Travel to Iceland

Insight Guide Iceland (Insight Guides Iceland)

Format: Paperback
Author: Jane Simmonds
ReleaseDate: June, 1999
Publisher: Insight Guides
Rating:

great coffeetable book
The book also gives a great overview of Iceland, it's culture, history, places to visit. When I first flipped through the pages of this book I was in awe - the photographs are just amazing, and suddenly I wished I had several weeks to explore this fascinating country, not just a 4 day stopover. If you know nothing of Iceland (like me!) then it is a great starting point for figuring out what you want to see and do. The pictures alone will get you excited!

But when I actually started to try put together an itinerary, it was useless. I tried, and tried, and tried. . . then reverted back to old faithful Lonely Planet. They just know how to put a guidebook together. I would not recommend the Insight Guide as a book to take with you. It is big, heavy, and pretty useless when it comes to finding your way around. Besides, you wouldn't want to spoil it as it is such a nice souvenir! I couldn't even bring myself to dog-ear the pages.

So I bought the LP, it is already dog-earred and covered in notes and that's the book I will be taking with me. But the Insight Guide is one that will stay on my coffeetable and be passed around among friends to show them just what an amazing place Iceland is.

Excellent Guide
I used the guide in Iceland and found it very readable, very informative, and great to have along.

Beautiful pictures and thorough information
I bought this book because it is adorned with some truly beautiful pictures, only to find out that its contents are of the same quality or better. Let me introduce you to this Insight Guide on Iceland, the beautiful aurora borealis-lit island in the North Atlantic.

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The information is provided in three ways:
YELLOW (pages 15-139): Just for this part, it is worth buying the book. Every little detail of Icelandic history, society and nature is given here. Vikings, whales and the notorious weather are dealt with, but also "the push for independence", the 300-species bird life, and the purifying of the Icelandic language.
BLUE (pages 147-327): Almost all places in Iceland are covered. It kicks off with Icelandic metropolis Reykjavýk, and continues counter-clockwise around the whole island, supplying you with information about the attractions you'll encounter.
RED (pages 329-378): The practical side. Climate, cycling, what to buy, media. . . easy to find info for the quick look-up. Although it isn't the aim of the book to give EVERY tiny restaurant or hotel, and though you can find it elsewhere, quite a bit of those places are listed here. What follows is an emergency-style two-pages course in Icelandic, and after that the index, which could just be slightly better (too few things are covered). ****1/2

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Too many to count: historic drawings, children, nature, towns. . . they show both the negative and the positive sides of the island: a desolate farm in the snow under an ink-blue sky, but also a young girl on her father's shoulders, with the national flag on Independance Day. *****

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The lay out is very good. The reading pleasure is high, because a lot of different fonts are used, and the keywords in the text are bold. A word that refers to a place on the map is marked with (1), (2), (3), (. . . ). The same sign is used on the map, which I found extremely useful and easy. Another good feature is the use of a mark at the top of the pages, saying: "Map on page xxx", so you don't have to look for the map yourself. *****

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The book and the fat glossy paper feels good to the hands, the weight is perfect (thank God it's a paperback). The top side of the book is printed with the colors as shown above, so you can easily find what you are looking for. And there are two cover foldouts with maps of Iceland and Reykjavik bus routes. ****

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This book is just what you need if you are planning a trip to Iceland, or after it to see where you've been and find more interesting facts and figures. Highly recommended. *****.

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

	Iceland Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map)
	Lonely Planet Iceland
	The Rough Guide to Iceland 2 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
	Iceland: Land of the Sagas
	Footprint Reykjavik (Footprint Pocket Guides)