Fodor's Cuba, 1st Edition: Expert Advice and Smart Choices: Where to Stay, Eat, and Explore On and Off the Beaten Path (Fodor's Gold Guides)

I found this guide far too barren and difficult to use. The entire history of Cuba for the last fifty years gets only eight scant paragraphs in a section call "The Way to Revolution" and "Today and Tomorrow!" The index DID NOT list hotels or restaurants and this required that I to flip through the sections until I found the listing I wanted information on (especially a hassle in Havana). There were only 11 maps and they need improvement.

Also, instead of giving the general price of lodging or restaurant meals along with the listing, they give a code (listed in the front of the book) next to the site description ($$$ which = $100 to $150) but, then, that is for a double occupancy in high season. The guide listed my hotel, Ambos Mundos, as $$$ when I paid only $65 for a single in high season, thus the guide was not much help to me on this regard either. There were no email or Internet addresses (especially for the hotels) to speak of, even though the date of publication is 2000. Yet when I checked, almost every hotel had email whereby you could make reservations and get additional information and some had there own web page. Finally, another irritant, which has become common in Fodor's guides, is the intrusive color pages of paid advertisements for various products or service, which I immediately tore out and tossed. I am under the conviction that I have already paid once for the book and this is double indemnity.

On the positive side I found the Havana Dining and Lodging Map very useful; as I did the short list of "must experience" while in Cuba, called 'Fodor's Choice'. If you want just a quick digest that gives you a capsule run down on Cuba, a few basic maps, then this guide will be adequate. However, there are significantly better guides that I recommend you consider first. Conditionally recommended