This rather klunky title encompasses what most people in the U. S. have to select from when they go to the book store. I've tried to call your attention to unusual guides that you might overlook and give you a sense of the character of the guide.

Everybody is always asking "is there a ferry to...?" And the answer is usually the same: if you can't stand on the dock itself and inquire, do the next best thing and read this unique, comprehensive book.

The book gives the schedule for every island and for the various mainland locations. You also get an overview of the various route patterns. This is especially valuable given the somewhat random nature of the schedule of Greek ferries. The route patterns and timings are key for planning a general strategy to serious island hopping.

Beyond this basic information, the annual guide offers wonderful gossipy reviews of individual boats, companies, and the changing picture of ferry travel from year to year. There are also little intros to the various islands. These island reviews are notable for detailed maps of the port cities showing where the boats land and the location of selected hotels. Note that: many islands have more than one location for the boats to dock. You could wind up a hundred yards or more away from where you need to be. With this guide you'll not be surprised.

Utterly essential guide for ferry travel.

Also covers air travel.

Annual editions.

Even ferry schedules published on site in Greece are notoriously "selective" in their accuracy, so how good can this book be? Obviously, I've not checked everything, but for the (very) few journeys I and my friends have taken, it has proved accurate.

So I would absolutely rely on this for planning a trip, but in no way rely on it day to day when I was in Greece. Go to the ferry agents or perhaps to the dock itself. Double check WITH THE SPECIFIC COMPANY YOU ARE USING, because what company A tells you about Company B is next to useless. Bear in mind that schedules do reduce in the off season.

Bottom line: this book is essential. Rough Guides call it "superb, user-friendly."

Mainland Greece (Neos Guide)
Michelin Travel Publications
www.ViaMichelin.com

2002; 496 pages

Rates sights; lists the essential things to see.

Tied to the Michelin maps.

Begins with 50 pages on "Setting the Scene" discussing history, flora, fauna, Greece today, art and architecture and Greek mythology. Another 40 pages on "Meeting the People" discuss daily life, social etiquette, religion, music, language and other topics. Twenty more pages on travel practicalities precede coverage of the mainland (Athens, Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia and Trace) as well as close in islands (The Ionian Islands).

Each section has quick info on the essential things not to miss as well as important pointers to remember.

The travel information is knowledgeable and aimed at the serious traveler.

It uses the Michelin system of rating sights with one, two or three stars and provides cross references to the Michelin maps.

Goodly number of photos and maps.

Beautiful photos.

Coverage of art.

3-D maps of key cities.

This offers a real visual feast. In a somewhat awkward vertical format of 9 by 4 1/2 inches, its 450 pages cover not only Athens, but Piraeus, Sounion, Delphi, Corinth and much of the Peloponnese (though not in the detail that Athens is covered)

The first 100 pages of the book are interesting essays and pictures dealing with: natural flora and fauna; history, mythology and language; traditional costumes; food and celebrations; architecture and excerpts from the work of painters and writers. This is followed by 150 pages devoted to Athens sites from all eras. There is an interesting and slightly defensive essay from Manolis Korres about the theory and practice for restoration of the Parthenon. The guide moves beyond the obvious: there is also coverage of Roman Athens, 19th century mansions, the national university and other aspects of the city.

Visually it is stunning, using its slick paper to advantage to offer such items as some small reproductions of representative paintings by Parthenis, Tsarouchis, Ghikas and Pierrakos; several photos of old time Athens and Piraeus; and a number of religious works. Many pictures of sites, ancient works, and maps are present, including some of 3-D maps to orient you to sites.

The editors are to be congratulated for their choices: for example, even the few pages on Nafplio convey a surprising amount of information and give a feel for the texture of the city.

There is some coverage of hotels and restaurants, but nothing the average tourist guidebook wouldn't cover in more depth.

For an interesting review of this guide as it compares to the similarly-formatted "Eyewitness" series, see Bill Newlin's comments at: http://www.moon.com/tm/tmearly/00dkvsknopf.html/

Greece: Athens & the Mainland
Eyewitness Travel Guides
DK Publishing,
first American edition, 1997
$24.95, 352 pages
ISBN 0-7894-1452-x

(2003 edition available)

The tag line is "The Guides that show you what others only tell you." For once, a tag line is accurate. This series, like the Knopf guide to Athens, is a highly visual book, printed on slick paper. Each page, almost, is in color, and takes advantage of it to include pictures of locations, artifacts and so on. Much use is made of three-dimensional reconstruction of ancient buildings.

The contents for the "Greece" volume include sections as follows: Introduction (30 pages), Ancient Greece (15 pages on history, the gods, etc.), Athens (70 pages), Mainland Greece (130 pages), traveler's needs, and a survival guide. Note that the Greek Islands are described in a separate book in this series.

The emphasis here is on the visual, coverage of hotels and restaurants is minimal.

This book says nothing about hotels or restaurants, and is proud of it. What this is, is a sort of one volume archeological guide to the entire country. For almost every location, not just the tourist biggies, this guide gives info on ancient ruins, cemeteries, notable historical sites, etc., etc. While you will find more on a given site in a book specializing in that area, I don't know of a book with as comprehensive a coverage for the entire country.

Bookstore folk can deny that a "Blue Guide: Athens" exists, but it does. The "Athens" version has 230 pages on Athens proper and another 50 on day trips to Sounion, Lavrio, Dhafni, Marathon among others. By contrast the "Greece" edition has just 35 pages on Athens proper.

Frommer's looks at the reasonable end of things, not the cheapest places (see Rough Guide for that) but the low to middle. This is where Greece shines in accommodations. For not much more than you'd pay for a normal chain hotel in the US you can have clean, comfortable lodging within walking distance of the major sites. This guide also covers eating places, but they come and go and there are so many of them, I've never thought this was of much use.