Travel World guide

Fodor’s really is the best in travel guides for me. I find I can TRUST what is in the book. The recommendations are accurate, detailed and current. When I travel, I like to know I can count on ratings as posted knowing they are not inflated. I love the Fodor’s guides and use them for every trip as they are updated on a regular basis keeping things current which is vitally imporant, particularly in foreign travel.

After reading and reviewing Fodor’s outstanding “Boston 2012″ guide (with its removable ‘On the Go” map of the city, and its valuable practical information plainly displayed at the beginning), I looked forward to reading Fodor’s “Israel.”

As usual for Fodor, ‘Israel’ is filled with colourful pictures, copious information about the rich history, culture, traditions, and foods of this complex society. Perhaps because it embraces an entire nation, instead of one city, the book provides so much of this fascinating material, that it overlooks some of the necessary but mundane practical details.

As with the Boston guide, I approached the Israel guide as one who has previously not had the pleasure of visiting. In other words, I looked for information that would help me as a first-time visitor. Whereas both guide books have “planners,” the ‘Israel Planner,’ which informed me of the driving distances and travel time between various cities (e.g., Eilat to Tel Aviv, 220 mi [354 km], 5.5 hours) [pp 14-15], did not answer any of my questions about the basic matter of road or street signs or even traffic information: Are street and traffic signs written only in Hebrew/Arabic? Are they also transliterated into English? Do the Israelis use standard International road signs (e.g. Red circle with diagonal line = no parking)? Nor is this information forthcoming on the two ‘Great Itineraries’ pages [44-45], one of which advises me to bring my Bible; that gas stations, where I can ‘stock up on snacks’, are ‘numerous”; and that I will need to rent a car to get around outside of Jerusalem, but that English is spoken in most hotels and restaurants. Were I actually renting a car, however, I would like to have information about signposts and traffic laws in advance. And I would prefer not to comb through 594 pages of very small print (Actually, the print is the same size as that in the Boston guide, but the Boston guide organises its information about the city and its environs clearly and succinctly in 394 pages). I also think that Fodor ought to provide a pull-out ‘On the Go’ map of Jerusalem.

I talked with a friend who has been to Israel several times and is going again soon, and she bought Fodor’s guide since she thought it was the best of those she looked at, but since she is going to visit relatives and she speaks (and reads) both Hebrew and Arabic, the problem did not occur to her. She did, however, inform me of mistakes in the Palestinian Arabic Vocabulary list, which renders ‘how are you?”–keif hhalak–as ‘man speaking’ and keif hhalik as ‘woman speaking’. What it should read, she says, is that one says keif hhalak to a man, and keif hhalik to a woman.

Again, I am approaching the book as a traveller who has never been to Israel, and she is using it as one who is very familiar with the country. According to her expert opinion, Fodor’s is the best of the guides that are available.

I have several Fodor’s travel guides and enjoy them for their details and pictures. Of course, I probably will never get to actually go to Israel but the guide gives anyone considering a trip a wonderful launching point if you are the type that likes to travel on your own rather than taking guided tours with a large group which are sometimes advertised. The Fodor’s travel guides give great insight to what things should cost and what sites are worth the trip. Also, where to be careful since it seems lots of people while on vacation let their guard down and become easy target for pickpockets etc. We like to use it for homeschooling because it also is a great way to learn about different places.

I was very interested in this book because I wanted a closer view of Israel. I knew it was a complicated place, and this book explains a lot about why that is true.

The color pictures are great. One thing you see is that a lot of places in Israel are very dry at least part of the time. Water is scarce, and they handle it carefully. They handle it well.

There are a lot of political tensions in Israel, as well as religious requirements that apply to visitors. The book explains with a lot of detail just how to handle various situations and locations to stay safe and out of trouble.

Israel contains huge, huge amounts of history. And huge amounts of history are still being made there. Some of the times of year it can be very crowded, and weather is best at certain times of year. Different parts of the country are crowded at different times, and different parts are CLOSED at different times. So careful planning for your trip will be very well worth it.

To go to Israel, take this book, and as it says several times, also take a Bible. It will come alive for you there.

