Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Canada (Country Guide)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The new edition of this book fails to deliver in every aspect. I've used Lonely Planet books in the past, and they've proved to be reliable and useful, but not this one. I live in Banff, and so the observations are from this region.

Firstly, the "new" edition is terribly out of date. I purchased it after seeing the publication date was October 2002. It's accepted and understandable that things change, but there is information that was wrong well over a year before the publication date. A hostel that burnt down in 2000 (Hilda Creek, page 701), and reference to Banff and Jasper as "townsites" (Banff was incorporated in 1991, Jasper in 2001) are examples.

The description of Banff is laughable. There is no possible way anyone could describe the town as a "small, alpine-style village that consists of essentially one main street" (page 686), as this book does. The following history section doesn't get better: "The Bow River forms a class-distinctive boundary that is still evident today." In the first instance, the side of the river that LP tells us "caters to the wealthy crowd" comprises mainly of subsidized housing. And "Many people complain that the townsite is too crowded and argue that more hotels and streets should be built." Aside from the fact a 12 year old could have written the sentence, it's just simply not correct. In an effort to include an environmental slant, the authors have touched on current issues. Readers are informed that a convention center at Lake Louise is controversial because it's "in grizzly bear habitat-good goin' guys" (page 696). Bad goin' I say-it's controversial due to water issues, not bears.

The book is riddled with inaccuacies. Not information that is out of date, but straightforward mistakes. Page 688 talks of canoe rentals at Banff's Central Park. There has never been a canoe rental place here. How could a trained writer even imagine there was? Golden is "just outside the park" (page 692) No, it's over an hour's drive away along a treacherous road. There are literally dozens of similar mistakes in just the few pages on Banff. This is also reflected in the maps: Banff has no "Mamoth St." (page 687). As all Banff streets are named for animals, I guess they meant "mammoth" street, but there is no street of this name either. The mapmakers can't even correctly spell an incorrect name, or something along those lines anyway.

Most surprising for me, the good, solid travel information these books were once renowned for has been replaced by useless, fluffy text that serves no purpose at all. For example, the restaurants listed are not recommendations as such, but simply listings. And where there is a description it does little to inform. Four lines are used to explain the source of the name of an Irish pub (page 694) that has absolutely no relevance to Banff or the mountains, including that the original Guinness Brewery is still open and that it was "founded by 34 year old Arthur Guinness in 1759." The next listing is for Bruno's, named for one of Banff's most famous and respected mountain men. This name isn't explained, just that the restaurant has a "wide-ranging menu." There is an excellent reason why renting a vehicle in Banff, as opposed to Calgary or Canmore, is a bad choice (no unlimited mileage is offered, even by the majors), yet, this important and useful information isn't included (page 696).

My original purpose of buying this book was for travel around my own country, not so much to rely on every word in print but to get a feeling as how Canada is portrayed by these books. The litany of inaccuracies and uselessness seems to continue beyond the Rockies section. On page 34 readers are told brown bears are "actually a black bear but brown in color." I just wish I could ask the author how he came up with this unique theory.

I imagine picking a Lonely Planet book as the guide of choice is habit more than anything for many travelers. It's reflected in the attitude of those I meet on the road and the reviews I see here at Amazon. It seems somehow ironic that Lonely Planet has evolved from the likes of an Africa book I relied on for every word in the 80s, written by a guy whose biography had him living in a hut brewing mango wine somewhere I can't recall, to this worthless tome that relies on name rather than content to generate sales.

This book is a lot of things, and none of them good. The authors really don't know the country very well, or have failed to visit many of the palces they recommend. I buy a guidebook to learn what's good and what's not. But this book doesn't give that. It just lists the same information anyone can find on the internet or in tourist brochures. I want to know if the rooms are big, if they're clean, where they are in relation to local attractions. None of this information is given.

I used this book to seach out a hotel near Vancouver Airport, which was my arrival point in Canada. The text says that the Holiday Inn is "beside Highway 99.", with no indication where along this 30 mile long road it is.

When the author does add a description, it does nothing to inform. Or it's incorrect. My travels took me to Lake Louise. There are lots of good hiking guides to this region, but I figured the outlines in this book would get me going. I hiked 2 trails the author suggested. The descriptions of both were so wildly inaccurate as to be dangerous. The author thinks there is a teahouse at Mirror Lake (never, I was told). He or she highly recommends hiking the "popular" trail between Moraine Lake and Lake Louise when in fact one doesn't even exist!

