Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Australia (Country Guide)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I started to use Lonely Planet 15 years ago. I can say that I am a witness of how much quality deteriorite it has been. I used to just buy it by default. It was a Bible for me. But, a BIG but, this Lonely Planet Australia set a new lowest standard for the series.

First of all, it had so old information. The hostels listed in the book in Sydeny probably were closed more than 5 years ago. One hostel in bondi beach that I wanted to go that was listed in the book. When I showed up in the hotel address, there was a internet café and pub. No hostel at all.

Second. The most unbelieveable of all, the book I have, which is 2004 version, has no mention at all about the Olympic Village in Sydeny. Oh my God! Sydney Olympic was in 2000. Can you believe that after 4 years, they still didn't update it? I was reading it again and again, before I throw this book away to trash can, I still didn't belive that they can omit all the information about Olympic, like the village, the boat to go there, like the stadium... they pretend that there is no such a thing!

I know that Lonely Plante started many years ago in Australia, by some Australian backpackers. So it is a REAL shame that Lonely Planet Australia is so bad. If there is negative score, I will give that. As one star is minimum, I have to give that. But my true belief is that this book deserves negative 5 stars!!!

Since the late 90's Lonely Planet have been dwindling down the number of destinations and hostel listings in these guides and replacing that space with more five star hotels, fine dining and other useless information backpackers will never use. In this edition Lonely Planet lists the most expensive Hotel in Australia, Palazzo Versace in their Gold Coast accommodation listings. They are so out of touch with their target market now it is not funny.

Buy the Backpackers Ultimate Guide (BUG) Australia instead as it is what Lonely Planet and Lets Go used to be. A comprehensive coverage of all hostels in a destination, not just the one or two that pay to be listed and no weight increasing space taking up useless information that we backpackers do not want to lug around an entire continent.

If you can find an old copy from ten years ago buy it otherwise give Lonely Planet a miss!

I just wrote a review of Australia Handbook and decided to have a look at the reviews for Lonely Planet's Australia guide. I bought both books as well as Frommer's and Fodor's guides for my trip to Australia. I have used many Lonely Planet guides through the years, but must agree with the comments of other posted reviews--it is oriented almostly solely to young people out looking for a a job picking fruit and wanting to know the latest nightclub hotspot. I did find the first sections of this book to be thorough on the country's history and what to expect, but as for myself and my wife (40 year olds staying in motels and with a rental car) it was useless once we got there. Lonely Planet is also way behind when it comes to listing websites.

These books may serve budget travelers well, but for my money, it's the Frommer's or Moon book.

I've traveled to a lot of countries with Lonely Planet guides, and they're always good, but they seem to particularly shine in countries with wide-open spaces, such as Australia. I've got the Mongolia guide, too, and as with Australia, that eye for detail in more remote settings makes a big difference. I've been to Australia several times, and have even written a book about Australia, but even with all I know, I can't keep up to date with new restaurants, changed hours, different owners, or lodging in remote towns, and Lonely Planet is perfect for that -- though it has also often guided me to good places in big cities. It's just a wonderfully detailed resource. I rarely go anywhere remote or exotic without picking up the Lonely Planet book for the destination, and I just got this most recent Australia guide (I have a couple of older ones). I do usually buy more than one guidebook for a destination, at least if I'm going on a longer trip, but if there's an LP guide, that will be one of the ones I get.

I'd say the only slight drawback for the Australia guide is that the type is a little small, especially in the history section and boxed features -- but I don't think they could use larger type unless they broke it into two books, as this volume is already over 1,000 pages. It's probably vastly more information than you need if you're only going for a couple of weeks. But if you've got a lot of time, this is almost as good a resource as having a friend in Australia.

I just recently came back from Australia. I found this book to be really useful! I used it for everything from accomidations and clubs in major cities to trekking through the outback. I would definitely reccomend this book hands down over lets go! They cover everything you need and the prices they quote are pretty accurate.

This book is a wealth of information all contained in one volume. The travel tips, itineraries and even restaurant information are well researched. My only complaint is I'd like to see more detailed maps of some of the more off the beaten path areas - such as Kirra Beach, were I am going. Other than that, this book is a great product and I'd highly recommend it for anyone going to Australia for their first time.

I'd heard from friends that the Lonely Planets guides are spot-on for travel. I bought Australia before I went in Sept. 2008 and we used it at Uluru (formerly Ayres Rock), in Adelaide, and in Sydney. It was EXTREMELY helpful. The listings are informative and we agreed with most evaluations they made. When you go that far for a vacation, you certainly don't want to waste time finding your way around or waste money by going to bad venues. This book will help prevent both. The only negative is that the book is heavy and was a bit of a chore to haul along!

Lonely Planet guides are phenomenal, and I would recommend them -- but they are not yet ready for prime time on Kindle. The only way to read the book (on Kindle) is page by page. If the chapter you want to read is in the middle of the book, you can spend a couple of hours trying to get there. Each chapter has links in the beginning to major sections within the chapter, so that is helpful. And at the end of the sections and at the end of each chapter there is a link to return to the beginning of that chapter. What is not there -- and what is needed more than anything -- is a brief table of contents at the beginning of the book, with each one linked to the first page of that chapter. Also, at the end of the content listings for a chapter, and at the end of the chapter, there should be a link to return to the table of contents. These additions would make the book a huge asset on Kindle. Right now, don't bother. I tried the Lonely Planet Guide for New Zealand, too. Since it is a much smaller country, I did manage to use it but still had the same complaints. For now, stick to paperbacks!

As with most countries LP has the most comprehensive travelguide on Australia, but it is time to update this issue concerning prices. After introduction of the new taxsystem in Australia almost none of the prices mentioned are correct, which is quite irritating...

I started to use Lonely Planet 15 years ago. I can say that I am a witness of how much quality deteriorite it has been. I used to just buy it by default. It was a Bible for me. But, a BIG but, this Lonely Planet Australia set a new lowest standard for the series.

First of all, it had so old information. The hostels listed in the book in Sydeny probably were closed more than 5 years ago. One hostel in bondi beach that I wanted to go that was listed in the book. When I showed up in the hotel address, there was a internet café and pub. No hostel at all.

Second. The most unbelieveable of all, the book I have, which is 2004 version, has no mention at all about the Olympic Village in Sydeny. Oh my God! Sydney Olympic was in 2000. Can you believe that after 4 years, they still didn't update it? I was reading it again and again, before I throw this book away to trash can, I still didn't belive that they can omit all the information about Olympic, like the village, the boat to go there, like the stadium... they pretend that there is no such a thing!

I know that Lonely Plante started many years ago in Australia, by some Australian backpackers. So it is a REAL shame that Lonely Planet Australia is so bad. If there is negative score, I will give that. As one star is minimum, I have to give that. But my true belief is that this book deserves negative 5 stars!!!