While I'm busy researching my upcoming trip to Spain's Andalucia and Costa del Sol area, I thought I'd review one of the guides that I've been reading. The DK Eyewitness Top 10 Andalucia & Costa del Sol guide has been very helpful in giving a good overview of the area. It contains (as the name suggests) loads of top 10 lists of the sights, sounds and activities of the area.
My mother gave me the DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Malta guide when we went to visit that country, and I found it really helpful for our week-long whirlwind trip. So I scoured all our local bookstores in search of the Andalucia and Costa del Sol guide and jumped for joy when I finally found the last copy in an out-of-the-way shop. I read through the whole book that same night. It contains an abundance of information, although only in very short paragraphs. It also has hundreds of pictures, but in my opinion most of them are so small that you hardly get any idea of what you’re looking at. However, it does include a handy little pull-out roadmap of the area, as well as the usual area maps in the guide itself.
The book is divided into three main sections:
- Andalucia’s Top 10, in which it highlights Andalucia’s main attractions, each covering two pages with short descriptions and pictures of the main features of the attraction. Further on the sights make way for such things as the top 10 beaches, hotels, restaurants, tapas bars and holiday events. Example: the city of Granada is a top 10 must-see for Andalucia.
- Around Town, where a certain part of Andalucia is explored in more detail and the top 10 attractions of that part pointed out, for example the top 10 must-sees in Granada.
- Streetsmart, which gives general helpful hints and tips on such topics as things to avoid, banking, security and, my favourite, a small phrase book.
I found this guide to be very helpful in getting a good idea of what the most important attractions of the area are. If you’re looking for in-depth, detailed information however, I would rather recommend getting a book that has a little more substance to it. The Top 10 Andalucia and Costa Del Sol guide is good for an overview and as a quick reference while on holiday.
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Labels: Andalucia, book review, Costa del Sol, Spain
