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Traveler's Tool Kit: Mexico and Central America (Traveler's Tool Kit) | 
| Authors: Rob Sangster, Tim Leffel
Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $13.11
You Save: $9.84 (43%)
New (28) Used (1) from $13.11
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 217669
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 562
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0897329848
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.280454
EAN: 9780897329842
ASIN: 0897329848
Publication Date: April 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Book is brand new; multiple copies are available. This series is first rate. We believe our mission is to get books that celebrate outdoor activities into the hands of readers who appreciate the insightful advice of the author. Experience the great outdoors safely and fully.
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Product Description
Rob Sangster and Tim Leffel are not typical travelers, nor is this a typical travel guide. Instead of rating Mexico's "best" (read: most expensive) hotels, the authors shows how to locate comfortable, affordable lodging anywhere in the country. Traveler's Tool Kit does the same for everything from dining to entertainment to sightseeing in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Individual sections cover it all: drafting itineraries, calculating costs, eco-sensitive travel, unusual tours, managing money, staying healthy, woman-alone travel, and much more. Sangster and Leffel show how to connect with a network of travelers who've discovered the most enjoyable things to do and can provide guidance on how much to pay for them. The book also tells how to memorialize the adventure through photography and blogging, and even how to earn money from the trip after returning home. Sangster and Leffel are both authoritative and encouraging, drawing on years of experience to help travelers maximize the fun, savings, and security without compromising quality.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 TWO BOOKS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE May 2, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought Traveler's Tool Kit because I loved Guatemala and am considering a trip to other countries in the region. The book told me everything I wished I'd known on my Guatemala venture and I need to know to choose which other countries I want to see. It's specific about itineraries, costs, food, health, safety and available adventures.
This is really two books for the price of one. Beyond Central America, it contains comprehensive information and advice that I can use to travel anywhere in the world and deals with the obstacles that keep many people from enjoying the rest of the world - like money, time, safety, and health. For example, instead of listing a few of the "best" hotels in some city (advice that can become outdated almost overnight), the authors explain how to find good lodging anywhere, anytime. Since knowledge is power, this book makes the reader king.
 Valuable and wide-ranging reference May 2, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is an ideal planning tool for a trip to Central America. The authors have thoroughly researched the region and provide a compendium of ideas for places to see and activities for the adventurous traveler. I appreciate the progressive approach that encourages interaction with local people and traveling in a way that benefits, rather than exploits, them.
The earlier negative review from Dan Watts doesn't understand that this is not a guidebook - it's a tool for planning and research that complements a good guidebook. I would, however, have appreciated seeing this book come out in a smaller format -- it would be good to take on an extended trip to Central America. Its heft makes it too big to easily carry on the road, which is too bad because it could be as valuable on the road as it is at home. With smaller format and type, and thinner paper, the publisher could have gotten the same amount of advice into a more portable book.
But don't let that deter you from buying this Traveler's Tool Kit. The book lives up to its name with hundreds of handy nuggets of info ranging from advice on preparing a savvy budget to suggested itineraries like "If you have a week in Guatemala." This itinerary recommends highlights such as Lake Atitlan and the colonial town of Antigua, places travelers won't want to miss. And the trip planning chapters will be especially valuable for first-time visitors to the region.
I also like the chapter titled "The Day You Get There" with advice such as don't joke with immigration officials, and take buses not taxis to have more interaction with local people. I've ridden buses throughout Guatemala and can attest that cramming five to a seat with local families might not be the most comfortable way to travel but it will be the most memorable.
Tool Kit is a $15 investment in your most precious commodity: your vacation time. It will pay off many times over, even if you just use some of the many great suggestions in the book.
Great practical tips for experiencing Mexico & Central America! April 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read Leffel's other travel books and know that I can always count on him for solid, no-b.s. travel advice. Chapter 1's "How Travel Will Change Your Life" is right on the money and (in this reviewers opinion)is worth the price of admission alone for explaining why one should travel. This hefty reference guide answers every possible question I would have about traveling to Mexico or Central America: how to get around, safety, food, highlights, etc. across the whole region. It gives the kind of cost comparisons that you can't find in individual guidebooks and isn't afraid to point out the bad with the good. Now when I cross the border and head south, I'll be really ready.
Inspiring and fun to read! April 27, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This trove of invaluable information will inspire you! The authors are passionate about the impact travel can have--on the traveler as well as the places visited. They provide perspectives that will make yours the most fun, gratifying visit to Mexico and Central America. Unlike typical guidebooks that just summarize "what to see and where to stay," this book tells you how to plan and enjoy.
It contains up-to-the-minute facts other books skip (such as 2008 prices for bottled water and internet access)--and resources others lack (want to volunteer, work or retire in one of these eight countries?)--it's all there. Check the table of contents.
The Traveler's Tool Kit goes well beyond the eight countries the title describes, and helps you get the most from any international trip. There are criteria for selecting everything from a guidebook to a travel partner; there are practical, checklists to help prepare.
The Traveler's Tool Kit has the BEST information I've ever read about how to travel alone as a woman (even though it was written by two men), and the ONLY information I've ever read, about how to spend the first few days after you've arrived home.
Best, it's fun to read: its 550 pages will make you smile. Frankly, I was dazzled.
Hooked! April 25, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I chose Traveler's Tool Kit because I wanted to learn what Mexico and Central America have to offer, beyond their world class beaches. I am currently looking for other kinds of adventures when I travel.
After reading this book, I can't wait to get to Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula and other Maya sites in Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. I also read about zip-lining among orchids and scarlet macaws in a cloud forest - and added Costa Rica to my list.
The authors are so enthusiastic about rafting, kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving in Belize and the Bay Islands off Honduras that I'm up for trying that too, at least some of it. After reading about deep sea fishing, jaguars, giant anteaters, incredible birding, and pristine lakes surrounded by extinct volcanoes, I'm completely hooked. Though I have traveled in this region before, this book has given me the master key to really experience the places and the people as I never have before. It contains so much information that no other guides do, information that has shown me the way to the kind of travel experience I am looking for. Can't wait to get going!
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