Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Colombia (Country Travel Guide)

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

 

 

I've been using Lonely Planet travel guides for over 15 years. When I read the reviews on LP Colombia, I just thought that the reviewers were being hard on Lonely Planet since it is the predominant travel guide. Since it hadn't let me down in the past, I thought I would give it a try.

I just got back from Colombia and now I know why the reviews are so bad. This guide does a good job giving background information and history but heck, I can get that from Wikipedia. As far as what to see, where to go and places to stay, it totally misses the point. For example, it almost always recommends staying in the downtown of most major cities, even though these locations are often unsafe with little in the way of nightlife and attractions. In both Bogota and Cartagena, there are areas 5 minutes away from the town center with affordable places to stay and plently of sights to see. LP barely mentions these areas.

The book told us that you need a week to absorb Cartagena when it can easily be thoroughly seen in a couple of days. Yet, other jewels like Taganga are barely mentioned at all. The book doesn't even metion some of the best hostels in Colombia including La Bresa Loca in Santa Marta and the Cranky Croc in Bogota. It felt like they hadn't done an update in years. Wish I could get my money back on this. Take a chance on one of the other guides over this one.

After waiting patiently for the new edition for LP's Colombia to come out, I feel horribly ripped off. Locals actually laughed out loud at some of the "statements of fact" in the book and the places to stay that were recommended were hideous, nightmare, fratboy parties full of Americans and Israelis. I thought I'd give LP a chance again after many years because of the timing of my trip. (Brand new edition, trip 3 weeks later). I feel like this was not updated at all. There are several instances of unclear direction and explanations (such as the Colombian street address system) and incorrect travel time estimates (Cartagena to Bogota 7-8 hours by bus??? It's more like 20-23 you jerks).

One of the people that I stayed with in Colombia laughed when I pulled the new LP Colombia out. He said that there had been a scandal because one of the main contributors hadn't even BEEN in Colombia. I'm not sure if this true, but it certainly seems possible given the crap information and general lack of insight provided by the book.

The book also completely blows off two major cities that were slammed by earthquakes, Armenia and Pereira. It basically tells you that they're not worth visiting and not to bother. The main reasoning for this is that they were impacted by earthquakes almost a decade ago. I met a couple in Cartagena who told me they had a wonderful time in those cities, so it made me wonder. I decided to go to both and was amazed at how off and dismissive the Lonely Planet guide was. Did the writers just not want to travel to these cities? What the hell??? It made me also wonder what Lonely Planet's saying about New Orleans? I wonder if it's just dismissing it in whole because of Katrina 4 short years ago???

Do what you want, but if I had a chance to do it all over, I would save the 20 odd dollars and NOT BUY THIS BOOK! Tourist leaflets and the internet were much clearer and more informative.

Never again, Lonely Planet!

I bought several copies of this guide for use on a business trip to Colombia. While the guide has a fair amount of information for Bogota, it does not have very much for other cities, especially those the writers deem "unworthy," such as Barranquilla. I found Barranquilla to be a wholly different city than the one described in this Lonely Planet. Also, after using this guide, it became patently clear to me that the writers do not and have not lived in Colombia. Everything was written from a visitor standpoint, instead of a local standpoint. I wish that the Moon Guides had a Colombia book, because that's what I would have used instead.

All the negative reviews posted here inspired me to write my own cause I was surprised that others were so disappointed with this book, as I was totally happy with it. As happy with it as I was with my Ecuador edition and other guides I've used in the past. I backpacked in Colombia for 3 months last year using it and found it very useful.

Colombia is just picking up as a backpacker destination and so information is changing quickly and there certainly are hostels that now exist that are not mentioned in this edition - but you only need 1 hostel per location, not 20. As well the prices of hostels and buses aren't accurate, everything has gone up, but once you get over the price increases, I found it worked well. Like the historic sites/ruins are obviously in the locations the guide claims, the major cities are all in the correct spot. The descriptions of the locations seemed fine to me, I knew where I was going and what to expect. I found the sidebars & historical info fine.

