was on Guam, and that updated me enough to fill in all the gaps. OVERALL: It is like a computer that is a couple of years old: sure it is outdated some, but it still works nicely, and it is much better than having nothing at all!