First I want to thank Fodors for publishing this book. It is absolutely fantastic. Lots of color pictures, maps and tours with places to go and things to see and do. I have kept this book close picking up all the time to read more and more. The descriptions are clear and concise. They even discuss security and safety there, which is a concern.

My wife and I like to travel After going through this book several times my wife and I decided it was about time we go there on a vacation. We are planning a trip now and believe me this book is going with us! Highly recommended!

Not every guidebook suggests that you take another book along with it on your trip, as does Fodor’s Israel… but then the other book that it suggests you take along is the Bible. They’re right, with your own spiritual guidebook to frame the modern descriptions and directions that easily meet Fodor’s high standards, you can’t go wrong with your visit to this most unique part of the world.

So, about those high standards that I attribute to Fodor’s; there is the wealth of vocabulary and phrases that won’t allow you to pass for a local, but will enable you to order a no-surprises dinner etc., the abundance of maps (all very easy to navigate from), and sections that can help relate your personal interests to your own custmomized itinerary. Fodor’s always excels at those facets.

But they also deal with the geopolitical realitiesl, and offer comforting suggestions as to how to get from one place to another safely and directly. Regardless of your religion, this guide will assist you in visiting the types of sites and experiences that will appeal to your personal beliefs or just guide you through one of the most archeologically fascinating parts of the world. An excellent resource!

Fodor’s Israel (8th Edition) is a good overview of this fascinating country. The book is organized into general sections for Israel, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Gaililee, and the Negev. Each section highlights spots worth visiting and gives hotel and restaurant information.

The maps are at just the right level of detail. Unfortunately they are not as easy to find as one might expect from a guidebook. There are no fold-out maps and you would want to mark specific map pages with tabs if you use this book to actually walk around Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

Remarkably little space is given in the book to security issues or safety tips.

Excellent!

Fodor’s travel guides are still the best for combining History, social & current events with educated tips on travel, money, food and lesser known sites.

The pictures are full color – many are taken by actual tourists and include an antidote as to where, when, why, how the experience came to be.

Also, and this is bigger than it might seem, the Fodor’s travel guides are half the weight of Lonely Planet & Let’s Go travel guides that our comparable to location topic and are actually sturdier in construction of the aforementioned guides.

Thorough, durable and fascinating! I can’t imagine using another travel guide.

As with other guides in the Fodor’s series, this book provides a good general guide for most people. Inexpensive accommodations and dining are listed, as well as more expensive sites, but this is not a guide for backpackers. Cultural background is provided, and there are many excellent color photos. Practical suggestions abound: the best ways to get around, how to avoid crowded times at the sites, when to eat where.
All the major cities and religious sites of Israel are well-covered, as well as the Golan Heights, Bethlehem and a few other sites in the West Bank, and Petra, Jordan. Since Israel is such a small country, one guide book is able to do a good job on covering the whole nation. The maps are numerous and quite good, from city center street maps to regional road maps. Depending on your interests, you may want to supplement this guide with a more specialized handbook for a particular interest, such as Biblical sites or nature parks, but Fodor’s provides a good overview for almost everyone.

I’ve been to Israel a few times before, but I really wanted to get as much out of it as I could this time. Fodor’s guide is very good – it covers all the basics you’ll need – hotels, museums, restaurants, maps, travel tips, etc. The main reason I can’t give it five stars is for lack of depth. I’m in Jerusalem where I’ve spent time before, and I wanted to really see the city and experience the history, of which it has plenty. The Fodor’s guide hits the big attractions – the temple mount/western wall, the Israel museum, and the other famous things. The problem is if you’ve spent any time here, you’ve probably done those already. There are so many great things that are not covered in the Fodor’s guide (the museum of the underground prisoners, nachlaot, ramat rachel, the Hurva, the museum about the fall of the Jewish quarter). Fodor’s is great if you only want to hit the tourist highlights, but if you want to get away from the hordes of tourists and actually experience the city in all it’s depth, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Fodor’s Israel full color guide is as visually appealing as it is informative. The pictures are plentiful with awe-inspiring scenes of Israel. Many are large in size.