Perhaps it comes down to how you use a guidebook, I use it to browse ideas, sites, towns, and cities, to see what exists and figure out where I'd like to go. The logistics of how to get there and where to stay are important to me too - I found this guide worked fine to cover those things. Prices are off. Some hostels not listed. But the book covers everywhere you'd want to go as a traveler.

Part of the adventure of going to an up-and-coming destination like Colombia is that things are changing. If you want predictability, I suggest Ecuador, prices have not changed in 8 years, I operated on an 8-year old lonely planet and it was dead on for prices. The inaccuracies of LP Colombia to me seemed more of a representation of a changing Colombia than the fault of a book.

In my 3 months in Colombia I can't remember one incident of blaming this guidebook for my predicament. I left my glasses on the bus once, but this wasn't the fault of the book. Leaving my glasses on the bus was my worst experience in the country really - Colombia is an excellent destination. I recommend it.

As Colombia returns to the South American tourist scene all of the major guidebook companies have published new editions of their former offerings. Lonely Planet has now published a second "new" guide to Colombia that is almost completely useless. Much of the information is incorrect, outdated, or simply false. Not only this, enormous sections of the country are simply excluded from the guide (Valledupar, the wonderful city of Vallenato music, Villavicencia, Ibague, etc). Some of the information will lead tourists to the former locations of restaurants or lodgings, some to mediocre places which are simply not worth visiting. Also, the authors have included information on nearly impossible to reach areas of La Guajira (peninsula shared with Venezuela jutting out into the Caribbean) which are not exactly the safest places to visit. I have travelled widely in Colombia over a number of years but decided to update my mid 90s LP for the new version--bad decision.

Colombia is a beautiful country--do not hesitate to visit!!! But, don't waste your money on this guide. The internet is full of current and useful information. And, if you would feel more comfortable with a guidebook, I recommend purchasing one of the older Lonely Planet's from the late 90s/early 2000s. Some of the information will be out of date, but it will be a good place to begin your research.

PROS
Familiar LP layout makes it easy to find what you need quickly.
LP guides have the essentials travelers need, in a similar structure across all guides of the same vintage.
The overview section at the front with color photos gives a feel for what you'll find in Colombia.
Smaller fonts means more information on fewer pages, but is also a CON for middle-aged eyes
Strong focus on outdoor activities and partying at night (see also CONS)

CONS
Poor coverage of local culture, food, music
Maps omit major brand hotels which make great landmarks
Relatively small total number of pages for its price

CONTENTS - 352 pages total

Highlights - 8 pages
Basics - 53 pages (itineraries, history, culture, food&drink, environment)
Bogotá and vicinity - 37 pages
Boyocá and the north - 37 pages
Caribbean Coast - 54 pages
San Andrés and Providencia - 12 pages
Medellin and Zona Cafetera - 35 pages
Cali and Southwest - 31 pages
Pacific Coast - 15 pages
Amazon Basin - 11 pages
Directory (essential details) - 13 pages
Transport - 10 pages
Health - 7 pages
Language - 6 pages (Spanish only, no regional dialects or creole English)

COMMENTS

Once known as one of the most dangerous parts of South America, Colombians got tired of it, and elected Uribe to clean it up. Terrific progress has been made. It is still more dangerous than, say, Santiago, but safer than other parts of Souh America.

This guide focuses mainly on outdoor activities. While that subject is very important in a tropical wonderland like Colombia, they do not provide much insight into the Colombian culture.

FOOD - In the Food and Drinks section, I expected to see some discussion of the major local dishes. There is a paragraph each on breakfast, lunch, and dinner, mostly in general terms. Sancocho is described, but the most famous dish, ajiaco santaferra, is mentioned in the vocabulary, but otherwise little is said about it. By comparison, Lonely Planet Peru (Country Travel Guide) has 2 1/2 pages describing cocina Peruana, and another half page for cocina Limeña. In LP Colombia, Bogotá has 2 1/2 pages listing 23 restaurants. By comparison, in LP Peru 2009, the food listings for Lima have 7 pages describing 73 restaurants.

