If you plan to purchase several guides to Ireland, this one would be worth adding to your collection. The photographs are beautiful, and the descriptions of sites of interest, while not the most in-depth around, are certainly more than adequate for a book of this type. If you are like me and your budget allows for 2, maybe 3 books, and you are trying to choose from the almost overwhelming number of guidebooks available these days, this is one you can probably skip. The practical information is quite limited compared to other guides, especially with regard to places to stay or eat. This would be an enjoyable book to peruse at home both before and after your trip, and it would be great for an armchair traveler, but I can't see it making its way into many suitcases. It's heavy, and its usefulness once you are in Ireland is limited. If you enjoy a visual, heavy on photographs travel guide, I would recommend you check out Eyewitness Travel's guide to Ireland first. The Eyewitness guides are also gorgeous to look at and fun to read, but a lot more practical.

If you plan to purchase several guides to Ireland, this one would be worth adding to your collection. The photographs are beautiful, and the descriptions of sites of interest, while not the most in-depth around, are certainly more than adequate for a book of this type. If you are like me and your budget allows for 2, maybe 3 books, and you are trying to choose from the almost overwhelming number of guidebooks available these days, this is one you can probably skip. The practical information is quite limited compared to other guides, especially with regard to places to stay or eat. This would be an enjoyable book to peruse at home both before and after your trip, but I can't see it making its way into many suitcases. It's heavy, and its usefulness once you are in Ireland is limited. If you enjoy a visual, heavy on photographs travel guide, I would probably recommend the Eyewitness guides over the National Geographic series. The Eyewitness guides are also gorgeous to look at and fun to read, but a lot more practical.

As one would expect, National Geographic did an excellent job on the Ireland book. The photos are beautiful and the information is excellent. It's a good book to have in my collection of travel resources.