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 enlarge | Author: Steve Fallon
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $12.83
You Save: $9.16 (42%)
New (40) Used (7) from $12.70
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 409193
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 4.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 1741044804
Dewey Decimal Number: 914
EAN: 9781741044805
ASIN: 1741044804
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
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| Customer Reviews:
 Terribly updated and poorly organized September 26, 2004
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
Slovenia review.
We traveled for two weeks in Slovenia in August 2004, one month after the publish date for this current edition. Lonely Planet putting a 2004 date on this book is egregious; most information was completely out of date. We found prices to be off by as much as 50%, some hotels and restaurants were non-existent, and tourist offices had moved. The amount of inaccuracies were far too great for a one-month-old book, even allowing for several months of "print time."
Additionally, the organization of the book was terrible. The chapters of the book were aligned to Slovenia's political jurisdictions instead of organizing the content by the country's regions that a visitor would be interested in. For example, the Julian Alps information was split into two chapters (nonconsecutive), each of which were not limited to the Julian Alps. The Karst region, likewise, was split across two unrelated chapters (one of which had some of the above Julian Alps information.) So using this book requires endless flipping back and forth, and scouring the insufficient index. Perhaps most frustrating was that Slovenia is best visited by private car (limited train service, decreasing bus routes), and while so many other Lonely Planet volumes are organized in a linear manner, as if driving, this one was not.
Slovenia has so many wonderful tourist information centers with great free booklets on accommodations and attractions, and the staff is unbelievably friendly. If the author had only updated his listings with this free information, this book would be more useful. However, armed with this knowledge, you can make good use of the information from these centers, and choose a guidebook with more colorful writing (such as Rough Guide) to take with you, passing on this poorly organized and outdated book.
 Slovenia through pink-colored glasses February 24, 2002
7 out of 17 found this review helpful
If this third edition of Lonely Planet Slovenia is anything like the first, it warrants a complete overhaul of the section entitled "WW II & the Partisan Struggle." Much misinformation has been disseminated since the end of that war, and only recently has the truth emerged concerning the true patriots of Slovenia. It is obvious that the author was given false and outdated information, and he therefore unwittingly perpetuates the myth of the Slovenian "collaborators."
 Erratic and Outdated June 6, 2001
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Slovenia has changed greatly since it declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Unfortunately, the 1998 edition of this book hasn't always kept up. If anyone ever publishes a more recent English language guidebook to Slovenia, I recommend also buying that one.
The book contains information and opinions that are sometimes incomplete, incorrect or mystifying. An example (p. 147) is referring to the Church of St. John the Baptist on Lake Bohinj as "the most beautiful and evocative church in all of Slovenia." Wrong. This church "evokes" only amazement and disbelief, as its poor condition makes it look almost abandoned. There are many more worthwhile churches to visit in Ljubljana alone, but at least there is still the lake to visit while you're there.
Another example of this book's misleading and/or outright incorrect information is a description (p. 261) of the Three Parishes churches at Rosalnice. These are characterized as "important pilgrimage sites for seven centuries," and detailed instructions are provided where to go "for lunch or a snack." Wrong again. The churches were run-down, closed and badly in need of repair. The recent dates on the gravestones in the cemetary make it appear to be a nice locally used area, hardly an "important pilgrimage site." The place "for lunch or a snack" served only drinks, leaving you tired, hungry and miles from any food. You must drive a long way from almost anywhere to reach this site near the Croatian border, and are likely to be disappointed. The reality of the place bears little resemblance to the beautiful picture of the three churches opposite page 257, which shows the churches in much better condition than they currently are.
This book has many shortcomings, but its successes can be spectacular. My wife and I would not have found our hotel, the delightful Pension Lieber (p.101) without it. Of course, both the phone and fax number for that hotel in the book are incorrect, an early warning about the book, but persevering through telephone recordings in Slovenian and English to get the correct information was worth it.
The book also has invaluable information about the city of Idrija. Their lace, which is featured on several of their postage stamps, is beautiful, relatively inexpensive, is lightweight, will easily fit in your suitcase and you won't have to worry about it breaking in flight. Follow his instructions where to buy it on page 179. The same city also features a specialized food with the unpronounceable and unappetizing name of "zlikrofi." Follow his instructions on page 179 to the Kos restaurant, point at the word "zlikrofi" in this book, and you will get a fabulous meal that it is highly unlikely you would discover without this book.
Slovenia is rapidly modernizing its road system. So, when driving in Slovenia you never know at the start of a trip whether you'll enjoy world class roads, have ordinary roads, or experience frustrating delays from roads that badly need modernizing. It's just like using this book.
 Excellent! August 16, 2000
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
This is the best Lonely Planet guide I have seen, and this is saying a lot given the quality of the series. The coverage is comprehensive as you would expect when 344 pages are dedicated to a country with an area less than 20 000 square kilometres. Fair coverage is given to the main attractions as well as the more out-of-the-way places. The best parts of the book are the insets giving insight into historical, scientific or other aspects of interest for a specific place/area.Excellent, you wouldn't dare to visit Slovenia without it.
Slovenija, moja dezela! June 27, 2000
I am a 18 year-old slovenian girl and live in Augsburg/Germany since birth. Next year I am going to live in Slovenia and study law there. I love my country! It's really wonderful and I recommend it to everyone on this world! Come to Slovenia and experience!
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