The Rough Guide to Vietnam (Rough Guides) Paperback – April 21, 2015

This is one of three guides that we have looked at to prepare for our upcoming trip to Vietnam. The other two were library books. This is clearly the best of the three, and we are reading it cover to cover. Until we return from Vietnam, we will not know whether it is completely accurate, but it is very informative and clearly written. I am amending my review to indicate that I discovered that admission costs ARE included in the book. They are written in small print between the name of the site/attraction and its description. In the same place, also in small print, is additional information about the attraction, such as location and hours.

Unfortunately, like many travel books these days it looks like it was written for midrange budget tourist instead of backpackers. Section ''getting there and away" is often very basic without details on how to get local transport.But, it is still one of the best guides on the market.

I have always used travel books on my travel & I usually buy The Lonely Planet guidebooks. Since The Lonely Planet did not have an updated version, I decided to give the Rough Guides a try due to the glowing reviews. My biggest problem with this book is the tiny print, I had a difficult time reading & navigating with this book. With Wifi everywhere in Vietnam, I ended up uploading the Tripadvisor app and used it consistently to find hotels, restaurants and top 10 things to do in each city. The app is free and has current reviews of places & actitivities to do. The book has more context, historical information and interesting but again hard to read due to the text size. I hardly used the book at all but instead relied on Tripadvisor app and the Internet to seek out information. Technology has changed the way we travel. I will not be purchasing a travel guidebook in my future travel. It was a waste of money & deadweight carrying the book around. I am keeping it for the beautiful pictures.

I used this very successfully on a trip to north Vietnam. Generally the recommendations were very good. I was disappointed however to follow the advice to visit Hoi An. The town looks like it is 90% tourists and tourist boutiques. The best part of the Hoi An visit was a drive outside of town to untouristed villages.

Wonderful book - we just read the history and are now reading about culture. The description of each major town is excellent. Why four stars - the FONT! It's so tiny that we feel old because we can't read certain sections (like the short English-Vietnamese glossary at the end - agh!)

very useful and the book had a lot of great suggestions that you don't find in your typical lonely planet guide that everyone else has. i was actually able to avoid the tourists when i wanted to. very reliable and some super great restaurant recommendations. not all the hotels were perfect, but vietnam is a complicated place ;)

have used rough guides for many years. they are by far the best if going on a budget. from middle money to super cheap.

Very helpful on our recent trip, with up to date information.

We used this during our 3 day stay in Ho Chi Min City.Was disappointed to discover the restaurant section was really out of date (not one of the ones we wanted to eat at was still open) but the information on the tourist sights was up-to-date.

I usually like Rough Guides and this is no exception. Just enough detail to get one going and some good recommendations. I appreciate the history and cultural background chapters which are a must-read before going on holiday.

Bought for a forthcoming trip to Vietnam in July 2015, was superb, up to date and appropriate info in an easy read style

Great

Great Product, exactly what I needed