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Italy, Instructions for Use: The Practical, On-Site Assistant for the Enthusiastic (Even Experienced) Traveler
Called "a boon" and "akin to an operating manual" by Publishers Weekly, Instructions for Use is the only handbook concentrates solely on the practical aspects of Italian travel. This well-organized, visually pleasing guide keeps all the insider info that other guides have neither the space nor expertise to provide at your fingertips. And whether you choose the palm-sized print version or the Kindle ebook, it won't weigh you down.
Written by an American who lives in Venice and is fluent in the language, Instructions for Use foregoes dense destination descriptions for concise, in-depth, specifics that are impossible to amass--not to mention memorize--as you frenetically prepare for your journey. The Instructions instead provides expert answers to the questions that occur as you travel, in context, at the moment they arise.
An elegant, color-illustrated guide designed for easy reference, it's packed with the most current, pertinent advice available. Updates include revised information on trains, cell phoning, and more.
No matter what your destination, you'll find info
Attractive as it is useful, Instructions for Use has been assisting travelers since it as first published in 2004. It's the indispensable, ideal companion to any destination guide. Read the Instructions before you go (perhaps a page or two each night), scan it again on the plane, and then keep it in your handiest pocket to consult for every what-now travel situation.
Just when all else fails, read the Instructions!
Written by an American who lives in Venice and is fluent in the language, Instructions for Use foregoes dense destination descriptions for concise, in-depth, specifics that are impossible to amass--not to mention memorize--as you frenetically prepare for your journey. The Instructions instead provides expert answers to the questions that occur as you travel, in context, at the moment they arise.
An elegant, color-illustrated guide designed for easy reference, it's packed with the most current, pertinent advice available. Updates include revised information on trains, cell phoning, and more.
No matter what your destination, you'll find info
Attractive as it is useful, Instructions for Use has been assisting travelers since it as first published in 2004. It's the indispensable, ideal companion to any destination guide. Read the Instructions before you go (perhaps a page or two each night), scan it again on the plane, and then keep it in your handiest pocket to consult for every what-now travel situation.
Just when all else fails, read the Instructions!
- GenresTravel
120 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2004
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 15, 2008
Italy: Instructions for Use* is a pocket sized travel guide for Italy. Unlike other travel guides however, this guide doesn't give information on specific sites and events in Italy. Instead, this book gives insider tips and hints to circumvent common tourist mistakes while traveling in Italy.
These hints and tips cover a variety of general subjects such as trip planning, travel issues, money, food, and shopping. These topics include the basics such as packing light, making photocopies of all important documents, and the benefits of cash machines. However, the majority of the book includes little gems that a traveler only learns after much trial and error. There are too many of these gems to list but some of my favorites include tips on making phone calls, hints on getting a good meal, and illustrations showing the various types of road signs. Moreover, the book is filled with quick pages of real use Italian vocabulary.
Though these tips are specifically meant for travelers to Italy, many of the more general tips and hints can be useful in other European countries. For instance, the tips on planning, packing, and airsickness are universal. Furthermore, issues of electricity voltage, cell phones, and cash machines may or may not be areas of concern depending upon the European country the reader intends to visit.
This book also contains several easy to use reference features. Little colored tabs on the separate each particular topic: Welcome to Italy; Getting Around; Keeping in Touch; Money; Eating and Drinking; Lo Shopping; Shipping and the Post; and Tourist Information. Furthermore, notes of greater importance are marked "Worth Noting" for useful little known tips and "Attenzione" for common tourist mistakes.
Italy: Instructions for Use is a good book to read before traveling to Italy. This knowledge will undoubtedly allow the reader to avoid many common tourist mistakes; save time and money, and reduce travel frustration. However, this book will also be useful as a reference for any potential problems or concerns once in Italy. This small book can easily be tucked into the tourist's hand luggage and pulled out when he or she forgets how gassing up a car is different in Italy compared to North America or can't remember how to order the house wine.
These hints and tips cover a variety of general subjects such as trip planning, travel issues, money, food, and shopping. These topics include the basics such as packing light, making photocopies of all important documents, and the benefits of cash machines. However, the majority of the book includes little gems that a traveler only learns after much trial and error. There are too many of these gems to list but some of my favorites include tips on making phone calls, hints on getting a good meal, and illustrations showing the various types of road signs. Moreover, the book is filled with quick pages of real use Italian vocabulary.
Though these tips are specifically meant for travelers to Italy, many of the more general tips and hints can be useful in other European countries. For instance, the tips on planning, packing, and airsickness are universal. Furthermore, issues of electricity voltage, cell phones, and cash machines may or may not be areas of concern depending upon the European country the reader intends to visit.
This book also contains several easy to use reference features. Little colored tabs on the separate each particular topic: Welcome to Italy; Getting Around; Keeping in Touch; Money; Eating and Drinking; Lo Shopping; Shipping and the Post; and Tourist Information. Furthermore, notes of greater importance are marked "Worth Noting" for useful little known tips and "Attenzione" for common tourist mistakes.
Italy: Instructions for Use is a good book to read before traveling to Italy. This knowledge will undoubtedly allow the reader to avoid many common tourist mistakes; save time and money, and reduce travel frustration. However, this book will also be useful as a reference for any potential problems or concerns once in Italy. This small book can easily be tucked into the tourist's hand luggage and pulled out when he or she forgets how gassing up a car is different in Italy compared to North America or can't remember how to order the house wine.
May 6, 2013
Full of tips about, well, tipping, transportation, manners, and all the other little details of La Dolce Vita that the other guide books skim over. I especially appreciated the tips of speaking Italian (pronounce everything, unlike in French) and the conversational tone of the book: friendly, matter-of-fact, and encouraging.
February 23, 2008
A lot of useful information packed into a pocket size book.
May 18, 2012
Don't go to Italy without it!! I also highly recommend Nan's pocket-size Vaporetto maps for Venice.
April 28, 2017
I've had this book for years and read through it before traveling to Italy. It has concise, easy tips in it, is organized in a logical manner and can truly help. Reading it this time, I realized I'm finally ready to gift it onto someone else making their first trip to the land of sunshine, great food and generous people.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews