[.ca] Frommer's Caribbean 2005 (ISBN 0764570633)

From Amazon.com:
Frommer's aims to help you choose the island and plan the vacation best suited to your budget and tastes, without inundating you with more data than you can possibly assimilate or use. They describe the various island personalities and amenities, point out the health and safety hazards, and let you know where to go for the best beaches, snorkeling, gambling, shopping, golf, family resorts, sailing, nightlife, and romantic hideaways. For each island, the guide explores a choice selection of where to stay and eat and what to do--but the focus is on finding the best the islands have to offer, and spending the rest of your time enjoying it. --Stephanie Gold

Not up to par!:
Frommer's has always been tremendously helpful when my husband and I plan our vacations. We have followed their advice in the past through the Caribbean and Italy, and their recommendations were right on point. For years, I have recommended them to friends and family as some of the most reliable, informative travel books out there. I was excited to see the 2001 Caribbean from Frommer's and ordered it immediately. When I received it, I went straight to the Aruba section since we had just booked our second trip to that island for next May. I couldn't believe what I was reading! If you haven't been to Aruba before, the information contained in the 2001 book won't help you at all. It was obvious that the writer hasn't been to the island in some time - I found many of the reviews to be outdated, lacking accurate descriptions and exclusive of many fine restaurants on the island. In my eyes, Caribbean 2001 has really put a dent in my high regard for the Frommer's reputation. Will think twice about recommending them again....

Leaves Me Cold:
Why would anyone buy this book? I just do not like it. Go to a bookstore, a good bookstore and you will find many books on the Caribbean. There are all kinds of books from the different islands to cruising, to balanced presentations such as the Lone Planet series that has beautiful photos and visuals. The Caribbean is a beautiful place with many beautiful beaches and places to see. Here is a book with almost no photos. To me it is astonishing that a Caribbean travel guide of would have no photos. The book is big but the competitors from Lonely Planet gives a better and a more balanced approach with text plus photos and maps. I actually still like an older book "Baedekers Caribbean" because it includes a nice selection on Bermuda where I have gone a number of times - and it has a good balance of text and photos. One last thing. The Frommer book is big. But take one island as an example, that being Barbados. It is an interesting and popular island but in this book it get just 30-35 pages with text and a map or two. I have already mentioned the lack of photos. But there are many islands and I think it is better to get one or two books that can spend more space on one island. The Loney Planet series tries to do this to some extent with a series of books but there are other books available, so if you only go to one island such as Barbados or Antigua, buy a book just one book on that island that has current information. Jack in Toronto

Excellent general island info and reviews:
This book provides a good overview of most of the Caribbean islands. Each island is its own chapter with island highlights, useful tips, hotel and restaurant recommendations. There are also overall Caribbean recommendations, travel info, and money saving tips at the front of the book. Frommer's rating system is "unique", but the reviews are descriptive and helpful. This is an excellent starter book for the Caribbean - especially if you are not sure which island(s) you want to visit. Combined with web searches and frommers.com, it becomes an excellent resource for planning a Caribbean vacation.