One of the perks of having a successful website is occasionally people send you products. I was recently sent a copy of “South Pacific” by author David Stanley. South Pacific is from the Moon Handbook series of travel guides. I don’t even know where to begin when describing this guide, all I can say is it’s a gem, a gem I wish I had when I was extensively traveling the South Pacific many years ago.

The guide opens with a description of the south pacific, its people, regions, history, and formation.

The book is impeccably organized and designed, covering every region including French Polynesia, Pitcairn Islands, Easter Islands, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Fiji and more. Each region is described based on factors such as geography, history, attractions, places to stay, places to eat and much much more. Furthermore each region discusses the sub regions and individual islands providing a more detailed analysis of what is to be seen and done in that area. The guide also discusses how to get to the island, provides maps of the various islands, and provides tips on what you should bring with you to the islands.

Here is a summary of the contents of the section on Easter Island

• The land including a description of the flora and fauna, the climate (including climate charts) and a detailed map of the island.
• The history of the island including a description of the first Polynesians, European contact, colonialism. In addition, the guide also separates the fact from the fiction when describing this famous islands history.
• The government and politics of the island
• A description of the people and culture of the island as well as a guide for how one should conduct themselves on the island
• A comprehensive description of the sites and attractions on the various regions of the island.
• The guide lists virtually every accommodation available on the island. This section has been organized by price so that it’s easy to find accommodations in every price level.
• There is a complete description of the food available on the island and places to eat.
• Finally there is a full description of island currency, transportation (including flights, yacht facilities, package tours and getting around on the island).

Overall South Pacific is a well researched, exceptionally written and logically indexed book that provides and informative and in-depth analysis of an often neglected region in the travel industry. Therefore if you are at all considering traveling to any of the South Pacific Islands I would encourage you to pick up a copy of this book.

The book retails for $24.95 in the US which is exceptionally affordable considering it is over one thousand pages in length.

Update: You can find out more information about this book at David’s South Pacific website.