Reviews (4)

The Best Stories in the World
I recommend this book to all people, especially the Puerto Ricans, because it talks about our roots, our culture and our different ethnic origins.After you read this book you will understand our Spanish people more, know about our needs and be more understandable of Puerto Rican people.
Reviews from California : Repasos de California
I found this book to be very helpful in two important ways: widening myperspective of Latin culture, and bettering my Spanish readingcomprehension. The 18 stories are each short enough to keep the readerinterested in the story, but filled with enough vocabulary to keep him orher constantly learning. Plus, the reader that is a little shaky can usethe opposite page in English as a crutch, and there is also an index ofvocabulary in the back of the book if one would prefer that approach. Iwould recommend this book to anyone who wants to further their vocabulary,while at the same time broaden their cultural perspective.

Puerto Rico's Tales & Legends in One Book
As a compilation of 18 legends, true-life experiences, and mysteries, "Stories from Puerto Rico," provides that reader with a widearray of stories all relating to the island's folklore and supernaturaloccurrences. The book's bilingual text, allowing both English andSpanish-language readers to enjoy these tales and accounts. Thechronological order of these stories also is beneficial to classify whichlegends/accounts are recent and which are from the Spanish-colonial era.The tales in this book goes as follows:Read more

Subjects:  1. Bilingual books    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Fiction - General    4. Legends    5. Puerto Rico    6. Readers    7. Short Stories (Anthologies)    8. Spanish language    9. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    10. Travel    11. Language readers    12. Spanish    13. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (3)

As the title says:"Magnifico!"
Having travelled to Puerto Rico dozens of times over the past twenty years (and I lived there for a time as well), I have to say this is absolutely the most impressive and complete "coffee-table" book on theisland that I have ever seen. It is large-format, filled with superb colorphotographs (including a lot of aerials and a fascinating "then andnow" chapter of archival pictures side-by-side with the same scene asit is today). And the text doesn't insult your intelligence -- it's aconcise overview of Puerto Rico's history. An added plus is the Spanishtranslation (done by a Puerto Rican translator) at the back of the book --too many books about Puerto Rico ignore the island's linguistic heritage!I've given several copies to friends who love the island. The jacket blurbsays the author was once a Peace Corps Volunteer, and it shows ... this isa real in-depth portrait, not just "post-cardy" superficialcoverage.

Magnificent Arm Chair Travel
For anyone familiar or unfamiliar with Puerto Rico, this superb pictorial and eloquently written portrait of this country, its culture, its people and its history, will bring the reader palpably close to the very pulse ofthe island.Page after page of breathtaking photography and descriptivenarrative succeed in transporting you to the the subject matter at hand. Both visually and verbally, this book lifts you right off each page as itgives you a soaring birdseye view of one of the Caribbean's most beautifulisland destinations.The overall impact of this book on one's senses canonly be exceeded by actually being there.Otherwise, be prepared for someunsurpassable armchair travel.

The ultimate guide to Puerto Rico.
This stunner provides you with two books rolled into one, a beautiful and timeless collection of more than 100 lush photographs as well as an easy-to-read history of Puerto Rico.It is apparent from the obvious careand attention to detail that went into this book that the author is bothdedicated to his craft and enamored of the people and island that he isprofiling.The book depicts the great diversity of Puerto Rico -- from thehustle and bustle of its urban centers (including the grand architecturalheritage) to the most desolate and pristine parts of the island, shown bothin close-up and from the air.The stars of the book are the peoplethemselves, who act as guides to the island and invite you to visit themfor the first time or simply to return again as old friends. A highlyrecommended work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Photography / Photo Essays    2. Travel    3. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies    4. Caribbean & West Indies    5. Description and travel    6. Photo Essays    7. Photography    8. Pictorial works    9. Puerto Rico    10. Travel - Foreign   

Reviews (3)

