Travel to India

India (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Format: Turtleback
Author: DK Publishing
ReleaseDate: 01 September, 2002
Publisher: DK Travel
Rating:

great
it really is fun to read and learn about india. this book has a ton of pictures. i haven't been to india, so i'm not sure how accurate it is for travelers.

It depends on what you need.
I found Rough Guide to be my guide, and used this book as an inspirational guide. I purchased this book, along with the latest Rough Guide India.

Summary:
This book is a good supplimental travel guide. If you have a guide, or on a guided tour, this is a nice book as it gives you detailed information like culture and history. But if you are someone who likes to drop into the city and find a place to stay, and figure your way around the area, this is not your book. As some have mentioned, list of hotels, restaurants, and travel means are very limited, if not completely missing. I have to say that this book was not useful to me.

About India:
After traveling through central/northern parts of India, except for rural parts of India, you can pretty much get anything in Delhi or Mumbai that you can pick up in other parts of India, thanks to improvement in transportation, and inexpensive communications. You can often find pay phone to call any part of india for well under 1rs, and almost everyone has a mobile now.

Good:
Nice pictures. When approached by several 'offical tour guides', this book was all that I needed.
Cultural information, such as famous cuisines and so forth are nice. (See below for cons)

Cons:
Slim information on big cities. I stayed in Delhi and Mumbai and information was too little. I would prefer more words then nice pictures.
Some cultural information is pretty uselesss. So you know the cuisine, but how do you know where to eat it in a big city like Mumbai or Delhi.

Not practical for serious travel
I was disappointed. I bought this book before moving to India, hoping it would make traveling in the country easier. There is no practical information in this book. Train times, bus fares, budget hotels, and more useful information is completely ignored. The only plus to the book is sometimes helpful information is given on art history and monument history, but overall I would only recommend the Lonely Planet guide for those looking to really see and experience India. .

Related products:
click image or link for details on these India travel books.

	Dehli, Agra & Jaipur (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
	Lonely Planet India
	India - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!)
	The Rough Guide to India 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
	China (Eyewitness Travel Guides)