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Books : The Rough Guide to Sardinia (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
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Rating: 
- Well worth packing
We found this guide very useful for our visit to southern Sardinia. As ever, with Rough Guides, there was a good variety of material - covering the obscure as well as better-known sites. Only quibble was that quite a few opening times seemed to be incorrect - we also had the DK Eyewitness Guide with us, and on balance we found their opening times more accurate, although we found the Rough Guide text more informative with (slightly) better maps. Having both books covered all angles.
Rating:
- genius - a true masterpiece
Having read previous customer reviews, I was horrified at the lack of understanding of this beautiful work of art. Robert Andrews has captured the essence of sardinia and has combined his wonderful literary talent with an immense knowledge of the island to produce one of the greatest rough guides ever written. On travelling to Sardinia I found the guide extremely helpful and was delighted to discover that every piece of information contained within was 100% correct. Great work Rob!
Rating: - helpful, interesting and easy to use
Contrary to some other reviewers I found this guide extremely helpful and easy to use when travelling through North West Sardinia for 10 days. It gives a general overview of the landscape and feel of locations, with more detail of towns, activities and places of specific interest. We took it with us most places, found it pretty much an accurate and interesting guide for our holiday and would've been lost without it!
It is not the most exciting book to read but I found it an excellent 'handbook' to Sardinia and its town centre maps an essential accompaniment to the more local not-so-helpful general tourist information. I felt it gave a varied and honest review of the different aspects to the country, its landscape, culture, food, facilities and people. Without being boring, it covers the practicalities and necessities of travelling, emphasising what is particularly relevant for Sardinia. There is also a handy language section at the back with some basic phrases, signs and lists of food for those who don't speak a word of Italian!
Some of the information about restaurants, camping facilities, tourist centre opening times and prices were slightly out of date or inaccurate but this is to be expected and was nothing to cause great distress or ruin its usefulness.
I would certainly suggest reading the introduction to and basics about Sardinia before going and then using the 'area guides' whilst out there. I recommend taking a detailed and comprehensive Map of Sardinia to accompany the guide book and a phrase book/dictionary if you want to make a proper go at communicating (my main mistake this time).
My only real criticism of the book is it suggests that going in August is a big no-no due to prices, temperature and extreme crowds. However, we went during the beginning of August, and although accommodation was more expensive, we found it is easy to avoid the crawling busy beaches by making a bit of effort, often were the only people at a tourist location and generally felt much less crowded and the temperature much more wonderful than we ever would in Manchester!
.....On another note, nothing will prepare you for the bad bus information and service, but the prices are cheap and its great fun to hire a moped or car if you really want to get around away from the overly touristy areas.
Rating:
- Stop! Buy the Cadogan guide instead!
Having The Rough Guide to Sardinia is better than having no guide at all;it's functional and it will probably suit travellers on a minuscule budgetgrimly trying to get around this tremendous place on infrequent publictransport and staying in campsites (the original 'rough guide' scenario).But really, it is a joyless read. The author, Robert Andrews, has managedto reduce a fascinating place to a series of sighs and grumbles. "Not muchto see here," he sniffs, when confronted with a small towns in theinterior, minor nuraghe (the amazing stone age buildings that dot theSardinian landscape), great stretches of coastline.
The RG makesSardinia sound like a drab, dispiriting place. We were there in mid-April2004 during unseasonably bad weather, and even the most Godforsaken townsin the interior in rainstorms were not as bleak as the RG makes Sardiniasound.
That said, the RG's basic information is sound, even if the prices in lireare very outdated. The cultural contexts are as valuable as you'd expectfrom the RG series (which I've been a devotee of for a decade) and it'sobviously well-researched. So it's not totally dreadful - just notanywhere near as good as the Cadogan guide. The Cadogan's writers are somuch more enthusiastic - not in a cheesy, 'everything is wonderful' way,but they are a breath of fresh air compared to the RG, their style islighter, their excitement at the mysteries and wonders of Sardiniapalpable.
Buy the RG as a second guide, an extra voice, and it's fine.But if you only buy one guide to Sardinia, we found the Cadogan so muchmore rewarding, even for travellers on a budget (we rented a cheap car andstayed in agriturismi and small hotels, so it's not like we're luxurytravellers turning our noses up at the Rough Guide).
Rating: - A decent guide book.
I have to disagree with the previous reviewers; I thought this a rather well written and informative guide to Sardinia.
For a holiday touring the island by car, I found this guide ideal. Opinions were served up in moderation, and the quality and quantity of factual information was just right.
I think that the content of this book would only fail to please the most lavishly-funded holiday. This book is as good as any other Rough Guide I have read before.