A Cultural Tour of Puerto Rico for Mid-Income Tourists
This is a good guide for seeing the cultural sights of Puerto Rico, especially in San Juan.The book is geared towards travellers only moderately concerned with budget.A few pieces of information are outdated, such as bus numbers and changes in price, but the numbering system (up to three stars) is useful for the first-time traveller with little knowledge of the country.Detailed descriptions of the sights in San Juan help visitors get a sense of the city's history while the walking tour takes them around to key spots.There is a comparable walking tour of Ponce, along with a description of the Museo de Arte de Ponce which prevented me from missing out on this fine museum. Ponce is the only place where we tried one of the listed hotels. Although the book described Hotel Belgica as "roughing it," we thought the accommodations were fine and enjoyed the unusual atmosphere of an old-style hotel.The book is full of useful tidbits.For example, en route to Parguera (which should get two stars, not one), the name of the road changes several times along the way (101, 116, 315, 305, 304).No wonder people get confused.Additional information: The book should include a warning that the $5 boat trip to the Phosphorescent Bay near Parguera doesn't let you see much, so it's best to go with the friendly folks at Paradise Scuba Center (the address is listed).Additionally, the Rio Camuy Cave Park sometimes sells out of tickets by 9am (especially on weekends), so it's best to get there early.Finally, good snorkeling is available in San Juan on the west side of the Wyndham Hotel (Condado).

Why doesn't someone write a decent travel guide to PR?
I've used this guide for three PR vacations, and each time I want to throw it across the hotel room. But I can't because the other guides are even worse or even less comprehensive. What's the problem with this one? The lack of description: it gives you no feel as to what makes each beach/hotel unique.Invariably every second beach is summed up vaguely as 'one of the bestbeaches on the island,' even if one has brownish sand and no snorklingwhile another "best" beach is pristine white, loaded with fish,and secluded. It's the same with hotels, too, except there's no explanationof what the mood is like there, what kind of people stay there, what theview is like, what the rooms are like, if there's a bar to hang out inafter dinner, how close the beach is.... It's almost comic, except whenyou're trying to figure out where to spend your precious time and money. This book had few redeeming qualities.
My husband and I purchased this book to go on our honeymoon and were sorely disappointed.The descriptions were vague and often downright incorrect.Luquillo beach, which the authors described as one of the bestbeaches in the Carribean, had dingy grey water and was filled with garbage. This is only one example of many many misrepresentations.The guideleaned almost exclusively to very expensive restaurants, and even thesewere nothing to write home about.We had more luck after we ditched theguide and started exploring on our own.Its one good point was someinteresting background on the history of Puerto Rico.However, this wasnot enough to make me buy another Frommer's guide. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Reviews (1)

Puerto Rico Island in the Sun
This is an excellent book from Puerto Rico. It will help you if would like to share with others how beautiful is our island or if you live far away from PR and like to remeber and see beautiful images of PR.It offers a great variety of images from Old San Juan to Cabo Rojo's lighthouse.
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Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Description and travel    3. Photography    4. Photography / Travel    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies    8. Views    9. Pictorial works   

Reviews (4)

Better than nothing
I bought this book 2 years ago for a trip to Puerto Rico.It was a bit outdated than.I traveled there again 9/2/06 to 9/11/06, this was my fifth time, so I have a bit more knowledge than the first timer.For the most part every bit of information about Rincon is inaccurate.Everything closes the week of labor day until around the end of October, so do not go there during those dates, you will have wasted your day.Well not everything is closed, Rincon proper is still open.And you can always watch the surfers at sandy beach or go snorkeling at steps beach (rent your gear at Taino Divers, they are still open).In fact there is a great coffee house that stays open,(better than starbucks and they have soy milk!) it is called Taino international cafe, try their frozen coffee drinks, they also have WiFi.
Very UNHAPPY with this book
We just came back from a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico (04/21 - 05/01, 2006) and we have to COMPLETELY disagree with the previous review. In fact, we were thinking about burning this LP copy. Don't get us wrong, we own several copies of LP for China, Eucador, South America, Guatamala, and etc. But we have serious reservation about recommending this one to anyone else. Here are some of the reasons:
Very UNHAPPY with this book
I just came back from a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico (04/21 - 05/01, 2006) and I have to COMPLETELY disagree with the previous review. In fact, I was thinking about burning this LP copy. Don't get me wrong, I own several copies of LP for China, Eucador, and etc. But I have serious reservation about recommending this one to anyone else. Here are some of the reasons:
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Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Puerto Rico    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Guidebooks    3. Puerto Rico    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel Guides    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Reviews (3)

