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Books : Poland (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
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Rating: 
- Does the job, but there are better
Travel guide purchasing often comes down to a choice between Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, and the case of Poland, Lonely Planet is in second place.
On a week long visit to Poland in April 2006, carrying a copy of the Lonely Planet guide and accompanied by a friend who had the equivalent Rough Guide, we found the Rough Guide to be the superior volume.
Lonely Planet has the basic information on eating, drinking and sleeping, and there is little to choose between the two popular guides for those, but for history, culture and background information we found the Rough Guide to be far better. As well as being more readable, the Rough Guide also seemed to include more of the smaller but no less interesting towns where we ended up spending an hour or two between trains. A good few English- speaking visitors are likely to be in search of the steam trains of Wolsztyn, a town which doesn't get a mention in the Lonely Planet.
If there are two of you, take both books, but if you are just taking one book, then the Rough Guide is the one to go for.
Rating:
- Good enough on sights, poor on accommodation
This is the least helpful Lonely Planet Guide I have used and I can't recommend it for two main reasons. The style is very irritating - lots of "arguably the best" type phraseology - well is it or isn't it?! It reads like a bad translation and it probably is because the author is a Pole who lives in Melbourne. Secondly, the information on accommodation and places to eat is sparse and out of date. I used the guide in Krakow where excellent hostels like Bling Bling don't even get a mention. Also in Warsaw. Overall, it's like being told about Poland by your uncle who remembers it from 20 years ago. And goodness it sounds dull but it's not!
Rating:
- Your best friend on your next trip to Poland
Lonely Planets guidebooks is one of your best friends on any trip to a new country. This is a book about a whole large country and it can't (and should not) possibly cover all the details on what to do.
In this guide they manage to give you all the basics about where to stay and eat, how to travel and what to see. The guidebook has a good amount of alternatives under each sectiona nd the respective ratings are very good according to those hostels, restaurants and other things I tried out.
If you are backpacking through Poland this book is a necessity and something you can't live without. Given the fact that not so many Poles speaks English, this book proves even more valuable when you can point at the place you are looking for and get directions from the helpful and friendly Poles.
The sections on history and culture is not an indepth explanation, but rather a good overview, which is the aim of Lonely Planet. This is a book for independent travellers.
Rating: - Good as a travel guide but not as a country guide
This travel guide is designed for those travelling or holidaying in Poland and does a fairly good job of telling you where to stay, eat and drink. However, the detail is a little thin on the ground in places - not surprising in a reasonably short book about this huge country with a very interesting history.
I would have liked to have read more about the historical background to Poland in order to get a bit more of a feel for the place, but this really isn't the book's focus or purpose, nor is it the focus of the Lonely Planet series in general, which are very much geared towards those spending 2 weeks somewhere. If you're on a short trip to a few different places in Poland or passing through on your way elsewhere, it will give you a few tips and facts that should come in useful. However, if you were visiting the country for any length of time or wanting to really learn about the place, it wouldn't be suitable.
I think those looking for information about specific areas in Poland might want to check out the internet to do some more research as each city and town is dealt with very briefly in this book, and just when you are started to become interested in a place, it's obvious the author has run out of room and must move on to the next dot on the map!
Rating: - Guidebook with misleading front cover
In have bought this guidebook with curiosity. Reading Norman Davies' famous books about Poland I was interested in the historical sights in today's territory of the country. My first surprise was the length of the book. Given the fact that Poland has a big territory with almost 40 Million people I found the guidebook relatively short. For instance the smaller Hungary has almost the same size guidebook as Poland. According to my observation this volume is not detailed enough the historical descriptions are really missing at certain sights.
The very famous Przemysl city received two pages and within this one of the the biggest battle in WWI and the fortification only two sentences. I could continue the examples. I think the historical part is the real weakness of this guidebook which is a pity from a Polish author in case of such a country with rich historical background.
I also think that the front cover is misleading. In a Roman Catholic country the wooden Orthodox churches are not representing Poland's characteristics.
