Customer Reviews

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: New Zealand

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I travelled with this book for a whole year & I love it!

When I was shopping around for a guide I was looking for 'readability', I didn't want something that felt like a chore to pick up & trawl through pages & pages of text. I also wanted something which gave me a feel for the country through either photos or maps etc. The Eyewitness series while still being packed full of information is chock full of photos too; it made me want to soak up as much as I could before even getting to New Zealand.

Eyewitness have a very specific layout in their guides which provides you with a historical & cultural basis before you get to the specific information on each area of New Zealand. The Chapters are as follows:

Introducing New Zealand
The North Island [map]
The South Island [map]
A Portrait of New Zealand - a brief history, culture, architectural, geological, art, wine, sporting etc summary.
New Zealand Through the Year
The History of New Zealand
New Zealand - Area by Area [at a glance]

The North Island [intro]
Auckland
Northland
The Central North Island
Wellington & the South

The South Island [intro]
Marlborough & Nelson
Canterbury & the West Coast
Otago & Southland

Travellers' Needs:
Where to Stay
Where to Eat
Shopping in New Zealand
Entertainment in New Zealand
Specialist Holidays & Activities

Survival Guide:
Practical Information
Travel Information
...

I heavily used all the sections up to the 'Travellers Needs' where I decided that I would just wing it with where to stay & where to eat, relying mostly on people's recommendations & the help of the EXCELLENT Tourist Information Centres. If you are planning a year-long trip make sure you grab a load of leaflets & chat to people in any Tourist Information Centre for advice.

The Eyewitness guides not only have loads of photos & maps, but also have 3D cutaway images which show you the inside of buildings or geographical features & are really interesting to study.

My copy is battered; covered in notes; ticks; circled paragraphs; people's phone numbers; & filled with leaflets, but I won't throw it away because it's final advantage is it's a great souvenir guide which you will go back & re-read through many times long after you have come back from your journey. Eyewitness is my New Zealand Guide of choice!

I really like these "DK Eyewitness" travel guides. I always buy one for the country/city I am going to visit. They provide interesting and practical facts about sightseeing, using the local public transport or driving, getting to/from airports, eating out, going out, shopping, hotels, useful maps of city centres, health and safety tips, some background history, etc.

The translations (and pronunciation guide) of common phrases in the local language are useful but limited.

Lots of pictures make the book more interesting in itself and makes for a nice bookshelf souvenir afterwards.

Another great thing about the Eyewitness travel guide series is that the books are always laid out in the same way. So once you start using them, you'll always know what information you can find and where it will be in any other Eyewitness guide book.

A slight drawback is that the books are medium-size and can weigh from 500-800 grams (depending on which city/country the book is for), and the paperback versions always get a bit dog-eared being carried around in my day-pack. However, the "Top 10" format (where available) is a cut-down version that is much smaller, lighter, easier to carry and very, very convenient. However, the downside is only limited information with much less detail is provided. So if you are only staying for a few days this is OK, but for longer stays the full version is better.

To paraphrase and old credit card ad: "Don't leave home without it".

I bought this because I was geting to NZ earlier than expectd and need a guide, and this proved to be brillient.

In the past I bought lonely planet and rough guides, which have info (most of which is needlessly about accomadation)but are very dull and have barely any pics. What makes this book great is that you can see in fanastic pictures where your going to, you get a feel for the places you actually want to go- which makes planning your journey better and you have less disappointments (though its pretty hard to be disappointed with anywhere in NZ!).

They also have very handy city maps with places marked and a paragraph or so on each of the best things to see. There is a section on accomadation at the back but it doesn't take much space (personally i find these sections of travel books pointless as you can get up to date reviews from guests online when you book). Overall the pictures and info is brillient, plus the info isn't in a pointless long essay but what you need to know. I have already bought this brand book again for other country visits.

This is the type of book you cant throw away, but you get out and reminise with later on...and in the case of NZ most defiantly plan for you next visit! :)

Well written and full of information. The book gives maps, not only of the islands, but also street maps of major towns and cities. Many tourist attractions are described, with their locations and travel instructions. Geography and wildlife are described and entertainments are included for many locations throughout the country. A thoroughly good reference book and I recommend it unreservedly.

I browed the 2003 edition of this book from my local library and thought that is was good. I liked the layout (still do) thought that it had a lot of useful information mixed in with pictures. So when a 2008 edition came out I though great I will have the most up to date information with some added pictures. Or so I thought when I got the book I found that it is nearly identical to the 2003 one. There is only one extra page of information in the history. Flicking though the remainder of the pages I found that they are all the same, same pictures, some of the maps have been re coloured, and most of the text is identical too. The only thing I could see that was different is the back part that had a longer list of places to stay and eat. So all in all I am happy with the book but would suggest you save a bit of money and buy the older version.

I bought this book before going to New Zealand to help plan things to see while I was there. Really helpful guide with great facts. Easy to read and understand.

Informative, clear pictures and wording. We're off to visit NZ soon and will be taking this handy book with us. Full of information on areas, practical info, places to eat etc.

Received this book very quickly and we are very impressed with the services & the book, it has given us a very visual insite of what we are about to experience,
It is that good that we are taking it with us to refer to it as our daily reference over a period of 5 weeks. We fully recommend this book to anyone travelling to NZ Thanks to Amazon Clarinda Murray

This travel guide was exactly what we needed in our tour of both north and south islands.We used this book in conjunction with the AA Map touring the country in a campervan. Great buy!!

I am a great fan of the DK eyewitness guides as their glossy paper presentation, with wonderfall colour photographs, makes a great appetiser before any visit, acts as an excellent guide during the visit and then provides a worthwhile souvenir afterwards.

I was lucky enough to travel on a cruise ship round New Zealand. This 400 page book was very helpful in determining which shore excursions were worthwhile and when to go it alone. Of necessity it is only possible to write a small paragraph about most attractions in the country, which can underplay such delights as the Taieri Gorge Railway in Dunedin. The station itself, which is a magnificent piece of architecture, merits a 2 page spread.

The town maps and suggested walking routes are excellent. The practical information is accurate and useful but perhaps does not go far enough. It makes no mention of the fact that US and Australian dollars are widely accepted and that there is no need for an itinerant cruise traveller to purcahse NZ dollars.

This is not to detract from the guide which is intended primarily for travellers spending more than a few hours ashore. I know from practical use of other guides in the series that the recommendations for places to stay and restaurants are extremely good. I have never doubted my wisdom in choosing this guide for my trip. The contents are a constant reminder of a great visit to a great country.