Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Brazil (4th ed)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just spent one month in the Rio area and Sao Paulo with my wife. We took both the Insight Guide to Brazil and Rio, and this book. I never used the Insight Guide books, they were awful. They only had pretty pictures.

On the other hand, the Lonely Planet book ruled! The book gives detailed info on how to do things everywhere in Rio, and even has great sections on the pequena cidades in the interior. For example, we went to Teresopolis (north of rio) and the info on Teresopolis was very helpful.

I would especially recommend going hang-gliding or para-gliding on Sao Conrado in Rio. The Lonely Planet guide explains how to do it. I did it, and it was better than any dream I've ever had, though terrifying at takeoff!

The insight on places to eat, and places to stay, is the MOST helpful. If you're very wealthy, you don't care--you'll just stay at one of the best places and eat at the two or three most famous places. But if you're constrained by a budget, this book clearly indicates how to maximize your dollar.

If you're going to Brazil for an adventure, and not just to sit on Copacabana and go to the Sugerloaf, this book is a must.

All right, out of the box, knowing nothing about Brazil, I'd toss five stars on it in a second. However, just got back from a honeymoon with wife, who is Brazilian, and we take exception to some things:

Fortaleza: Imperial Othon rooms are not 5-star, but the service and staff are. Make that known. Its location is ideal, but better rooms can be had at the Melia Confort (not a misspell).
Also, add Al Mare as an excellent dinner choice; right on the shoreline, superb food and service, and very cheap if you're used to paying $80 USD for this kind of meal.

Recife: hated it. Boa Viagem beach near Holiday Inn was so-so. The Holiday Inn had clueless staff, cheerfully unhelpful. Worst was Patio de São Pedro: don't go, don't even bother, unless your idea of fun happens to be a flea market in Newark. Some heads-up on dining: liked the Flaminggo (not a misspell) on Boa Viagem, but inexplicably had no soccer telecast for the sub-17 game against France; did not like Bargaço, which attempted to foist a classy veneer on sub-par dinner offerings, and the prices were disparate with the food as well.

Rio: fave city, but does any hotel staff know their city outside of Fortaleza? The Everest Rio is a decent 5-star hotel if you imagine it 10 years ago. At least they had 24-hr room service.

Prices do change, but the LP doesn't generally steer you wrong. A guide needs more updates, however, and the 5th edition was too long in coming for me to grant a fifth star. One final suggestion: my travel style is generally fearless but I like a good hotel and can pay for a good meal, so list some "non-backpacking" alternatives to places to stay and eat and see.

I used the previous eddition of the LP guide while on an extended (5-month) trip in Brazil and halfway through the trip I gave it away because it was just cluttering up my backpack. It only covered the biggest cities, and even then, I thought Andrew Draffen to some very snobbish opinions about many places (Santos being one of them). One of the most interesting "off-the-beaten path" travels I made (w/out Lonely Planet) was from Lencois Maranhenses (Barreirinhas) overland to Tutoia, and then by boat past the Ilha do Caju to Piaui, and then to Camocim and on to Jericoacoara. Had I trusted the LP guide, this region of the coast would have remained a mystery. I eventually bought a copy of Guia 4 Rodas Brazil guide in Portuguese because the maps were amazingly accurate, and it had hotel and dining options for even the most obscure towns. I also visited Parintins (an island-city in the Amazon) in June for the largest Bumba-meu-boi festival in the world, and LP doesn't even mention the place! There are some newer, better books on the market that appear better... when travelling in Brazil trust the locals and avoid Lonely Planet!

I referred to this book at least 3-5 times a day while in Brazil. We spent some time in the countryside and some in major cities. I would say that it was reasonably useful for both city and countryside with a range of lodging and restaurant options. We stayed in a great little hostel and were treated very well. The other advantage is that there were other backpackers there, so we took a tour with other travellers and met some really great people (both local and other tourists). Occasionally places go out of business (more so restaurants than lodging) so we arrived into the airport with no reservations, managed to take a bus into town (schedule and location were very accurately described in the guide) and found a room at a very comfortable hostel. Some of the bars listed were hard to find in Sao Paolo, we got lost in a bad neighborhood one night, but overall locations were fairly accurate. You can probably just travel with this book and a little knowledge of Spanish or Portugese (if you speak Spanish, people try to understand). The people are extremely friendly, and supplement the basics contained in the guide. Make friends with a local, they are extremely friendly and can probably show you thinkgs that are more "of-the-moment".

As always, Lonely Planet provides thorough advice on the country, on do's and dont's. Don't go to Brazil without it ! This guide is particularly admirable for covering such a vast territory in a single book, and for offering, on top of usual information for visitors, a great deal of historical, social and political data which is interesting and easy-to-read for anyone. Indeed, at university I remember some people studied Latin American politics just by reading the politics section at the beginning of these LP guides.

- (From Planeta Journal) The fourth edition of this classic is a comprehensive guide to traveling in Brazil. It has a terrific section on the Pantanal and provides helpful instructions on choosing an ecotourism company (page 132). Interesting sidebars tell the origins of guarana and explain how Brazilians give directions. The book includes in-depth notes on ecology and national parks in addition to extensive coverage of places to stay and eat for all budgets.

Santos is a great city to visit. Easily reachable by bus from Sao Paulo down 1000 meters through the hairpin turns of the Mata Atlantica to the coastline. The biggest port in Lat. Am. with a fascinating history. Brasil was founded in nearby Sao Vincente. The towns are poor, as much of Brasil is, but they are making great improvements. The Coffee Exhange building is great ! Nice botantical gardens, the aquarium has fish that have legs ! Unfortunately your recommended hotel - The Hotel Gonzaga is burnt out, a bus stop, and housing for homeless. Try the Hotel Atlantico instead. There is no great guide for all Brasil yet, but this one has the most practical info.

Good way to understand a country.