Frommer's Israel by Robert Ullian
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Book Reviews of Frommer's Israel
Book Review: fast delivery
Summary: 3 Stars
Book came quickly. I don't like the format that much. Lots of helpful info, just like Lonely Planet more.Book Review: Frommers Israel
Summary: 4 Stars
Most helpful in finding best sights, best walking tours and best restaurants and the cost of meals Book Review: A Helpful Book
Summary: 5 Stars
Frommer's Israel was useful to have in hand. Background history and
archeological sites were well-explained, and there are lots of human
interest boxes that added to our understanding of ancient sites as
wells as major cities. In practical terms, we liked a handy 2 page
spread filled with excellent street food and cheap meal suggestions
for Jerusalem's busy downtown district, where wall to wall eateries
can be a confusing maze ( In some cases choices were no-name holes in
the wall). The book also clued us in to terrific "business lunch"
deals (til 5 or 6pm) at wonderful restaurants. The Frommer's people
clearly love the place and packed the book with a wide range of
suggestions for all kinds of travelers and their interests, including
young kids.
Another Amazon reviewer thought Israel's great Aroma coffee
shops weren't mentioned. But actually, we found Aroma among the tons
of cafes and eateries in the center of Jerusalem because Frommer's
praised it in a special box on Best Coffee Places (two downtown
branches for Aroma in Jerusalem, as well as a number of other great
local coffee cafes are on page 139). Initially, we wondered why
Frommer's listed no Starbucks -- it's almost un-American to omit
them, but apparently, they don't exist in Israel. One minus: Map
bullets showing some restaurant locations were not clear for the tiny
maze of downtown Jerusalem streets, but in the end, we found what we
were looking for.
Book Review: Helpful book
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife and I spent three nights at the Notre Dame Guest House in Jerusalem last fall. Notre Dame was especially recommended by the author of Frommer's Israel, who was very generous with his time and suggestions when we contacted him for advice. Contrary to the reviewer from Washington State we enjoyed our stay. The personnel was courteous and helpful, the food was good (including the espresso coffee), the surroundings and our room were nice, the price was reasonable, and we saw or heard nothing to make us feel unsafe at any time.
As to another reviewer's complaint that "no mention is given for coffee lovers of the great Israeli chain CAF? AROMA", this caf? is nicely described in page 139 of the book.
Not having read most of the book (away from Jerusalem we stayed with and were shown around by Israeli relatives) I hesitate to give it a five star rating. But what I read was helpful,
Book Review: Mediocre book for Isreal but it's the most "updated" with a copyright of 2007
Summary: 2 Stars
I recently returned from Israel and Petra and used this book extensively (in addition to an old Lonley Planet for Jerusalem and Eye Witness for historical perspectives). By in large, it was a mediocre guide book especially if you were to compare it to the Rick Steves series for Europe. The background information for sites were thorough enough. However, with a copyright of 2007, please be cautioned that some information may not be current (ie. incorrect websites for hotels). The maps were clumsy with enlargements oriented differently from the orginal map to fit the layout of the page. Also, the items on the map did not always match the highlighted site. For example, in the section for hotels in the Old City, hotels that were discussed in the text did not always correspond to what was illustrated on the map. I love ruins and used the Lost Ancient Cities section to pick the 2 ruins I would visit. Ziporri and Caesarea were the top two with similar commentary. Ziporri turned out to be a waste of time. We drove for over 2 hours from Tel Aviv to find ruins where we were nearly the only visitors and the highlight was a floor mosaic of the "Mona Lisa of the Galilee." Caesarea on the other hand, was amazing and reminded me of a smaller version of Pompei situated along the beach. It would have been immensely helpful if the guide book had made that distinction. The Petra section was mildly helpful. I would like to have known that there were only private guides at the Visitor Center and the types of tours provide, length of time, and cost. Whereas, it was interesting, but not helpful, to know how much locals were charged to enter the park versus visitors which is what was mentioned in the book. All in all, I would recommend this book simply because it is the "most updated" one on the shelves. However, I would caution readers to also consult other sources during your course of planning and travel.