If you are planning a short trip to Scotland this is a must have book. It covers excellent restaurants and wonderful places to stop and shop. The essential sights are all listed by region and are explained in enough detail for one to decide if they want to visit. If you are going for a longer period of time I would recommend a bigger guide but I would still get this one to walk around with.

This is a small book, but it starts with a detailed map inside the front cover that shows cities, airports, main roads, ferry ports and rail lines. It has ferry routes between the islands of Scotland and from points in Scotland to Ireland. There are great pictures of just about everything from cows to castles. It has lists of the best hotels, restaurants, pubs and places to visit on Scotland's islands. If you drink there are places you can enjoy the best malt whiskey. I'm not a golfer but I loved the section on golf courses after years of watching the British Open. The book is divided into three sections: Scotland's Top 10 castles, fishing spots, golf courses, etc. The middle of the book takes you around Scotland by car, train, ferry, etc. The last section of the book is called "Street Smart" and gives you places to get additional information, how to plan your trip to Scotland, things to avoid, health care and security, the best restaurants, and hotels (from budget to bed and breakfast). The book is about 6 inches long and four inches across, but easy to read. It has much more information than I expected.

This travel book is attractive and expensively produced. The content is probably quite satisfactory for travelers interested primarily in historic sites, castles, distilleries, restaurants, and posh places to sleep at night. However, I had hoped for travel tips that would help me explore the rugged Scottish coast, find places to see wildlife, and locate out-of-the-way places of interest to the adventurous, not just the affluent. I should have read the book's cover more carefully. It highlighted "Sights in Edinburgh & Glasgow," "Malt whiskies & where to enjoy them," " Outstanding golf courses," "Best hotels," "Liveliest pubs and clubs," "Best restaurants," and the like.

Haven't taken our trip to Scotland yet but this book was great in planning our intinerary, lodging and meals. Worth the money.

I would recommend Scotland the Best! The one true guide first, but this was also good to review for the history, and the pictures before I arrived. It also helps to prepare you for the money, road signs, airports; things you will need to know if traveling abroad for the first time. Once I was there, I rarely looked at this book, but I would recommend this to prepare if you don't know the area at all. It is a good starter book.

In planning a Scotland trip, I needed at least one resource to show me all of my options in pictures. The Eyewitness has some great photographs, as well as overviews on the culture, geography, etc. I used it as a start for my planning, but will not be taking it with me. This is not the book to purchase for lodging and transportation planning. But it served my purposes well, and seeing many of the sites and their locations helped me plan our itinerary.

Along with a book like this, I recommend purchasing an extensive travel guide with lodging and transportation options (Let's Go and others). Also, internet research can be a great help, as can a detailed road atlas.

Fanatastic book if you are thinking of visiting Scotland but are not sure which parts to visit. Maps and drawings are great; cutways of castles and homes very interesting; sections on history and culture very good. The book divides Scotland into geographical regions, describing the climate and terrain of each, the highlights of the area, sites to see; even walking or touring maps to follow. Hard to believe there is this much good information in a 200 page book. A classic Eyewitness Travel Guide.

This comprehensive guide to Scotland goes beyond the basic tourist information to really bring Scotland alive. It is packed with interesting information. A must bring on any trip to Scotland.

This compact book is a great first overveiw of Scotland. The color photographs are very illustrative of such things as wildlife, food, whiskey distilleries, and types of castles. The 3-D cutaways of important castles and homes are extremely well done. Although I have lived in Scotland and attended University there, I learned much that I did not know before. The advice on places to visit and places to hike was well planned and we were never disappointed when we followed it. For example, Glen Nevis is a prettier hike than up Ben Nevis (and warmer).

Scotland isn't just hills and glens, whiskey tours and giant tartan tourist trap. This guide book will introduce readers to the ``reel'' scotland, where the east coast is revealed in all its craggy glory, dotted with castles and sheer cliffs plunging into the north sea, while the gulf stream buffets the west coast, leaving palm trees and tropical plants. The book takes on the nation's bloody history and even delights in the food, making haggis sound deliciously tempting.