Flying Visits Mediterranean

Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls, Mary-Ann Gallagher and Simon Gaul
Cadogan Guides (2005)
ISBN 1860111904
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/06)


If one of these days you decide that a short vacation is in order, you could definitely do worse than pick the “Flying Visits Mediterranean” as your travel companion. First of all it might give you just the idea you were looking for. It talks about 20 Mediterranean cities and towns in six countries, first giving you a brief introduction on how to get there and then talking about what to do once you reach your destination.

The introductory chapter on “Getting There” is extremely useful. It lists different carriers that fly to a certain destination, offers a variety of truly useful air travel tips and even informs you about a not-so-often used charter flights or cheap inter-European flights from London in great detail, including the ways to travel from one end of London to the other. While this might not be used by the majority of travelers due to the quite complicated and complex planning needed for such arrangements, I am certain that those younger and more agile readers will appreciate being informed of those options as well.

The following sections start with the introduction of each of the countries included in the guidebook (Spain, Italy, France, Malta, Greece and Cyprus). Those useful introductions will familiarize you with all the practical info needed for a pleasant stay, from entry formalities and ways of getting around to info on electricity, health and insurance, money, national holidays, post and faxes, telephones, time zones and price categories for accommodations and restaurants. Each of those sections also includes a short introduction to the language spoken in the area.

Those general sections are followed by descriptions of certain towns or cities with information on what to do there, where to stay and what to see as well as great ideas for day trips from the selected towns and even five day tours by car for those who can stay a bit longer in the area. Each of the sections offers a wealth of information and numerous good tips on accommodations, restaurants, points of interest, nightlife and more. The city maps are excellent and extremely easy to read, with major points of interest clearly marked.

I found this to be a very interesting and well written guidebook, particularly useful for travelers who cannot or do not want to spend a long time in one area. It will provide enough information for a pleasant ‘flying’ visit and maybe spark more interest for a longer stay next time. My only disappointment with “Flying Visits Mediterranean” lies in the fact that it lacks photographs of the visited areas, which could surely enhance the written words.

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