Bad
This map is another bad map of the island.I bought several before I spent the summer there, and I threw this one away.It must be over 10 years old.I bought one from a local gas station on the island which was cheaper, and much, much better.

Outdated, Outdated, Outdated
This map has just not kept up with the times!There are errors throughout - you just can't trust it.The only map really sold on the island is from Metrodata and its updated every year.I wouldn't trust any other road maps of Puerto Rico.

MapEasy To Use
This map is easy to use.It folds and unfolds easy and isn't difficult to manipulate like paper maps.The level of detail on this map is a lot better that the level of detail provided on maps provided by Puerto Rico hotels and Car Rental agencies.
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Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Maps    3. Maps & Road Atlases    4. Travel - United States    5. United States - General    6. Maps, charts & atlases    7. Mexico    8. Puerto Rico   

Reviews (5)

A Nature Tour of Puerto Rico
This is a strong guide for active, nature-loving travellers but also includes information on Internet cafes, bicycle rentals, and the bus system in San Juan.We especially appreciated the list of unusual accommodations.Our favorite was Casa Cubuy on the south side of El Yunque.We had a lovely and memorable stay at this guest house thanks to a friendly host, interesting guests, and stunning views of the rain forest.Other accommodations we enjoyed included Hotel Belgica in Ponce and Villa Cofresi, an affordable resort in Rincon.The book also includes detailed information on the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan, live music spots, and the Arecibo Observatory.The volume shortchanges the striking Rio Camuy Cave Park and lists Old San Juan attractions in a confusing order, but it has interesting extras, such as the blurb about the curious Boiling Nuclear Superheater in Rincon and an explanation of a local pirate, Roberto Cofresi.The concise road maps helped us navigate smaller highways while the hiking maps for the Guanica Forest Reserve and El Yunque helped us guestimate the time needed for an adequate visit.We were especially glad we didn't miss the Bahia Fosforescente (Phosphorescent Bay). The tabs along the edge of the book (south coast, etc.), made for particularly quick reference.

Not really a new edition
We were fairly disappointed with this book. True, although the information was a bit old (and some incorrect), it was satisfactory. But we had used Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico by Harry S. Pariser and this was supposed to be a new edition. However, much of the information that made the other book so enjoyable was missing. We did discover that Harry S. Pariser has a new guidebook, Explore Puerto Rico. We got this guide in time for our trip and used it as well. It was much more compact and had new information in it. It has much better maps and has more information than the previous editions. We found it to be the best guide!

Thorough and descriptive
A down-to-earth guide. Information-packed, offering comprehensive and interesting facts about every aspect of the island.Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Puerto Rico    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Puerto Rico    2. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (1)

Below par for most of the Let's Go series
I have used Let's Go as a resource for many of my backpacking trips in the past and bough the PR version hoping to have the same sucess. However I found many inaccuracies in this "updated" edition including wrong times for the ferries to the Spanish Virgin Islands, incorrect prices for guesthouses, plane tickets, campsites and public transportation and failed to include when some beaches would be closed. It was a good guide for getting around the island as most of the directions were useful but just be aware that some information will not be the most up to date. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. United States - West - Pacific (General)    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Reviews (3)

Prepare to get lost...
While this map is nice because its laminated, don't count on the information!Many roads are mislabeled and/or missing altogether.Don't waste your money here - the best Puerto Rico map is the one sold in the gas stations and drug stores on the island.

Horrible Map - Avoid
This is NOT the map to buy for your trip to the island.Its old, and many of the roads have changed - new roads aren't on the map!Don't waste your money.