In a different part of the book, the author dismisses Colombian cuisine: "don't expect gourmet food". This seems unnecessarily negative. While you may not call the food here "haute cuisine", it stands tall as yummy, satisfying, and unique comfort food. Rather than dismissing the cuisine as a whole, perhaps he should be more descriptive of the cuisine, which is definitely worth experiencing.

MUSIC - Colombia is a land of many unique styles that have become popular enough to spread all over Central and South America, and even USA, but barely a page is spent describing them. Major artists such as Carlos Vives are not even mentioned. Jorapo/Llanos is briefly and correctly described in this short section, but elsewhere in the book it says it is like bluegrass, which it is not, aside from using mainly acoustic instruments. The many styles are specific to various regions, but this guide mostly does not tell you where to find the various styles.

LANDMARKS - The maps and listings omit most major hotels, of the sort business travelers use. I am both a business traveler (when working) and a lower-budget traveler (when on holiday). Having business class hotels would be useful for those on business, and for easy-to-find landmarks for everyone.

UNNECESSARY MORAL LECTURES - Nearly all readers are adults and have established moral values. This book has an admonition occupying one third of a page, asking readers not to come to Colombia for a cocaine holiday. Really: how many people crazy enough to risk spending time in a Colombian prison and the dangers of dealing with the drug underground would read this in LP, and change their mind because it might hurt the Amazon? C'mon, this is insulting and won't change anyone's mind.

Overall, this guide seems less balanced and less complete than other LP guides, and is not a good value. Lonely Planet South America: On a Shoestring (Shoestring Travel Guide) may be a reasonable alternative to buying a Colombia-specific guide until LP provides a better guide for Colombia. Deducting a half star each for not covering food and music, on a guide which otherwise has some room for improvement, I give this LP guide 3 stars - not as good as most other LP guides. For example, it is actually more expensive than the excellent LP Peru 2010, which has 62% more pages.

WHO, ME?

I have visited 49 countries, using Lonely Planet or rarely Rough Guide for most of them, for both work and holidays. I think travel guides are especially valuable for short visits, because you don't have time to explore. I have visited Colombia only once.

I suppose this guide is probably better than the previous edition (whose author admitted he never even went to Colombia), but it is pretty half-baked. A lot of towns have no basic maps, and the info is quite limited in many cases, especially less-touristy locales. Colombia is a huge, diverse, fantastic country, and deserves more coverage. The guide to Costa Rica is more extensive, and CR has a small fraction of the size, diversity, population, and attractions of Colombia. I'm guessing they sell more CR guides. On the other hand, I'm not sorry that tourism is much lower in Colombia; in fact, this is a big plus. So keep up the good work, LP!

I went to Colombia last week (Cartagena and the Caribbean Coast) and found this book to be totally lacking. I have a love/hate relationship with Lonely Planet, but this was the first time that one of their guides completely let me down. As someone else noted, a couple of days is plenty to see Cartagena. Also, for an edition that is less than a year old, I found the price listings for hotels and hostels wildly inaccurate. Hotels listed for $40000 COP would really be $80000 COP. The section on Playa Blanca mentioned the beach as good for snorkeling due to a reef right off the beach. Absolutely untrue, visibility was zero in most parts and when it wasn't there was nothing to see. Moon or Rough Guide next trip for me.

Eyewitness travel (my normal source) does not have a Columbia guide. So I did not know what to expect with this guide. It was apparent that the authors tried everything that a traveler would want to try in Columbia. They had important, up-to-date information about safety, excursions and cost. The book is well-organized with information by region and at times takes you through a day by day tour as if you are there. The book is perhaps overly geared to the budget traveler and could use more pictures, but overall I'd buy another guide from this book if Eyewitness does not cover another destination.

I've used Lonely Planet guides for more than ten years. Some are great, most of them are very good and some lack some information. But this is the worst LP guide ever. Do not buy it unless you want to feel frustrated while reading it during your trip or trying to use it to plan the trip ahead. Even the paper is thicker than the rest of LP guides to trick you (making the book thicker than it should). It's a skinny, devoid of information mock.