The guide starts out with a map on the inside book jacket of Old City, Jerusalem. It then delves into a brief discussion on where the sites are located, a map of Israel, Israel’s top attractions, Israel today, a planner, traditions and customs. There are lessons on Israel’s religions. Some handy sections are “What to do if you have children”, beaches, the arts, and holidays. A short history of Israel is given as well.

The guide goes into great detail on Jerusalem with about everything to do and see there. Restaurants, bars, cafes, museums, monasteries, churches, temples, hotels, markets, nightlife and much more are covered with details on times open, location, phone numbers, costs and web addresses.

There is some information on the Dead Sea, again with what to see and do. Next is Bethlehem and what to do there. Tel Aviv and environs have a large section covered with about everything you would want to do listed. Hotels, bars, restaurants covered as well as markets, nightlife and local attractions. Good selection of restaurants are listed. Haifa and the Northern Coast are given attention too. The wine country was a pleasant surprise and the guide does a good job covering the details of this area. Galilee, Jordan Valley, Jezreel, Tzfat, the Golan, Eilat and the Negev have some good info. Even Petra is covered.

In back is a basic Hebrew vocabulary with basic phrases and words listed. A Palestinian Arabic vocabulary is also listed. Last is general info about trains, buses, airports, car and boat travel, taxis and Customs, all given brief coverage. Essentials on mail, the internet, insurance, passport and visa info as well as emergency info and money conversions, all listed in brief details. This is one handy guide and Fodor’s has come through again with another great guide.

I have been to Israel twice, each time on a guided tour which included hotels and many meals at venues selected by the tour operators. Each day’s activities were usually long and exhausting, with little free time left to explore on my own. I was therefore interested to see what this Fodor’s publication might offer to a traveler on a guided tour, as well as to those who might want to spend their entire or most of their trip exploring on their own. The bottom line is that this is an excellent comprehensive guide book that should be useful to all travelers.

Israel is steeped in history, so there is a chapter early in the book titled “Israel Through the Ages” which quickly covers Israel’s history starting in the early biblical period from 2000 to 1000 BC and continues up to Israel today. Fodor explains the relevance of each period to the three major religions. Historical information is also provided later in the book in Fodor’s description of individual points of interest.

The book is divided into sections that discuss Jerusalem, Around Jerusalem and The Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, Haifa and the Northern Coast, Lower Galilee, Upper Galilee and the Golan, and Eilat and the Negev. Each of these sections gives a comprehensive rundown on what to see and do and where to eat and stay. The listings of suggested restaurants and hotels are comprehensive for the most part. Some sights, restaurants and hotels are highly recommended as “Fodor’s Choice.”

Fodor gives a list of Israel’s top attractions (or what not to miss) and gives suggestions of what to see if your interests run in a particular area, including Archaeology, The Great Outdoors, Desert Adventures and Sacred Spaces. There are also many color photographs and maps of each area. The book also has a glossary of basic Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic vocabulary.

If you are planning a trip to Israel and you are not taking a guided tour, I recommend that you take a look at this or a similar travel guide before you leave home. Israel is not a place to “wing it” after you arrive – if you do, you run the risk of missing something special.

This book is a great prep for anyone who is or plans to go to Israel.
It has a small dictionary in there so you don’t need to carry a small electronic translator.
It has maps of the different attractions.
It also describes the area that has tension thus to be avoided.
The various attractions are described in enough detail for you to plan your trip.
This is a good book to skim through first.
Then when you are on the airplane, you can go detail on this book and plan your daily activity.

This is one of the best travel guides I’ve read.
I’d recommend this book.
Any more information on Israel, you have to go there for yourself.

Shalom!

This full-color travel guide will be a useful travel companion to places where internet connection may be difficult. The guide book is pretty comprehensive and the illustrations and pictures are vividly colorful!

Foder’s Israel is useful if you are planning a trip to Israel, wish you could go to Israel, for remembering your experience after your “Trip of a Lifetime”, or as a reference book for all sorts of useful information about Israel.