- Well worth packingWe found this guide very useful for our visit to southern Sardinia. As ever, with Rough Guides, there was a good variety of material - covering the obscure as well as better-known sites. Only quibble was that quite a few opening times seemed to be incorrect - we also had the DK Eyewitness Guide with us, and on balance we found their opening times more accurate, although we found the Rough Guide text more informative with (slightly) better maps. Having both books covered all angles.
Rating:
- genius - a true masterpieceHaving read previous customer reviews, I was horrified at the lack of understanding of this beautiful work of art. Robert Andrews has captured the essence of sardinia and has combined his wonderful literary talent with an immense knowledge of the island to produce one of the greatest rough guides ever written. On travelling to Sardinia I found the guide extremely helpful and was delighted to discover that every piece of information contained within was 100% correct. Great work Rob!
Rating:
- helpful, interesting and easy to useContrary to some other reviewers I found this guide extremely helpful and easy to use when travelling through North West Sardinia for 10 days. It gives a general overview of the landscape and feel of locations, with more detail of towns, activities and places of specific interest. We took it with us most places, found it pretty much an accurate and interesting guide for our holiday and would've been lost without it!
It is not the most exciting book to read but I found it an excellent 'handbook' to Sardinia and its town centre maps an essential accompaniment to the more local not-so-helpful general tourist information. I felt it gave a varied and honest review of the different aspects to the country, its landscape, culture, food, facilities and people. Without being boring, it covers the practicalities and necessities of travelling, emphasising what is particularly relevant for Sardinia. There is also a handy language section at the back with some basic phrases, signs and lists of food for those who don't speak a word of Italian!
Some of the information about restaurants, camping facilities, tourist centre opening times and prices were slightly out of date or inaccurate but this is to be expected and was nothing to cause great distress or ruin its usefulness.
I would certainly suggest reading the introduction to and basics about Sardinia before going and then using the 'area guides' whilst out there. I recommend taking a detailed and comprehensive Map of Sardinia to accompany the guide book and a phrase book/dictionary if you want to make a proper go at communicating (my main mistake this time).
My only real criticism of the book is it suggests that going in August is a big no-no due to prices, temperature and extreme crowds. However, we went during the beginning of August, and although accommodation was more expensive, we found it is easy to avoid the crawling busy beaches by making a bit of effort, often were the only people at a tourist location and generally felt much less crowded and the temperature much more wonderful than we ever would in Manchester!
.....On another note, nothing will prepare you for the bad bus information and service, but the prices are cheap and its great fun to hire a moped or car if you really want to get around away from the overly touristy areas.
Rating:
- Stop! Buy the Cadogan guide instead!Having The Rough Guide to Sardinia is better than having no guide at all;it's functional and it will probably suit travellers on a minuscule budgetgrimly trying to get around this tremendous place on infrequent publictransport and staying in campsites (the original 'rough guide' scenario).But really, it is a joyless read. The author, Robert Andrews, has managedto reduce a fascinating place to a series of sighs and grumbles. "Not muchto see here," he sniffs, when confronted with a small towns in theinterior, minor nuraghe (the amazing stone age buildings that dot theSardinian landscape), great stretches of coastline.
The RG makesSardinia sound like a drab, dispiriting place. We were there in mid-April2004 during unseasonably bad weather, and even the most Godforsaken townsin the interior in rainstorms were not as bleak as the RG makes Sardiniasound.
That said, the RG's basic information is sound, even if the prices in lireare very outdated. The cultural contexts are as valuable as you'd expectfrom the RG series (which I've been a devotee of for a decade) and it'sobviously well-researched. So it's not totally dreadful - just notanywhere near as good as the Cadogan guide. The Cadogan's writers are somuch more enthusiastic - not in a cheesy, 'everything is wonderful' way,but they are a breath of fresh air compared to the RG, their style islighter, their excitement at the mysteries and wonders of Sardiniapalpable.
Buy the RG as a second guide, an extra voice, and it's fine.But if you only buy one guide to Sardinia, we found the Cadogan so muchmore rewarding, even for travellers on a budget (we rented a cheap car andstayed in agriturismi and small hotels, so it's not like we're luxurytravellers turning our noses up at the Rough Guide).
Rating:
- A decent guide book.I have to disagree with the previous reviewers; I thought this a rather well written and informative guide to Sardinia.
For a holiday touring the island by car, I found this guide ideal. Opinions were served up in moderation, and the quality and quantity of factual information was just right.
I think that the content of this book would only fail to please the most lavishly-funded holiday. This book is as good as any other Rough Guide I have read before.