Handy, Durable Map for your Visit to Puerto Rico
Compact, durable, and handy are the three words that come to mind when I purchased this map for my trip to Puerto Rico. Produced by the staff of Insight Guides, this laminated map comes in a handy, foldable format, that allows the user to carry around in such places as a purse and pocket. Besides covering the island, there is a small inset map of the capital city of San Juan, and relevant information on things visitors should know when on the island (e.g., currency used, language, voltage standards, etc.). Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Maps    3. Maps & Road Atlases    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel - United States    7. United States - General    8. Puerto Rico    9. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (19)

Fantastico!

A good read

Very socially responsible, refreshingly honest
It was a refreshingly honest look at the island and its culture. Rarely does a guide book both respect a place and give you the 'warts and all' assessment of what goes down there and how. Very glad to have bought and read it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. United States - General    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Caribbean islands    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Puerto Rico    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Reviews (4)

Good Guide
I am going to Puerto Rico for a vacation. This book will help me to identify the birds that i might see.
A Very Good Guide
This guide to Puerto Rico's birds is really quite strong and useful, especially when combined with the information on the included CD (which is well organized in both English and Spanish.) Who wouldn't love to just sit at their computer all day and listen to birdsong, at least when they can't be out in the mountains or mangroves of PR?? I found the photographs quite satisfactory for ID purposes (not something to be taken lightly) and the narrative information is very useful.
Perfect Guide when birding in Puerto Rico
This is the perfect guide book for birding in Puerto Rico. The photographs, 1340 in all, are brilliant, and the text is detailed and rich in information. The guide itself will easily fit into a pocket or day pack and so when out in the field you will have it at your fingertips. Read more

Subjects:  1. Birds    2. Birds & Birdwatching - Guides    3. Nature    4. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching    5. Photo Essays    6. Photography    7. Pictorial works    8. Puerto Rico    9. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    10. Subjects & Themes - Travel - General    11. Birds & Birdwatching    12. Birdsongs    13. Multimedia    14. Songs and music   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Guidebooks    3. Nature    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Puerto Rico    7. Reference    8. Virgin Islands of the United S    9. Virgin Islands of the United States    10. Wildlife    11. Wildlife viewing sites    12. Wildlife watching    13. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Reviews (3)

The Complete diving Guide,
This is one of the most thorough and up to date dive travel books I've ever read. We used a lot of the information on diving and related material on our recent trip to P.R. and found it very helpfull and accurate.

A very comprehensive guide to the Virgin Islands
I have been meaning to review this book for some time as it is one of the most thumbed books on our book shelf.My wife and I run a charter yacht in the Virgin Islands and many of our guests are keen divers.We bought TheComplete Diving Guide for our own use initially but it has since becomepart of the yacht's library as our guests find it so useful and enjoyableto read.(as our copy is getting rather worn I'm pleased to say that manyof them buy their own copy after having seen ours).It is rare to find abook that is so comprehensive and which presents a vast amount ofinformation in such a readable manner.In particular we find the islandand dive site maps useful along with the descriptions of the dives and theunderwater route maps.I can direct our guests at the tyupe of dive that Ithink they would enjoy and they can read about it beforehand.They canalso choose the dive store they would like to use.I'd thoroughlyrecommend it to anyone planning to do some diving in the Virgin Islands (iteven covers the Spanish Virgin Islands).

ultimate dive guide
I'd definitely give this guide full marks. It's without doubt the most comprehensive of the guides I looked at for the area I was travelling to (the Virgin Islands). It had everything we could have wanted to know and itdefinitely meant we did some better diving than we'd have done without it.We particularly liked that it gave us information about the British and USVirgin Islands and as they are less than 5 miles apart it's simple to diveboth areas. They have some really different types of diving and we'd havemissed out on a lot without the guide. We bought the book before we wentbut we took it along with us and used it all the time. One of the things weenjoyed reading was the descriptions of the dives and the sections aboutthe marine life. We've been diving for over 10 years and I've learnt morefrom this book than I have in my previous years of diving. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Database Management - General    2. General    3. Reference - General    4. Sports    5. Sports & Recreation    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Water Sports    8. Caribbean    9. Guides    10. Puerto Rico    11. Scuba    12. Scuba Diving    13. Sub-aqua swimming    14. Travel & holiday guides    15. Virgin Islands   

