- Frommer's Ireland Day by Day - Frommer's
The pocket-sized Frommer's Day by Day guides to cities around the world has been so popular that the concept is being expanded and applied now to countries and regions too. Ireland Day by Day is one of the first in the new format, and will look familiar to anyone who has used a Day by Day guide, but is bigger and, at 504 pages, much fatter. The design remains attractive and clean, with hundreds of lovely, colorful photos to complement the text.
Ireland Day by Day Self-Guided Tours
A useful inclusion in this Ireland guide are the 85 self-guided tours, complete with maps, throughout the book. These include popular driving tours like the inevitable Ring of Kerry, the beautiful Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland, and city tours such as a 4-page spread describing a walking tour of Literary Dublin.
However, despite the promise on the back of the book that each tour has a map that shows how to get from place to place, this isn't strictly true. The text for this literary tour doesn't include walking directions, and the map isn't detailed enough for a line indicating the route to be marked on it. Indeed, one of the literary attractions, the birthplace of George Bernard Shaw, is only shown as being off the map and marked with an arrow. On the other hand, the driving tours which make up the vast majority of the tours in this book do contain driving directions which readers ought to be able to follow.
Ireland Day by Day Maps
The Day by Day Ireland guide also comes complete with a fold-out map of the country, tucked into a plastic sleeve that's glued to the inside back cover. It's a sturdy sleeve and a sturdy map, printed on very thick paper that should stand up to a lot of heavy handling. On the back is an index of all the main towns and cities, along with street maps of Dublin and Belfast, with street indexes too. The book itself also has 104 maps spread throughout the pages, the maps being clear and bright, including locator maps to enable the reader to find the recommended hotels, restaurants, sights, and nightlife in all the main cities. Full marks on the map front.
Ireland Day by Day Listings
Full marks on the listings front too, with comprehensive coverage of hotels and restaurants in all price brackets. Dublin, for example, has six pages of hotel recommendations and six pages of restaurants as well. Smaller cities like Derry get one page of hotels and one page of restaurants, all with lively write-ups that seem to be from first-hand experience, and with full contact details and prices quoted.
Ireland Day by Day: The Faults
It would be impossible to go through a 504-page guidebook and not find at least a few minor faults. In explaining the small size of the country, for example, the authors say that “Belfast is just a couple of hours by car from Dublin Airport, and vice versa”. Yes, well, it would be the same in the other direction too, wouldn't it? And the list of Dublin's Best Museums begins by saying: “Our favorite museums in Dublin are the ones that often get overlooked by other guidebooks and brochures...” The spread then goes on to list six major museums that are covered by every other guidebook ever published.
The faults, though, are pretty minor, and the Ireland Day by Day book is an attractive and thorough guide to the country by two authors who know their subject and have done the leg-work. Definitely recommended.
Frommer's Ireland Day by Day
Ireland Day by Day is 504 pages and published by Frommer's at $27.99 in the USA, $33.99 in Canada, and £18.99 in the UK. More details at the Frommer's website.
Mike Gerrard - Mike is an award-winning travel writer who has worked for National Geographic, the London Times, and many other clients. ...
