Yucatan & Southern Mexico

by Nick Rider

Written with Cadogan''s ususal wit and insigh t, this guidebook explores the beaches and diving of the Car ibbean coast, Mayan ruins and rainforest reserves, the colon ial cities of Merida and San... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1860110932
• ISBN13: 9781860110931
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Everyman Publishers
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent for visiting Mayan sites

I have just returned from a two week driving vacation that visited 23 Mayan ruins and several museums and cities between Cancun and San Cristobal de Las Casas. I used it for hotel reservations as well as Mayan site and city visits and found it to be excellent, much better than the Moon guide or the Kelly guides to ruins. It let me down only once, in Cuidad de Carmen, where it had no map of the city, and its hotel recommendations were incomplete and misleading. Otherwise it was accurate and up to date. I recommend it highly to travelers who want comfort but not luxury, and who like to travel fast and intensively.

What a guidebook should be

I'll add my voice to the chorus of praise, with one very small caveat. Comprehensive, in-depth, great historical background to put everything in perspective. We traveled with this and the Lonely Planet, but eventually just left the Lonely Planet in the car at all the sites, as Nick covered things so much better. But this is starting to get a bit out of date - published in 2002, so much of the info is now 4 years old. While there was more practical information (restuarants, hotels, etc.) here than I expected, it's worth the few extra bucks to get another, more updated guidebook as well.

Best guide book on the Maya region

Nick Rider's travel guide is by far the best book for visiting Maya/Toltec sites in this region. I always use a Cadogan guide when one is available. They are the most intelligently written and informative of all the guide books currently on the market. Although they can be a bit dry, they are normally written by people who really know their subject well. Rough Guide/Lonely Planet/Let's Go guides, for example, are heavy and filled with reams of irrelevant pages you will never look at if you have ever ventured outside the safety of your living room. Cadogan guides assume you have a brain and you want to find out as much about the local area as possible - while still providing the essential travel tips. This one covers the Mayan region of Southern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Where it excels is its descriptions of the amazing archaeological sites you will encounter, their history and the relationship between indigenous Maya people and those descended from the Conquistadors. The author was a postgraduate in Mesoamerican studies and provides - what I think - is one of the best introductions to Mayan culture, architecture and its famous calendar that I have encountered. For those who are interested there's also a list of further Maya reading, a great food section and loads of stuff on towns/cities, travel timetables and dinky places to stay. Armed with this book, you'll really feel you are being accompanied by a knowledgeable guide who isn't there solely to relieve you of your money. On many occasions I found the book more insightful than hiring a local. Thankfully, Cadogan have revamped the cover and it looks much better.

An indispensable companion for travel and sightseeing.

My boss lent me a copy of the British (Cadogan) edition, which he'd purchased in Merida, just before we left on vacation and I couldn't thank him enough when I got back. Not only are the lodging, dining, shopping, travel and sightseeing recommendations incredibly useful and on the mark, but there's a meaty and fascinating history up front to put everything in context. If you take one book with you to this region, this is the one.

Very informative!!!

We used your your book to travel from Merida to Chitchen Itza to Tulum and Cancun in 9 days. We would have never made it without this book. We travelled using public transportation and all the schedules on the book were quite accurate. It gave us enough details on every place we visited but left out enough to still make the trip a great adventure. Please write one on the Philippines. I can't find one like your book.