AAA Spiral Guides Tuscany

Tim Jepson has put together a little gem in this guide to Tuscany. I soloed there for two weeks in 2004 using the 2002 version plus Lonely Planet "Tuscany," and other than an adding an Italian phrase book I can't imagine the casual tourist needing to lug around anything else. The articles are very insightful and the driving tour suggestions extremely helpful. The only quibble I might have with the author is his "must see" rating for San Gimignano -- way too touristy and expensive! I'd send you to Cortona, Arezzo, Montelpulciano or Montalcino instead (all of which he also recommends). Great job Tim Jepson! Keep up the good work!

My fiance and I are getting married in Italy this fall and decided to send a guide book to our guests (get them excited about the event, help them plan, etc.). We went to a local travel shop and thumbed through EVERY Tuscany guide they had on the shelves (and they had many). I'm generally a devout user of the DK guides (love the pictures) and Lonely Planet (great detail) and Rick Steves (cuts to critical stuff)- but found the AAA to be the best of all we saw (particurlaly if you are going with just one). PROS - Well organized (nice "tabs" to thumb through) - Great pictures (generates 'excitement' about your holiday) - Appropriate level of detail - Helpful maps - Spiral bound means it's easy to have open w/o bending book - Small/ lightweight enough to carry around - At this writing, it's very current edition (March '05) CONS - Well, since we were sending as gifts, the cover isn't as "aesthetically pleasing" as some of the others out there! ;)