The Lonely Planet description of Mt. Assiniboine Park sounded good, so I followed their lead which said "a gravel road takes you close to the park through the ski resort of Sunshine Village." I followed my map to Sunshine Village to be told the gravel road has never ever been open to the public.

The only redeeming feature of this book is that when the author hasn't bothered to visit a place, he or she admits it in a subtle way: In Lake Louise, the extent of recommendations for places to dine is "Eat at your hotel." (lots of great places here for all budgets including the best bakery I found in a month on the road). In Nelson readers are encouraged to "ask at the visitor center" for somewhere to stay. These type of entries make me doubt whether they even bothered to travel to many places they write about, let alone do any actual research.

This book has turned me off a guidebook series I have used for years. Never again.

I used the lonely planet Canada for travelling from the West Coast to the East Coast. In most places I found that it gave me all the information that I needed on hostels and places to eat.

The section on the Canadain Rockies was not so good, and an extra guide book is recommened.

On the negative side of this book is that some of the maps are incorrect and I found myself walking the wrong way.

I don't have anything to compare the book to, but it did the job for me.

I have used Lonely Planet guides for many years,but unlike the reviewer of July 3 1998 I wouldn't automatically regard them as the best, especially in a country as large as Canada. I recently traveled through western Canada and found this book to be relatively up to date, but way too brief in most areas and catering almost exclusively to budget travelers. I also had with me the British Columbia Handbook and Alberta Handbook by Andrew Hempstead and found them to fill the gaps with a good selection of places to stay and eat as well as hiking and all the best things to see and do (and there's lots of that-plan to spend as much time as possible in Canada) from someone who lives there. In addition to these two books, many more books are available in Canada to each region and Canadians love reading so there are bookstores in every town. If you are hitchhiking across Canada, the Lonely Planet book is the one, if you want more detailed information stick to the Moon books.

I used this guide while travelling on the east and west coast of Canada. It's most complete and accurate and also fun to read. The recommendations are all very reliable and good. If you don't want to carry around a handful of guide books, this book helps a lot. Even if it might not go as much into detail as a guide that zooms in on a particular city or region. But you'll find everything a backpacker's (and budget traveler's) eye is looking for. Highly recommended.

First time I used Lonely Planet was back in 90s. At the time I found many of their guides to be pretentious, slightly over the top "hipster-esque", long-winded, and crappy as a field tactical guide. It's been a while since the 90s. After picking up the guide on Canada, I found the series have undergone major overhauls. Organization is more logical, text is more crisp, there's still a adventurous attitude but more refined and professional. I especially like the expanded chapters on some of the northmost Canadian provinces, such as Nunavut. I wasn't even planning any trips to Canada any time soon, but after browsing this guide at bedtime for a few evenings, I became tempted.

Lonely Planet is a publisher that really thinks before it releases new guides, this March 2011 Canada Travel Guide is so well laid out, uses color to emphasize topics, maps to help me visualize an area, and uses so many features to make it an ideal resource that I pick up again and again. They even tell when the next version will come out, 2014.

The first item that got my attention was Lonely Planet's suggestion I look inside the rear cover to make sure I had the correct book, for they make small carry with you guides, eBook versions, and this larger, more comprehensive kind of book that really covers it all, exactly what I wanted, a book that will assist me either at home or in the hotel room, to plan, know what's out there, and go for it. It succeeds so well.

Canada is the place I'll go if I left the USA, that said, I've explored much of it, but I wanted to get this book to see what I've missed so far, and what to plan for the future journeys. The book starts with planning tools to help flesh out the options available. The 25 Top experiences got my interest, like Old Quebec City ( loved it, mais oui), Nahanni National Park Reserve ( not yet, but on my list now thanks to this guide), Maritoulin Island in Ontario ( another added to my list), cities like Montreal( fabulous place).... Great list that whets your appetite, good way to start out a travel book.

So now that my interest is active, I start looking for places I've visited and see how the authors have done in their recommendations. The What's New section is helpful, like Historic Sites, I flipped over to page 258 as suggested for Historical Sites, liked the suggested 'Don't Miss' ideas - i.e. Fortifications, Battlefield's Park... each with page and details with maps cited, prices, and times. well done. Or Seafood suggestions by region and eateries, made me hungry reading it. Next the guide went Month by Month telling of events, and what to include. Then a favorite feature I use was Itineraries, suggesting from short to long, and a web link to chat with other readers, I looked at it, plenty of advice there. Then Children helpful advice, and finally the Regions, thorough and yet, not overbearing.