- Does the job, but there are betterTravel guide purchasing often comes down to a choice between Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, and the case of Poland, Lonely Planet is in second place.
On a week long visit to Poland in April 2006, carrying a copy of the Lonely Planet guide and accompanied by a friend who had the equivalent Rough Guide, we found the Rough Guide to be the superior volume.
Lonely Planet has the basic information on eating, drinking and sleeping, and there is little to choose between the two popular guides for those, but for history, culture and background information we found the Rough Guide to be far better. As well as being more readable, the Rough Guide also seemed to include more of the smaller but no less interesting towns where we ended up spending an hour or two between trains. A good few English- speaking visitors are likely to be in search of the steam trains of Wolsztyn, a town which doesn't get a mention in the Lonely Planet.
If there are two of you, take both books, but if you are just taking one book, then the Rough Guide is the one to go for.
Rating:
- Good enough on sights, poor on accommodationThis is the least helpful Lonely Planet Guide I have used and I can't recommend it for two main reasons. The style is very irritating - lots of "arguably the best" type phraseology - well is it or isn't it?! It reads like a bad translation and it probably is because the author is a Pole who lives in Melbourne. Secondly, the information on accommodation and places to eat is sparse and out of date. I used the guide in Krakow where excellent hostels like Bling Bling don't even get a mention. Also in Warsaw. Overall, it's like being told about Poland by your uncle who remembers it from 20 years ago. And goodness it sounds dull but it's not!
Rating:
- Your best friend on your next trip to PolandLonely Planets guidebooks is one of your best friends on any trip to a new country. This is a book about a whole large country and it can't (and should not) possibly cover all the details on what to do.
In this guide they manage to give you all the basics about where to stay and eat, how to travel and what to see. The guidebook has a good amount of alternatives under each sectiona nd the respective ratings are very good according to those hostels, restaurants and other things I tried out.
If you are backpacking through Poland this book is a necessity and something you can't live without. Given the fact that not so many Poles speaks English, this book proves even more valuable when you can point at the place you are looking for and get directions from the helpful and friendly Poles.
The sections on history and culture is not an indepth explanation, but rather a good overview, which is the aim of Lonely Planet. This is a book for independent travellers.
Rating:
- Good as a travel guide but not as a country guideThis travel guide is designed for those travelling or holidaying in Poland and does a fairly good job of telling you where to stay, eat and drink. However, the detail is a little thin on the ground in places - not surprising in a reasonably short book about this huge country with a very interesting history.
I would have liked to have read more about the historical background to Poland in order to get a bit more of a feel for the place, but this really isn't the book's focus or purpose, nor is it the focus of the Lonely Planet series in general, which are very much geared towards those spending 2 weeks somewhere. If you're on a short trip to a few different places in Poland or passing through on your way elsewhere, it will give you a few tips and facts that should come in useful. However, if you were visiting the country for any length of time or wanting to really learn about the place, it wouldn't be suitable.
I think those looking for information about specific areas in Poland might want to check out the internet to do some more research as each city and town is dealt with very briefly in this book, and just when you are started to become interested in a place, it's obvious the author has run out of room and must move on to the next dot on the map!
Rating:
- Guidebook with misleading front coverIn have bought this guidebook with curiosity. Reading Norman Davies' famous books about Poland I was interested in the historical sights in today's territory of the country. My first surprise was the length of the book. Given the fact that Poland has a big territory with almost 40 Million people I found the guidebook relatively short. For instance the smaller Hungary has almost the same size guidebook as Poland. According to my observation this volume is not detailed enough the historical descriptions are really missing at certain sights.
The very famous Przemysl city received two pages and within this one of the the biggest battle in WWI and the fortification only two sentences. I could continue the examples. I think the historical part is the real weakness of this guidebook which is a pity from a Polish author in case of such a country with rich historical background.
I also think that the front cover is misleading. In a Roman Catholic country the wooden Orthodox churches are not representing Poland's characteristics.