| Guides
to Spain, Central America, South America and The Philippines
Although, of course, some
guide books are not very good, when it comes to the
thorough, well researched, well thought-out ones, it
is generally a matter of personal taste and individual
experience whether the books give you what you need
or not. For that reason, we are not, as such, recommending
guide books: we are simply showing you what is available.
We have not used all of these guides ourselves but we
have researched what has had good reviews on Amazon
and narrowed down the search for you. When you click
on the "buy this now from Amazon" link, you
can read all the reviews of that book and make up your
own mind whether it will be useful to you.
If you are planning
a trip to a Spanish-speaking country and you live in
or near Manchester, come to us and learn a bit of the
language before you go! It will enhance your trip no
end. Click here
to read about our flexible, one-to-one Spanish courses.
I have travelled widely
in Spain and have added a few comments of my own after
the Spanish section, which I hope you will find helpful.
Georgie,
Director of JMJ Manchester
Click here to read about JMJ
- the school, the teachers and the director.
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Spain
- Georgie's comments
- Central America
- South America
- The Philippines |
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| Spain |
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The Rough Guide to Spain
by Mark Ellingham, John Fisher
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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Spain
(Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay)
by Alastair Sawday, Jose Navarro (Editor)
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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Contemporary
Spain: A Handbook
by Christopher Ross
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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A Hedonist's
Guide to Madrid
by Beverley Fearis
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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A Pilgrim's
Guide to the Camino De Santiago
by John Brierley
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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Barcelona
(Eyewitness Travel Guide)
by Roger Williams, Ian O'Leary (Photographer)
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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Barcelona
(Lonely Planet)
by Damien Simonis
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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Catalunya
and the Costa Brava (Lonely Planet)
by Damien Simonis
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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Andalucia
(Pallas Guide)
by Michael Jacobs
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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34 Alpujarras
Walks
by Charles Davis
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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Having discovered Spain comparatively
late in life (aged 26), I have been there many times
to catch up. While I was living in Milan, I decided
to go and visit my father, who then lived in Marbella,
and this was my first experience of Spain. I took the
overnight train to Barcelona and spent a day in that
amazing city before catching a domestic flight to Malaga.
I was absolutely blown away by Barcelona and would highly
recommend it to anyone who has not yet been there. It's
got everything: sea, mountains, culture, shopping…
A very special place.
I have always felt perfectly safe and
comfortable travelling around Spain by myself. Before
I learnt the language, I managed with a phrase book
and padded it out with Italian - and I was most gratified
that people let me do this and didn't immediately switch
into English. Ironically, now that I can speak Spanish
fairly well, I have found on recent trips that people
have answered me in English. I'm not sure whether that
is because I've been to different, more touristy places
or whether it's just that more Spanish people speak
English now than they did in the mid 1990s.
Some of Spain is almost grotesquely
touristy and I would suggest you avoid places like Salou
(a last-minute holiday I had once) if you want to experience
anything like Spanish culture and way of life.
I like Madrid. It doesn't excite me
quite in the way Barcelona does but it has a great deal
to offer.
Another place I would definitely recommend
is Salamanca. It's an old town where everything is very
beautiful. I took a Spanish course there once and had
a great time.
If you are going to Mallorca, I suggest
you hire a car and explore inland. The sea is lovely
- I've swum happily at Puerto Pollensa at the beginning
of November - but it's also nice to see a bit of the
island and get an idea of how the natives live. I go
to Pollensa relatively often because my best friend
knows the man who runs Villa
Rentals Pollensa. Their villas and apartments are
excellent, in my experience, and I recommend this company
to you.
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| Central
America |
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The
Rough Guide to Cuba
by Fiona McAuslan, Matthew Norman
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The
Rough Guide to Costa Rica
by Jean McNeil
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to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Rough
Guide to Guatemala
by Iain Stewart
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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Discover
Belize, Guatemala and Southern Mexico (Footprint Travel
Guide)
by Caroline Lascom (Editor), Peter Hutchison (Editor),
Claire Boobbyer (Editor)
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to buy this now from Amazon. |
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Nicaragua
(Footprint Travel Guide)
by Richard Leonardi
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to buy this now from Amazon. |
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| South
America |
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The Rough
Guide to First-Time Latin America
by Polly Rodger Brown, James Read
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to buy this now from Amazon. |
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South
American Handbook (Footprint Travel Guide)
by Ben Box
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to buy this now from Amazon. |
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Discover
Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador (Footprint Travel Guide)
by Robert Kunstaetter (Editor)
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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The Argentina
Reader: History, Culture, Politics
by Graciela Montaldo, Gabriela Nouzeilles (Editor)
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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The Rough
Guide to Chile
by Melissa Graham, Andrew Benson
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to buy this now from Amazon. |
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My Invented
Country: A Memoir
by Isabel Allende OK, this isn't
a travel guide but it tells you a lot about Chile.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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| The
Philippines |
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Philippines
(Lonely Planet)
by Chris Rowthorn, Greg Bloom, Michael Day, Michael
Grosberg, Ryan ver Berkmoes
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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| Interested
in reading more about Spain, South America and the Philippines?
Check out our books
about and set in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.
Back to Recommended Reading
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