The On the Road section was perfect for me, detailed reviews of places to save me time, that's why I love guide books, they do the research instead of me. saving me time and money and frowns from bad experiences. I'd love a 2 way conversation with authors telling of what we as readers find too, I know its in the chat forum, but maybe a book title and feedback site?

I found the book accurate, well organized, and maps/guides helpful to get me where I wanted quickly, and on budget. Lonely Planet succeeded in their New Layout approach, maps that pointed my eyes to see what many maps miss, and updated planning tools. And if this book, isn't detailed enough, Lonely Planet has city specific books, like Montreal & Quebec City area.

I ordered this book around the same time as another LP released in the same month, both of which are the new style. I heard such bad things about the new style from the reviews of this book, I was surprised when I saw the other book, which looks great and has some neat new features. But I now understand that this one is just completely different: it appears to be partway to the new format.

Instead of the multi-color pages, this one is two-tone, similar to Frommer's, but with light blue and white being the colors. It really doesn't do anything to help the book. Actualy, it looks bad. It also doesn't make the maps any better than the black and white maps; if anything, the blue adds minor confusion when some land masses are blue, a color usually reserved for water.

There are no 3D plans of iconic sites, as there are in other new editions. There are very few pictures in this book, which is disappointing, and the ones that are there are of poor quality (I think it is the saturation) - poorer quality than the other new editions.

There is a pull-out map of Vancouver in the back of this book, as is a new feature. It doesn't really add much to the value of the book since you can get a free tourist map of Vancouver when you arrive (plus, the book is for Canada, of which Vancouver is a very small part). It is a five-page pullout split awkwardly so half of it fits on the back.

Props to the writers for using kilometers exclusively instead of miles.

More nitpicking: in general, the writing style is too verbose - it's as if they're trying to fill space and make it seem as if they like Canada, although I'm not certain that they do. There are far too many typos for a professional publication, and they have a lot of those very strong "we like it green" political suggestions that I thought (was hoping) they were getting away from.

Like others, I also got the distinct impression that the writers do not know Canada very well. If you look at the writers section, there are three plus 8 contributors. As the writers themselves are not contributors to all the provinces, I suspect they were winging some of it.

Please note that I recently did a very positive review for an LP product, so if you are one of those die-hard LP people, please refrain from leaving me nasty comments for telling it how it is.

All these annoyances mentioned, it's still a pretty good book to have around. I definitely learned a few things already and I have a better idea of where I'd like to go on my next trip up North. Chances are, this is the reason you'd buy this book, and you'd get something more region-specific if you were planning a trip. I could easily give this book 2-stars for some things and 4-stars for others.

CANADA is by Karla Zimmerman, Catherine Bodry, Celeste Brash, John Lee, Emily Matchar, Brandon Presser, Sarah Richards, Brendan Sainsbury, and Ryan Ver Berkmoes. This is nine authors for covering 13 provinces in Canada. CANADA is 912 pages long with a full-color pull-out map of the City of Vancouver, attached to the rear cover. This map, which is 14 inches by 14 inches, shows the locations of the "Classical Chinese Garden," "Granville Island Public Market," "Roedde House Museum," "Telus World of Science," and other attractions. But this is only one city.

This book is unusual for the LONELY PLANET series of books, and for other commercially available series of travel books, in that the book is not filled with glossy colored photographs. In fact, only pages 4 to 17 contain color photos. These show the remote islands and cliffs of Queen Charlotte Islands (a.k.a. Haida Gwaii), Niagara Falls, coastal mountains in Nova Scotia, the majestic Nahanni National Park, the awesome Banff National Park, Montreal, a token photograph of a grain elevator from the prairies of Saskatchewan, a whale in the Bay of Fundy, the northern lights, a 1,000 year old Viking settlement in Newfoundland, a dinosaur exhibit in Alberta, and the Rideau Canal in Ontario. But this book makes up for the fact that it has few color pictures, by that fact that the book is nearly 1,000-pages long. Anyway, how could ANY color photograph due justice to Banff National Park and to Jasper National Park???