IMPORTANT NOTE: My personal most favorite part of this book is the very helpful list of words and phrases. You won’t be able to speak fluent Hebrew from that list, but you’ll know enough to enjoy the language, and most people in Israel speak English. You’ll also know quite a bit more than 99% of the tourists you’ll meet. I studied Hebrew for a couple of years before deciding to travel to Israel. The words and phrases they included in this book were excellent choices, just the ones you’ll need most. You will be glad you learned those particular words when you hear them crop up in conversations around you. It was great fun for me! Those who live there were surprised and pleased that I had made the effort to try to learn a little bit about their language. You don’t need to be an expert. Knowing just the list provided in this book will probably make your trip even more fun.

This is an excellent travel book for the area. Even the map on the inside of the first page is a helpful reference to the Old City in Jerusalem. More on why that is so important in just a minute. There is a great deal of information, so it is understandable that the print is fairly small. The book is packed with information helpful to those of all faiths, and some gorgeous, albeit small, pictures.

There is a one-page overview of the different parts of Israel, so you can plan your trip around those places you want to visit. The map on the next page references 7 areas and the chapters that cover them: Jerusalem, Around Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, Haifa and the Northern Coast, Lower Galilee, Upper Galilee and the Golan, Eilat (recently in the news) and the Negev.

The “Israel Planner” has sections on Getting Here, Getting Around, Driving Distances/times in Israel, Dining, Lodging, Renting A Car, and When to Go. There is important information on those 2 pages.

“Israel Made Easy” covers customs of the country, eating out, greetings, the Jewish Sabbath, Language, Money and Shopping, Safety, and visiting sacred sites. You’ll probably want to dress appropriately for certain sites and on certain days. I did, and was surprised to see that it was noticed and appreciated by locals of all faiths.

Next there are descriptions of Israel’s top attractions along with small, but helpful, pictures of those sites. This is followed by more insight into the culture of Israel.

I loved the section about “IF YOU LIKE…” Archaeology, The Great Outdoors, Desert Adventures, and Sacred Spaces, the different sites you might specifically enjoy.

There is enough about the people, religion, and state so the traveler will be informed. For example, I would have found it helpful to have read this brief section so I could have known a little about the Bedouin and Druze cultures, unfamiliar to me before I went, but which turned out to be fascinating!

The section on “Israel’s Top Experiences” is especially helpful for independent travelers, since the choices for those traveling in groups or tours have already been made for us. In my case we still got to do almost all of those things and I could have arranged to do others had I wanted to use some of the down time (which I used to rest, because we covered so much that any spare time to rest was welcome). Lodging options are given, but again, that’s only helpful for independent travelers or to check out the hotel arrangements your tour group has chosen. That comes in handy when your friends hear that you’re going to the Middle East and think you will be living in a tent in the desert eating locusts, as some of my friends wrongly assumed. I stayed in excellent hotels eating wonderful food and traveling on roads that were better than the pot-hole filled roads in my neighborhood at home. The weather was great in October when I went. It was not too hot at all, even in the desert. The book has information to help you choose the season to visit Israel. There are advantages to each season.

There’s a chapter about “Israel With Kids”, “Israel’s Major Holidays” (very important to know) are covered, and an overview of “Israel’s Main Markets”. This would be a MUST for those who are traveling independently, as would the section on “Israel’s Best Beaches”. There is a section on “Israel And The Performing Arts: Dance, Music, Theater, and Film.” There is a historical timeline: Prehistory, Early Biblical Period, United Monarchy, Second Temple Period, etc., with descriptions, art and photographs.

The maps of the Old City in Jerusalem would have helped me. I was disoriented at times about what I was seeing and where exactly we were, and we were moving fast, as most tours do.

Then the book gets to the really fun part, “GREAT ITINERARIES”, giving the description and the amount of time you might want to spend, 11-19 days, 3-4 days, etc. Obviously, this part is not for those who will be on tours where those decisions are already made, something I needed and wanted, at least for my first trip. I might consider traveling independently now that I know more about what I want to revisit.

