The Rough Guide to Poland

Interesting and fascinating...also since I am now in Poland this book makes even more sense.

Any seasoned traveler should know that one guidebook can never tell everything we want to know, so it is always better to have a second one on hand. But if I can only bring one with me on my trips, it would be a rough guide. Actually, I think an Eyewitness Guide would be a great supplement, but I decided to leave that home since I wanted to travel light. I went to Krakow and Warsaw last winter break and relied solely on this RG. I find the historical and cultural information to be satisfying, with just the right amount of detail (and interesting anecdotes), without overwhelming the regular traveler. The highlight to me personally are the restaurant recommendations and indication on the maps where they are. I was satisfied with the recommendations I went to.

For my first trip to Poland, I bought the Lonely Planet travel guide. And although it was very good, I decided to try the Rough Guide for my second trip. I found it to be an absolutely outstanding travel guide. Compared to the Lonely Planet guide, it has better maps (and a LOT more of them - even for smaller towns and villages), more detailed information, and more specific information about hotels, restaurants, banks, and other facts that make traveling easier. I'm really not sure how other reviewers here came to think that this book focuses too much on the Holocaust. Sure, it's mentioned in parts of the book, but it is by no means over-emphasized. This is a travel book, and the history presented in it is fairly cursory, as it should be since the only reason it's there is to provide some context. (In fact, the history section is actually labeled "Context"). Don't let the other reviews scare you off. This is an absolutely outstanding travel guide - one that will serve you very well.

I have visited Poland twice and am thinking of a third trip. The Rough Guide was the guide book I used on my last trip. Perhaps he is tired of the emphasis on Polands recent past, but I would like to remind him of the other guide books I checked out, this was the only one that provided details of the places that I wanted to visit. On my first trip there, the deemphasis of the Jewish hallocaust was astounding, I attributed to the recent change in governments. Even the Jewish Star in the Salt Mine was zipped through. If it hadn't been for the Rough Guide, my knowlege would have been less. I'm sorry he feels it is "tiresome" it is something that can't be swept away. After all it was Poland that had a pogram AFTER WW 2 in which more returning Jews were killed. If he does not wish to read about events that happened, he should find another guide.

This guide had extensive information on Poland, including coverage of many small towns omitted from other books. It is much more thorough than Lonely Planet. It also includes more information on sites of Jewish interest, which Lonely Planet virtually ignores. Perhaps that is why the other reviewer considered it a negative book.As with most guides geared to a budget audience, information on upmarket hotels and restaurants is limited at best. However, there is much more detail of things off the beaten path than one would find in a more upmarket guide.