The Rough Guide to Southwest USA

by Greg Ward and Rough Guides

Book Overview

Comprehensively covering New Mexico & Arizona, and stretching into some highly visited parts of Nevada (Las Vegas) and Southwest Colorado (Mesa Verde National Park), the Rough Guide to Southwest USA... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1843536838
• ISBN13: 9781843536833
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Length: 631 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Great book for your vacation!

We used this book during a 2+ week trip in the 4 corners area and found everything in the book that we needed to be accurate and informative. I had also picked up a AAA trip ticket with all the books and maps, and in the end we just used the Rough guide for info on the places we were visiting, towns we were stopping in or the campgrounds we stayed at. I loaned to book to a co-worker who took a similar trip in the southwest with his family, they were very pleased with the information they found in the book too. I could write up a long review on the book, but I'll keep it simple.. if you're traveling in the Southwest, you want this book - period.

The Rough Guide to Southwest USA 4 (rough Guide Travel Guides)

I love this guide, very useful, concise, and easy to find information. It also gives names of books we can read before having the great adventure to visit the west of USA. I think I got to know the WEst before being there thanks to this guide.

Covering the Southwest in Small Print

I recently traveled through the Southwest, and picked up this guide as well as three others to prepare for the journey. I agree wholeheartedly with the previous comments about the disdain Greg Ward showers on his subject matter as well as his fixation on a certain chain of budget motels. (I actually stayed at one of his recommended motels in Benson, Arizona - it was like most other budget hotels in the USA.) The book is also bulky, with the typical small print of the Rough Guide series. However, for all its faults, it appears to be one of the more comprehensive, current travel guides available for the Southwest region. As long as you also refer to other materials and insights, this guide book will serve as a good foundation for your trip across the Southwest.

Best single guide for the American Southwest

I usually carry multiple guidebooks on my vacations, but during my recent trip to the American Southwest I relied exclusively on this book. One of the reasons I recommend this book is that it covers the Southwest as a single region, so it includes New Mexico, Arizona, southern Colorodo, southern Utah, and Las Vegas. Most other books are State-based, so it would take multiple books to cover the entire region.Another reason to pick this book is that it is opinionated. It lists top ten sites in various categories (national parks, museums, etc.), so that you can plan your time effectively. The auther even recommends against some things, unlike most guidebooks. I am picky about maps, and the maps in this book were uniformly accurate and reliable. Driving tips and recommended routes were quite useful.You will also find this book compact and light. While some other books are loaded with pictures, I find these books best enjoyed at home, before and after my trip, because they are too heavy to lug around during my trip.Finally, I stayed in 5 hotels, all recommended by this book, and they were all safe choices. If you are looking for a splurge, I recommend Goulding's lodge at Monument Valley, especially for fans of old movies. To my surprise, I enjoyed the museum on site. Also, I used the inroom VCR to watch Stagecoach, and this was the perfect setup for my Monument Valley visit the next morning. At Canyon do Chelly NM, I would recommend not staying at the overpriced, dreary lodge. It's cheaper to stay at one of the places just outside the park. In Santa Fe, the El Rey Inn is convenient, friendly, and has a Route 66 feel.

An inside guide for any outsider

On our recent trip through the grand circle of national parks in the four corners area, we carried several paperback guides, but quickly discarded the others in favor of this excellent book. We started reading it out loud as we approached each new town because of its wry observations, but quickly came to trust its preview of each new stop. We were never disappointed when we chose a non-chain motel from its recommendations, and we never got a bad meal wherever it said the food was good (and this was a budget trip). It isn't perfect -- things change too fast. For instance, there are many new motels within easy distance of the Grand Canyon, easing the squeeze many travelers have experienced, and more are under construction. And they didn't warn us to avoid the grossly mis-named Kodachrome state park. But wherever I travel next, a Rough Guide will be with me, you can be sure.