If my own experience is any guide, you probably won’t have time to read much of the book on your way to or from (or resting after) exhausting trips to the various sites, but you might catch a minute to look something up. It would have been valuable to me on the way to Masada, for instance, to read over the various important sights we were going to see, to make sure I appreciated the significance of each. The tour guides can’t possibly cover everything and I wasn’t in hearing range of our guide much of the time. I missed things that I would have recognized after reading that section of this book. That’s one example of many of the sites covered. Others include the Dead Sea, Qumran, and the Sea of Galilee, an experience that topped all others for most of the travelers in the group I was in. That experience is not to be missed for a Christian (because we’ve read so much about Jesus at the Sea of Galilee)and I believe those of other faiths would enjoy it as well!

That’s the overview, but for those who are still wanting more information, I want to review it in stages, using my own experience as a reference, buying books with different goals in mind. I have several dozen books on Israel, a couple of which I took with me when I spent 22 days in the Middle East, 17 in Israel.

Goals and Purpose:

1.Experience the Spirit of Israel Without Being Able To Go There In Person: Originally I had bought books and videos about Israel feeling sure that I would never have the opportunity to go there. I just wanted to get as close as I could and hopefully get the feel of it as much as possible from a book and/or video. Conclusion: This book does have many sections that would help accomplish that goal. Certainly it would be a good place to start, leaving you wanting even more information about some of the topics. You can get specific books on those topics later if you are a curious person, love to learn, and love Israel like I do.

2.Planning Guide: I suddenly got up one morning and decided to go to Israel. I scheduled the trip and had 3 months to prepare. My goal changed. Now I wanted to learn as much as I could about the different sites that I was going to visit so I could appreciate them more. I had heard others say that tours went so fast that they didn’t even know what they saw when they were seeing it. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. I wanted to look up the various hotels we would be staying in so I could not only see where they were located, but know a little bit about them. Were they luxury hotels as they were supposed to be or would we be camping out in the desert?! What about safety? Conclusion: This book definitely accomplishes those goals.

3.Packable Tour Guide: I wanted a couple of books to pack in an already too full suitcase, so I could read up a little and get some extra insight on the way to and from the various sites, information the tour guides may not have time to mention. There are things that are important to me that might not be important to others. I absolutely had to include a camel ride while for others, that might not be something they would want to do. I didn’t want to miss anything! Conclusion: The book is full of good information, a little heavy to pack, but, depending on how much space you have, well worth it for reference during the trip. It would almost be a MUST if you are traveling independently.

4.Geographic and Historical Reference: Back home again, I realized that there were places that were a blur to me, just as they had been for others I had talked to. In fact, one person on the tour came up to me while we were walking in the Old City and said, “I didn’t even realize we were here on the Via Dolarosa until now when we are halfway through it”, and I had to admit that I hadn’t even realized where we were and what we were seeing until she had just told me! You had to be there to understand how something like that could happen. I wanted to better know where everything was in relation to everything else, especially in the Old City, which is very confusing. We had gone back several days, entering by different gates each time. Everything was entirely different depending on which gate we entered. I wanted something that would help me put the Old City of Jerusalem, the streets, the very important historic gates, and the cultural meanings and customs of the various sections, in perspective for me. Conclusion: That’s what I’m using the book for now, to fill in some areas where I had questions, to `remember’ some sites from the trip of my lifetime. While I was there, I refused to miss even one moment of the tour sites no matter how tired I was, even when others decided to take the day off and go shopping. Shopping was also fun on the several occasions we did that, particularly in Bethlehem and in Eilat. Now, I want to keep ALL those memories fresh with me for the rest of my life. I don’t want to forget even one moment of it. I have dozens of books that help me remember and understand more about what I saw and what I want to see next time I go. This one, with it’s many details, serves a purpose that most of the others have not.

Be ready to do a lot of detailed reading though. It isn’t a book that one would just sit down and read cover-to-cover, although I tried. There’s just too much in it to do that. You need time to digest it. There are times when I prefer a book with larger pictures and less reading, but this one is great for digging out the details.

I hope this has been helpful to someone. Shalom!

Always helpful and good. I used this for Tel Aviv on a recent business trip when I had a few extra days to enjoy myself. The guide is very easy to read and it’s easy to find interesting things to do when and where you need them.

This is an easy to understand and use travel guide. I will study it before and take it with me on our upcoming first visit to Israel.

Amazon got me a geat price for a like-new edition.