Moon 2012 Maya: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (Moon Handbooks) Paperback – October 11, 2011

This is a very useful quick immersion into the Mundo Maya (World of the Maya) for those interested in having their own 2012 Mayan experience. The book gives detailed maps and guides to the major Mayan sites in 4 of the 5 modern-day countries the Maya lived in -- Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. The Maya reached into a portion of El Salvador but there are only some small sites existing today. The entire countries of Belize and Guatemala were inhabited by the Maya and several eastern Mexican states covering a large area were as well. Only a small area of Honduras hosted the Maya but it has one of the greatest of sites - Copan. And Quirigua, with it's wonderful stellae is nearby in neighboring Guatemala. The book also lists many of the special events and tours that are being conducted during 2012 by the host countries, tour agencies and various resorts and hotels. And, yes, as one reviewer noted some of the offerings are expensive. I operate of Succotz in Belize next to the Mayan site of Xunantunich and some of the places mentioned for that country, like Chaa Creek, are high end and expensive. But make no mistake, you are likely to get your money's worth. *However* any place you stay at in these countries will be able to hook you up with local tours and you will see these advertised all over the place. You can easily find other places that are much cheaper and still nice. The book has plenty of website listings and other sources of information for doing your own planning. With this book you can easily do these sites yourself. If you are unfamiliar with Mayan history it can be well worth hiring a guide. Licensed guides are frequently out at the entrances to sites, especially the larger ones. And if traveling to remote sites, like Caracol in Belize or Tikal in Guatemala guides are also good for safety reasons. Guides can also assist you with other Maya sites not so well known or frequented. Finally, some Mayan sites, especially caves, require a licensed guide to escort you in. 2012 is going to be an exciting year for tourism in the Mundo Maya and this book is a great starting point for your trip.

This book will give you a good overview of the tours available in Yucatan for the 2012 happenings, BUT I do not think I would do many of these, they are WAYYYYY over priced. We live in Yucatan, and you can just arrive at a site and hire a VERY knowledgable guide for $20 US.Some of these tours are priced at $2500 for 5 days. wow. I think you could stay in a wonderful bed and breakfast hotel, or even the Hyatt and go on your own tours.I do plan on going to as many festivals as I can throughout the year of 2012, but am not sure where I will end up on Dec 21, 2012.

We went to Chichen Itza in January 2012.. and I wish.. we would have had this book then! Now, it has me itching to go to Belize and see some of the upcoming festivals and the various ancient Mayan sites. This book is full of superb photographs. It's VERY well written! Has lots of helpful hints for the traveler! Seriously looking at flying into Mexico.. and then.. taking a bus into Belize City. Did NOT realize.. that Belize City is one of the more expensive places to fly into. Again.. the author gives wonderful tips on traveling through the path of the Ancient Mayans.. in a modern world!If you're interested in the Mayan calendar, the Mayan people and the Mayan archaeological sites.. and, plan on visiting any of them in 2012.. this book condenses all that you will need for traveling and the various celebrations that are planned for 2012!The maps are fantastic too! When one is at the various sites.. you have to crowd around a guide.. to get a glimpse of the maps... far better to see it in advance.. and know which areas are a MUST see! At Chichen Itza.. we had gone in 2011.. and missed the Solar Observatory.. after reading more.. we realized how much we'd missed.. and had to return in 2012 to see it! Lots more hidden in the jungle.. you just need the information.. to know.. where to look! This book.. gives you that information!!

As an author myself, I wasn't sure what to expect from Josh Berman's latest MOON guide. I had just been down to Honduras in June 2011, and we'd spent two days in Copan, visiting the Mayan ruins there. Reading "Maya 2012," I realized that there was so much that I missed out on while we were in Copan even though we had a top-notch guide with us. But that's not the reason why I give Josh 5 stars and why I say this book is THE essential guide for your Maya 2012 planning.Josh knows the Mayan countries and the Mayan culture. His book takes you on a journey through the most important sites to visit; why you want to visit them; how to visit them; he even tells you which ones to skip. The book is full of so many details, with maps, websites, detailed descriptions -- that if you have any interest at all in the Long Count Calendar and the importance of December 21,2012 -- you MUST read this book. Once you read it for the first time, then go back, read it again and take notes of the places that you want to visit first, start making your schedules and plans, and then check out Josh's recommendations. Make sure you "take Josh" along with you on your trip -- he'll be a great silent guide and companion.

