Customer Reviews
useful, but not essential - By: Elizabeth Horn, 05 Oct 2004 
Anyone heading to Vietnam should consider buying this book- lonely planet always do the job when it comes to providing basic information. However, I found that while I used the maps non-stop & found the sections on local & national history interesting & informative, I only used the sections on food, accommodation & excursions as indicators of average prices. Sadly, the placesin the book were often overrun (and therefore overpriced) as a consequence of inclusion, & better deals could ususlly be found independantly. Another problem with the book is that I found much of the information to be out of date- Vietnam is a countryin transition to the extent that it would be difficult for any guidebook to keep up with it.
Therefore while this book is definately useful, I don't think it's indispensible- providing you buy a mapin each new town you go to, you could get by comfortablyin Vietnam without it.
Don't leave home without it! - By: , 20 Sep 2000 
For those of you who are planning to make your way across Indochina, it's worth shelling out a bit of extra cash to buy this book (instead of getting one of those "Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos" jobs..). Full of useful information & planning tips, the book also is writtenin a very chatty style which makes it enjoyable reading. The section on beaches was particularly helpful. The only thing I would like to see more of is colour photos instead of those black-and-white sketches!
