Customer Reviews

Frommer's New Zealand

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book touts itself as being the most comprehensive up-to-date with exact information and prices. Not so! It may have been published this year but we found many of the places reviewed had closed, moved or were renamed & under new management. Several other places of interest to travelers were totally ignored: for example, the coverage of the botanical gardens in Christchurch fails to give any information at all about the Carter Observatory located there. And don't think that all those "free" museums are really without cost! Several had suggested "donations" posted at their turnstile entrances that would take a lot more chutzpah than I possess to bypass without paying. Frommer's idea of moderately priced facilities would give most travelers a heart attack and the restaurants reviewed are hit or miss. For example the highly praised Saugero Mexican Restaurant in Queenstown puts broccoli and carrots in their chicken burritos which is only to be discovered after a shocking first bite; neither the menu nor the guidebook gives warning to these unusual ingrediants. Do yourself a favor and consult several guidebooks to give yourself more options and always trust the locals over anything your travel books may say.

For the areas, attractions, restaurants and sights covered I found this guide spot on. The problems are 1) it doesn't cover smaller towns which is helpful when you are driving just to know where it might be useful to stop, get lunch, etc 2)the accommodations really focus on high-end places. I have used many other Frommers and moderate is usually around $100-200, but here it was much more. I found myself wishing I had another guide for accomodations.

As a first time vistor to New Zealand, I found this book to be extremely helpful. It provided an informative overview of the country, and the various recommendations for accommodations and travel services were, for me, very reliable. I used it constantly both before and during the trip.

This guide is an excellent introduction to New Zealand for the first-time traveler. The organization is helpful and the area details are of great value in planning self-guided itineraries.

We were able to focus our two weeks in the country on areas of particular interest because of this guidance.

I found the criticisms on Frommer's NZ mostly incorrect. At least, I did not have the same experience as the two critics. I consider this book reliable. Actually, certain information in the book closely assembles those on the leaflets found at the tourist information centers. Tourists can find many helpful facilities in NZ and anyone can have a pleasant trip in NZ without a guide book. However, the valuable parts of this book came from the writer. Adrienne is a New Zealander. I trusted the ratings, followed the recommendations, suggested itineraries ... and had a wonderful experience in NZ.

It is a completely unreliable book. Two of the most highly rated places (* places) turned out to be total fiascos. They rated a place- a luxury upscale B&B 'The Dairy' in Queenstown as highly recommended. It was expensive by NZ standards and turned out to be worse than any cheap motel I have stayed in USA. The restaurant recommendations were similarly unreliable. In fact the only two really unpleasant experiences we had in the whole trip were based on the sole recommendations of this guide.

I have not traveled to New Zealand for almost 5 years, so I was looking for a book to update me on where to go and what to do. Also, I plan to drive for the first time in that country. Frommers really gives me lots of things to do and see. Thanks, Frommers! P.S.I love your books no matter where I travel!