Ponder whether Bucharest is the 'Paris of the East' at its own Triumphal Arch. Roam deserted stretches of sand where the Danube meets the Black Sea. Find out why the keys to 'Dracula's castle' are held by a New York architect. Enjoy a tipple at the winery where Russia's President Putin celebrated his 50th birthday.
In This Guide
Two authors, 16 months of in-country research, three car accidents, eight road trips slowed by jaywalking goats. Fully updated information on Moldovan wineries and Transylvanian castles. The only guidebook to cover Moldova and its autonomous regions of Transdniestr and Gagauzia. Content updated daily: visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler suggestions.
Good but tries to cover too much August 17, 2008 While the books is more like a directory than a guide, I am glad I purchased the Rough Guide to Romania as a backup.
Was extremely disappointed that some guides in Romania, Moldavia in particular, use the Lonely planet name as a certificate or guarantee, to find out that these were extremely unqualified and rude individuals. Hint: be skeptical about these tour guides, and check www.tripadvisor.com reviews!
Lately, I have been using the LP + Eyewitnees Travel guides which offer rich photographic material. Sorry no Romania yet.
In this case I would say, buy the Rough Guide + the National Geo Guide and enjoy Romania.
Language subtly pejorative July 26, 2008 This book was useful information-wise in visiting Bucuresti and Transylvania. However, I found the overall language of the book shallow and subtly pejorative and insulting to the local people of Romania, and I am surprised that Lonely Planet, a respected publisher of worldwide guides, has published this book as is. A big part of traveling is to show respect for the other culture and learn from it (especially spiritually). Obviously a guide also needs to be realistic and show the negative sides as well, but I disagree with the author's subtly suggested attitudes. I realize that there are two authors, I am only referring to the section I used, the one on Bucuresti and Transylvania.
I want to stress that I am NOT Romanian. Suffice it to say that I showed the book to a very educated and well-traveled Romanian friend who was very unhappy with the first random sentence they saw.
In conclusion, Romania is a great place that one should visit, but I wouldn't take this guide...
Perfect Guide to ROmania February 8, 2008 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I bought this book in 2007 for my 2008 trip to Romania. I was impressed. I was on this trip with my girlfriend who is a native Romanian and live in Romania. Still, the book showed us stuff she wasn't aware of. And in the cities outside Bucharest the book was really specific and perfect. If you follow what is written in this book, you will enjoy this trip 100% and will be using your time effciently. I have to admit, this book saved us when we were stuck in Sibiu trying to figure out how to go to the next city. Also is has very accurate maps..
Great Guide to Tricky, Lovely Country February 4, 2008 8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Some of the reviewers here are focusing on tiny problems with what is a changing, tricky country to visit. And missing what is overall a great asset to a trip there. I mean, if you really want to go all the way to Romania to see an excluded copy of a 70s/80s American TV show set, then maybe you really don't need to be traveling all the way to Europe anyway!
I had a great time using this guide through Bucharest, Wallachia and Transylvania. It was all I needed to gauge where to go, where to stay and how to get around. Sure I found a few great restaurants not included here, and disagreed with a review or two, but isn't that the point of traveling on your own?
Does not live up to the LP name! It's decent, but disappointing. November 18, 2007 7 out of 21 found this review helpful
I have exchanged emails with Leif, the book's co-author. While this book is generally useful and the authors have done a decent job, my email exchange with Leif only reinforced my impression that the authors were a little sloppy (and perhaps rushed?) when writing this book.
I have some issues with this book, but to keep this review short, I will highlight my major complaint dealing with cultural relevance. This is a very important topic for any travel guide. Slobozia is a town where a Romanian billionaire built a lifesize replica of the 'Dallas' set, as well as some other crazy stuff like a junior Eiffel Tower. Slobozia was completely overlooked by LP. We only found out the day we left Romania, and were thus disappointed at not being able to visit. When I asked Leif about the oversight, he first stated it wasn't within his region to explore. This is wrong, because Slobozia is in Wallachia (which he was responsible for reviewing) and showed ignorance of the region on his part. He also said it probably wasn't included because it wasn't culturally relevant. This raises an important question: How do the authors decide if something is culturally relevant? The book spends several paragraphs on Borat, Madonna, South Park, and Michael Jackson. Are these more culturally relevant than a junior Eiffel Tower? This question has far-reaching consequences, including food, arts, history, language, and politics. Why does Leif omit Dallas but include Borat?
We expect a travel guide to be sensitive to cultural relevance, not to selectively (and apparently randomly) omit certain cultural elements (no matter how tacky, in the case of Slobozia). My exchange with Leif raised important questions about cultural relevance, and reinforced my already mediocre opinion of this book. As a result, next time I will carefully research travel books rather than merely rely on the LP brand name.
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