Eyewitness Travel Guide to San Francisco and Northern California (revised)

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide for a first-time visitor
Review: This guide was very helpful for my recent trip to SF and easily the best of the three I carried. Detailed maps, readable and accessible local information, and informative articles with the beautiful illustrations made this the easy choice over Lonely Planet and its more detailed maps made it a first choice over National Geographic's San Friancisco guide for me. You will need another map for a better detailed overview give if you plan to drive in the city since none of these guides provide that.

Rating:
Summary: This book sees San Francisco the way you will
Review: This is a great book and I've just bought a dozen to hand out to my clients because it really presents San Francisco the way it must be visited: by neighborhoods, by experiences. Each neighborhood is presented in it's totality - with historical remarks, notable sights, comprehensive recommendations, and bird's-eye-view maps to put you on top of your trip. Compare that with the alphbetical list of tourist traps often found in guidebooks and you'll appreciate the extra effort.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty pictures, lackluster information
Review: This is a guide with beautiful pictures but is horribly lacking in practical information to help someone get around San Francisco. The maps are rudimentary -- not something one would want in the confusing SF bay area. The guidebook gives great ideas on places to go but won't help you really get there -- sections on using public transport (essential in a city where there are 300,000 cars registered but only 200,000 parking spaces). The accomodation information is sorely lacking; there are few options for those who don't want to pay over $80.00 a night to be in SF. The sections on public safety are also lacking in complexity. This book is a must for those who don't enjoy their vacations and like to be stuck in traffic.

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this
Review: This is an incredible book. The illustrations are unbelievably detailed. I used to live in SF and still I could study this book for hours. Even if you have been to every place in the book, you will still learn something. This is the perfect gift for anyone traveling to San Francisco and/or Northern California. I can't recommend this book enough.

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this
Review: This is an incredible book. The illustrations are unbelievably detailed. I used to live in SF and still I could study this book for hours. Even if you have been to every place in the book, you will still learn something. This is the perfect gift for anyone traveling to San Francisco and/or Northern California. I can't recommend this book enough.