Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Buenos Aires (2nd ed)

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

 

 

A handy portable guide for trips to Buenos Aires. Provides a good overview of the people, culture, history, and city itself. Good maps, especially of subte. Somewhat dated but still contained all information I needed to know. Was especially grateful for warnings about exorbitant phone prices and inability to use Discover Card in Argentina. Good recommendations and phone numbers, especially for Teatro Colon and other cultural sites. A great deal for the price.

Lonely Planet is usually relatively weak in city guides, while they are much stronger in country and regional guidebooks. But this guide to Buenos Aires is surely an exception. It is an indispensable tool for all visitors, useful to the budget traveller and the business person alike, filled with tips, information and data. The only bad point is perhaps that, the way things are quickly changing in Argentina, its advice won't always be up-to-date. And - one should stress - Buenos Aires is not just a paradise, as this book may let one think. Yet, overall, a very good book worth taking with you.

I was happy to see the second edition with updated prices and info. Unfortunately, like the first it is long on facts, but short on opinion. This is okay if you're looking for a list of things to do, but is of little help where there are real choices -- whether hotels, restaurants or tango shows. They're listed, but there's not really much to tell you which to pick, unless all you care about is location and cost.

I know the author has opinions (they occasionally slip through), and hope in the 3rd ed. he'll let them out!

Still, it's the best guidebook I've seen on what to do in and around the city.

There's a warning about extra phone charges which is a bit understated. The hotels I've stayed in charge between 0.20 and 0.40 per minute for local calls, not per call. In North America, I'll often stay on-line while I compose replies to my e-mails to save the per call charge. Doing that in BsAs hit me with enormous, unexpected phone charges on my hotel bill!

I visited Buenos Aires in May 1999. I found Bernhardson's review to be almost perfect in pointing out places to eat, sightsee, shop, and how to get there (or rather, how to obtain information on how to get there from the locals). Even his club recommendations were perfect for me - I was 19, and his description of one club's crowd as "young and unpretentious" proved to be true and exactly what I was looking for. Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to visit, and Bernhardson's guide is a must-have for any visitor.

We checked out all the guide books on Buenos Aires and this handy little guide is the best around. We run a Spanish language school in Buenos Aires and although an update would be welcome, you can't get a better book for just under $ 10.

This is a well written guide that is a perfect introduction to the delights of Buenos Aires. Given it's small size the sheer amount of information contained is remarkable.

I'm a big Lonely Planet fan but somehow this guide slipped through the cracks (and into the trashpile). It's nothing more than a generic checklist of hotels, restaurants, sights. Often, it fails to provide the perspective you need to customize your travel -- whether that's better historical background or more colorful descriptions. It'll offer a wealth of options, but it gives you no direction.

The Lonely Planet Buenos Aires (Lonely Planet City Guide) by Wayne Bernhardson is an excellent little book, well worth the money I paid for it.

It has an excellent map section and includes areas outside the federal capital that may be of interest to some travellers.

Photos are bright, vibrant, and most importantly, are a true representation of what you are likely to see.

Information is abundant and generally of high quality. I found the guide quite useful, I used it on many occassions, and thoroughly enjoyed what it suggested to see.

There is only one thing that could better the Lonely Planet Buenos Aires City Guide (1996), an updated edition - unfortunately this one was already old when I used it in the second half of 1998.

Congratulations Wayne, keep up the good work.

This book was an immense help in navigating an unfamiliar city. A few restaurants mentioned in book were closed and some names have changed, not surprising in a travel book. Hopefully it will be updated soon.