Book Review: Costa Del Sol/Spain's Southern Coast

Insight Pocket Guide: Costa Del Sol/Spain's Southern Coast edited by Barnard Collings

We rely a lot on guide books for finding the best things during our vacations. One guide book that we really loved was the one we used for our Mediterranean Coast of Spain trip. The guide has a good and not-too-long history of the area. A good map of the general area gives the reader an overview of what is where. Then several itineraries are given, usually dedicated to one town or area. All the important sights in that town are listed and a recommended walking route (from a recommended parking area) leads the reader/tourist to all the good stuff. Small, accurate maps of each itinerary are provided, along with dining and shopping recommendations. We made a lot of good use of this book even if we didn't follow itineraries exactly.

The size of the book is great too. A lot of tour books cover whole countries and are not so practical to carry around day to day. This slim volume (94 pages) is small enough to fit in a jacket pocket and not heavy enough to be a bother (unlike the DK books that we love but are a bit much to tote around as we tour). The maps are wonderful and the back has an index of hotels, restaurants, and other useful information for the local area and Spain in general. We will definitely keep an eye out for similar editions for other places we go.

SAMPLE LAYOUT: The first page on Antequera. Click to enlarge.

Unfortunately, out of print on Amazon--check your local library, where we found ours!