Eyewitness Travel Guide to Greek Islands

Beyond its mainland, Greece includes more than 2,000 islands, large and small, and DK's Eyewitness Travel Guide; The Greek Islands is the first step to take before visiting these scenic wonders. With more than 750 full-color photographs, this encyclopedic handbook divides these remarkable islands into seven regional chapters, each focusing on the main towns and villages, with 3-D aerial maps directing you to all the main sights. Visit the Palace of St. Michael and St. George, the Old Fortress, and the Paper Money Museum on the island of Corfu in the Ionic Islands. Travel to the Temple of Aphaia on Aigina in the Argo-Saronic Islands and to the Palace of the Grand Masters and the Street of Knights on Rhodes in the Dodecanse chain. From hilly terrain to sun-drenched beaches, from historical significance to classic cuisine, the best of the Greek Islands are encapsulated in this entertaining and educational travel guide.

But don't solely rely on this book to plan your trip. The list of hotels in this book is very small. For example, the book gives the names of only 2 hotels in Mykanos, one of the most popular Greek islands. The maps are small and very sketchy. Be prepared to buy a local map as soon as you reach a city. The book gives timings for major attractions, but be prepapred to double check them when you reach the city. For instance, the timings provided for the Athens Acropolis in the book are not up-to-date. Finally, if you are a backpacker and are worried about ounces, remember that this book is heavier than most others.


history is completely distorted   June 28, 2000
6 out of 30 found this review helpful

If you want a travel book about Greek Islands prefer the Fodor's Exploring of the Greek Islands. In this one, Greek history of the Alexander the Great era is completely distorted. Even though only a few sentences are used to refer to this era, the effort of the author(s) to present Macedonians as not Greeks is really obvious and at least inaccurate, since Macedonians were Greek people too. That's also why it was Greek(Hellenistic) the civilization spread througout Asia and Egypt and not Macedonian. It would be much better if they didn't mention history at all. And to be honest, I am sure that it won't be the only inaccuracy present.


Lots of gloss but not enough info   June 2, 2000
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

The photos are great, but it did not give me enough detail. I also found the book to be a bit outdated.


So many islands so little time   December 16, 1999
Brian Kearney (Australia)
45 out of 46 found this review helpful

The Eyewitness Guide was an invaluable resource in planning a combined Greek Island cruise and an extended stay on Santorini & Paros in 1999.With so many islands it is impossible to fully cover them all in a guide , let alone visit more than a fraction of them.The main islands of Rhodes,Mykynos,Santorini,Paros,Crete etc are well covered;but even the smallest also get a good mention.Overall well worth having in the backpack and looks great on the coffee-table as a momento.