San Diego

Once again Ulysses Travel Guides has published an excellent travel guide authored by Caroline Béliveau entitled San Diego. What I liked about this book is its compactness and facility in finding relevant information. The "Exploring" section of the book presents the reader with ten different tours that are graded as interesting, worth the visit and not to be missed.

We are provided with clearly printed maps depicting the various attractions, accommodations and restaurants within the tour You will also find indications of the hours of operation, admission prices, phone numbers and other relevant information pertaining to the attraction. In other words, it would be very difficult to get lost if you have maps in front of you along with a brief description of the attraction or site.

Another very interesting section is entitled "Outdoors" and here you will find information concerning camping in State Parks and Reserves, in-line skating, jogging, horseback riding, cruises, surfing, fishing, tennis and golf. In fact, if you are a surfer, and as the author points out, "San Diego and its surrounding area are truly magical." There is reference to where you can surf within the section entitled "Beaches" and there is also mention as to where you can learn to surf.

Throughout the book you will find various tips and suggestions, such as how to save money on hotel rooms in San Diego, gastronomic musts, what to take home, how to survive the dessert, open house museums on Tuesdays, children's favourite attractions, and useful web sites.

For you history buffs, the author has included various tidbits, such as the fact that Charles A. Linbergh in 1927 left Rockweel Field in Coronado Island abroad the Spirit of St Louis, a monoplane built in San Diego that reached New York and subsequently flew non-stop solo crossing the Atlantic to Paris.

Coronado Island is one place you will not want to miss visiting and in fact you can even take a six-dollar walking tour that is packed with information pertaining to its rich history.

The author provides the reader with succinct history information concerning the various inhabitants of San Diego as well as the first explorers.

A sprinkling of beautiful colour photographs scattered throughout the book will serve as a pleasant souvenir once your trip to San Diego has come to an end.

The table of contents is divided into eight defined topics such as practical information, accommodations, etc and there is also a list of maps with their corresponding page numbers to aid you in touring San Diego. The index also serves as an excellent starting point if you wish to quickly determine where a particular attraction, restaurant or hotel may be located.

No doubt this guide will save you a great deal of research time in seeking out the most interesting San Diego sites and will prove to be a good substitute for a hired guide.