CANADA is divided into the following chapters:
(1) ONTARIO. This chapter, for example, devotes about 15 to 50 pages each to Toronto, Niagara Peninsula, southwestern Ontario, Georgian Bay, northern Ontario, and Ottawa;
(2) QUEBEC;
(3) NOVA SCOTIA;
(4) NEW BRUNSWICK;
(5) PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND;
(6) NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR;
(7) MANITOBA;
(8) SASKATCHEWAN;
(9) ALBERTA;
(10) NATIONAL PARKS. This chapter, which is 60 pages, covers the following parks -- Gwaii Haanas; Banff; Ukkusiksalik; Jaspter; Terra Nova; Quttinirpaaq; Auyuittuq; Aulavik; Torngat Mountains; Ivvavik; Wapusk; Wood Buffalo; Forillon; Yoho; Waterton Lakes; Riding Mountain; Cape Breton Highlands; Pacific Rim; Kootenay; Fundy; Glacier; Point Pelee; Prince Edward Island; Georgian Bay Islands; Kluane, and a few others. In perusing this list of names, most Americans will likely be struck with the notion that they know nothing about Canada, and they will likely be inspired to schedule a 2-week vacation for visiting two or three of these parks;
(11) BRITISH COLUMBIA;
(12) YUKON TERRITORY;
(13) NORTHWEST TERRITORIES; and
(14) NUNAVUT. This chapter, for example, devotes a few pages each to Iqaliut, Baffin region, Kivalliq region, Kitikmeot region.

My approach to continuing this review will be to open a half-dozen pages at random. Page 111 informs us that a restaurant called, TAPS ON QUEEN BREWHOUSE & GRILL has shepherd's pie, a curry with quinoa, couscous, adzuki beans, and mung beans, and beers brewed on-site. Page 188 tells us that Gananoque is a "dainty Victorian town deep in the heart of the Thousand Islands region" with various boating companies and kayaking companies. Page 258 tells us about the old fortifications of Quebec, where you can walk 4.6 kilometers on top of a wall, and walk around the Old Upper Town, and see forts, cannons, and demonstrations of musket firings. Page 366 talks about boating tours for going whale watching, and about a rug-hooking museum. (Now how many tourist destinations provide a 3-hour whale-watching tour plus a rug museum??? Not too many, I would say!!!) Page 463 identifies a market where you can buy seal flippers (yum, yum) suitable for pies and making seal-jerky, caribou steaks, and partridgeberry pies. Nearby is the Ocean Sciences Centre, a free museum that teaches about the salmon life cycle, seal navigations and ocean currents. Page 573 describes the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and nearby Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre constructed in 1993, which has 561 painted dragons. Page 671 talks about the Royal BC Museum, which contains dioramas featuring a woolly mammoth, elk, grizzlies, and exhibits of indigenous cultures, including masks. Page 739 details Kootenay National Park and the Radium Hot Springs, where bighorn sheep wander through town.

The writing is straightforward, but not dry. The journalists are aware that there are readers holding this massive tour guide. And, from time to time, the reader encounters gripping comments such as, "Much of Midland's fascinating history focuses on the bloody altercations between the Huron and the Christian stalwarts" (page 145), "Captain Mark promises not only guaranteed whales but also time to see seals as well as Gampo Abbey," (page 368), and "bear trail closures are a possibility, especially in berry -- season June to September (page 594).

I noticed that a number of other reviewers have documented that this travel guide is filled with inaccuracies. I am willing to believe that this guide is filled with inaccuracies. Therefore, I suggest that the guide be used as an indication as to what adventures might be found in various parks, or in various towns, but to leave the FINE-TUNING to what the traveler finds during the traveler's actual vacation trip. (Too bad about the inaccuracies. It should not be this way.)

You have to admire 'Lonely Planet'. They have a resourceful bunch of (usually) young and vibrant travel reviewers who provide concise, colorful, and consumable guides for those who are adventurous and/or on a budget.

This guide to Canada is no different. Impeccably organized and containing a large breadth of information from the usual to the most improbable itineraries, 'Lonely Planet,' is practical for prospective, actual, and vicarious exploration of the second largest country on earth.

Organized by each province and containing visually accessible sections on accomodations, points-of-interest, and eateries, 'Lonely Planet Canada' is a great alternative to other guidebooks, which are biased in favor of the "Best of" features that lean heavily toward the well-to-do and/or persnickety travelers.

As I have only mainly been to Whitehorse, Yukon; Vancouver, BC, and exquisite summer camping sites in Banff and Jasper National Parks, I am no expert about Canada, but while my taste of The Great White North has only been whetted, I'd know I'd be amiss not to leave home next time without this truly valuable guidebook.

(While I am at home with the information and evaluations, I dock this fine book one star because this edition is bereft of the glorious color photos of their most superb guidebooks. Having a photo version of 'Lonely Planet' is almost like getting a guided tour by their engagingly funny host, Ian Wright. [Sometimes the TV series is entitled 'Globe Trekker'.])