Reviews (2)

Duped and Had
My first reaction to this book was one of excitment, this came from my first perusing the pictures.I was, however, severly disappointed when I actually got into the information that the book contained.The first quarter of the book is devoted to a breif and very lacking overview of Puerto Rico. Although not that useful it didn't hurt. However, there were two things that really bothered me about the book.First was that almost all of the dive sites listed need a guide.The second was that despite the fact that it claims to be a snorkel and dive guide book there is virtually zero snorkel information and of the few sights mentioned only 3, I believe, were actually not seemingly impossible to get to.In fact, my old budget travel guide for puerto rico had over three times as manysnorkelnig sites, with, as I was dismayed to see, a lot of sites that were not even included in the SNORKEL and dive guide.How a guide on underwater adventure can be outshown by a general travel guide is beyond me but it is.Do not buy this book if you are planning to mix dives with snorkel and are looking for an all inclusive, it just doesn't have the info.Also, as I said most of the dives require a guide which makes the information in the book rather pointless as the guides will know where the great sites are and a quick conversation can lead you to your next guide and site.This, it seems is probably what the guy who wrote the book did, just went from guide to guide.The main dive areas are well know on the island and you aren't really getting any information that you couldn't just by being here get yourself.My vote, Not worth it.

Great Diving ifno for Puerto Rico
It covered most of the island with greta details and information.it is a shamed that it di not cover mona Island the best dive site in PR.Also, it lacks enough info on shore dive in the island.But overall it gives you enough information to keep you wanting to go back to Puerto rico to dive. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Scuba & Snorkeling    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. United States - General    6. Puerto Rico    7. Sub-aqua swimming    8. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (3)

Lacking in Maps and Hotel Information
I found this a well written book that captured the feel of Puerto Vallarta and helpul for dining, shopping and background information.However the maps were inadequate and the hotel information very skimpy.I realise that it is a compact book but it should have a couple of detailedone or two page maps of the entire area showing road names.Unfortunately there are no maps in print to supplement the tiny vague maps in this book.

Frommer's Portable Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo & Guadalajara
On the plus side, this book is well-organized, easy to read, and up-to-date.However, for a book with only three cities to cover, it's rather skimpy on useful information.For example, for Puerto Vallara, it has only two hotels listed in the Marina area, ONE hotel listed for the popular northern "hotel zone," three hotels listed in the downtown area (one of which has only 13 units), and three hotels in the southern "hotel zone" (one of which has only 7 units). It completely leaves out many nice and popular hotels, incldinng the "Krystal," "Sheraton Buganvilias", "Buenaventura," and "Jolla de Mismaloya." The restaurant section is also unreasonably skimpy, especially for someone who plans to stay there a week or more. Although I understand that the guide is supposed to be "Portable," there certainly seemed to be other information in the book which probably would interst a smaller number of people.For example, it would seem unlikely that a person wanting only information on Jalisco and Colima states would drive to this area, yet there's a large section dealing with this.Likewise, information on all the embassies (New Zealand, etc.) in Mexico City is probably less useful that more restaurant and hotel choices in Puerto Vallarta.

Frommer's Mexico books are the best!
I've used the big Frommer's Mexico book countless times, but this small book is a must for anyone going to the Pacific Coast. The author hails from Puerto Vallarta, and her love for the town shows. Her dining reviews aregreat, and took me to some great "finds." My only suggestionwould be more hotel reviews! Great job overall. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Guadalajara (Mexico)    2. Guidebooks    3. Manzanillo (Colima, Mexico)    4. Mexico    5. Puerto Vallarta (Mexico)    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Travel Guides    9. Puerto Rico    10. Travel & holiday guides