Hmm.. nothing much new to be gained from this book. It was not very thorough with info on specific sites, what their planned observances were at each site, etc. Disappointing over all.

Got this one for an expedition we were planning for Dec 2012. Didn't end up going then but the guide still inspired us to go some time in the future. I like the size of it as I can just throw it in my purse. Good amount of reviews, archaeological site info, directory and pictures. The Maps are great too. Moon guides rock!

I've recently been on an 18-day 'Mysteries of the Maya' holiday covering the eastern part of Mexico/western part of Central America and this is one of the books I took with me.I found this book to be very handy as a backup to my 'main' Maya-orientated guide book (the excellent 'Knopf Guide: Route of the Mayas'), largely as it is a MUCH smaller book - 115 page count. [I actually bought it as an 'insurance' guide before I had been able to but the Knopf and just in case I failed or it never arrived in time - but it did ultimately prove useful !]See the Knopf/my review : Knopf Guide: Route of the Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides) This was because whilst it was understandably a LOT less comprehensive regarding the archaeological elements (which were the dominant part of the holiday) of my tour, it had a good collection of excellent plans of most of the archaeological sites we visited. This factor on it's own justified purchase !The book is best described as an introductory/general info guide, since whilst there is supporting text for the sites it is very broad in nature and there not too many photographs - there are some fairly good maps dotted around inside though....*** You should note that this is a black-on-white printed book ie no colour whatsoever !So, I used it in a supporting role for my main book but before leaving home had copied/enlarged those excellent plans onto A4 paper to use as handheld, 'throwaway' maps/guides when touring each site or perhaps kept if I had scribbled any pertinent notes onto the paper at the time = saves damaging the book and having to hold it open when walking around !You can get a good idea of the style of writing and content (and those site plans !) by using the Amazon 'Look inside' feature. The '2012' date in the title of the book was what provoked publication but it doesn't diminish the usefulness of the book after that date !You might also notice that some of the textual content is of the 'chummy' type, with boxed 'articles' from contributors describing their favourite site or sight - interesting but not vital information IMHO !Unlike the Knopf, whilst this book is also published in the USA it is more widely available - so you don't necessarily have to plan ahead to get it sent from the USA by buying it second-hand from a US-based Amazon Marketplace seller for example; as postage is only £2.80 you should be able to get a decent enough copy for a snip.I also bought a few others for solely 'home-reading' (largely as they're big/heavy hardbacks with little 'travel' use !) which are also recommended to varying degrees (again, I plan to review them), BUT the quality of that Knopf Guide shows as it really does compare very favourably with even these 'heavyweights' IMHO whereas this Moon guide is VERY 'skimpy' in comparison : Maya The following 2 are by the same author and MORE IMPORTANTLY note that this first book is repeated in it's entirety in the second (which then continues with a massive amount of content afterwards) ! Aside from content, the difference is that the first 'shorter' book is in a larger format and paperback as opposed to smaller hardback for the second : The Lost History of the Aztec and Maya: The History, Legend, Myth and Culture of the Ancient Native People of Mexico and Central America - Olmec * ... * Zapotec * Toltec * Mixtec * Totonac * Aztec The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Aztec and Maya: The Definitive Chronicle of the Ancient Peoples of Mexico and Central America - Including the ... ... Photographs, Paintings, Artefacts and Maps This Moon Handbook is a good 'general' travel-orientated guide book and proved to be quite useful whilst on my thoroughly enjoyable 'Maya' holiday - it's diminutive size does mean the content is limited, but for a (likely) low price you get something that is usefully compact for travel and it might satisfy all your requirements, especially as it has those excellent plans of most of the archaeological sites. Knopf Guide: Route of the Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides)MayaThe Lost History of the Aztec and Maya: The History, Legend, Myth and Culture of the Ancient Native People of Mexico and Central America - Olmec * ... * Zapotec * Toltec * Mixtec * Totonac * AztecThe Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Aztec and Maya: The Definitive Chronicle of the Ancient Peoples of Mexico and Central America - Including the ... ... Photographs, Paintings, Artefacts and Maps