Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Dominican Republic & Haiti

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Once more, Lonely Planet guidebooks set the standard, in providing essential advice, as well as wonderful insights on many issues, successfully targeting all kinds of travelers. Yet, as any first edition of a travel guidebook, this one could be substantially better than it is now - which, I am sure, will likely be achieved by the time the second edition comes out. Both sections on both countries are very good, though it must be remarked that the section on Haiti is - at least in my view - far less researched and refined than the impressive section on the Dominican Republic. The author of the Haiti section is obviously a real Haiti lover, and she provides plenty of wonderful facts about Haiti's history and present, culture and society, which she is eager to share with her readers. Yet, in my view, she fails to provide the best possible advice for travelers. Coverage on hotels and places to eat, and entertainment in general, is poor. On that, we add the fact that things are changing so rapidly in Haiti, which is beyond her control. The section on the Dominican Republic, in contrast, provides just-about any information and avice a traveler could desire when traveling to the country. Coverage of what to see and do in Santo Domingo, on hotels and restaurants, the many tips on how to behave (do's and dont's) etc, is truly excellent. All in all, once more, this is a guidebook you should not take off without.

I CARRIED THIS INCREDIBLE BOOK EVERYWHERE I WENT. I CALLED IT MY HAITI "BIBLE" IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I FOLLOWED IT TO A TEE AND HAD AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THE AUTHOR LEAH GORDON AT ONE OF HER FAVORITE AS WELL AS MINE HOTEL. THE HOTEL OLOFSON IS BEAUTIFUL. THAT IS A MUST SEE AND GO TO PLACE. THE BOOK WAS INSPIRATIONAL AND I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER AROUND HAITI LIKE A PRO! I MET SEVERAL HAITIANS WHILE I WAS THERE AND WAS EVEN ABLE TO SHOW THEM PLACES THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW EXISTED. I TRAVELED BY MYSELF AS A SINGLE FEMALE AND FOUND THAT THE BOOK WAS MY BEST FRIEND THROUGH THE WHOLE TRIP! WHAT A GREAT BOOK! I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE GOING TO HAITI! DOUBLE THUMBS UP!

What's up with Lonely Planet? Their new titles have been stinking for the last couple of years. This book wasn't very well researched. The Haiti section was very bare bones, and the Dominican Republic section was okay, but missed out on most of the best nightlife spots in Santo Domingo, some of the best beaches, didn't cover large sections of the country. I was really disappointed.

I bought this book to use as a guide while on a medical mission trip in the DR. The information is very helpful, and it includes a lot of useful tips. It would be a big help to a first time traveler in the DR.

I try to buy used books, which this was, but I didn't realize this book was about 10 years old, so any of the guidance it had to travel about the DR was probably no good. That said, this is not the vendors fault, the vendor was very good, and shipped promptly, This review is says it is for the item so I want to be clear that it what is getting to low rating, not the seller

Dominican Republic coverage was ok but Haiti seemed very ill served by this book.

Last month I went on a trip to the Dominican Republic with a group from my church, to help Habitat for Humanity build houses in Barahona. This book was an EXCELLENT resource, both before and during the trip. I really enjoyed Doggett's writing style, and found the information both practical in so many ways, as well as extremely educational. In fact, our church sends many teams to the D.R. each year, so we actually have a staff person (a native Dominican) who lives in Santo Domingo and coordinates these trips. He had not seen the book before, but found it so helpful that he asked if I could get a copy for him -- which I did. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the D.R.

I was very surprised to read the last two reviews and feel a need to express another opinion. My husband, David, and I just spent six and a half weeks in the Dominican Republic and we found the Lonely Planet guidebook to be very helpful (we did not travel at all in Haiti and, so, cannot comment on the book's coverage of Haiti). But we thought the section of the book that described the Dominican Republic was excellent. The prices were sometimes higher than the book said, due to inflation, but the descriptions were nearly always right on the mark. For example, we decided to climb Pico Duarte, the country's highest mountain, and we found the information provided about guides and lodges and climbing difficulty was very accurate. The author had clearly climbed the mountain and knew what he was talking about. The guidebook include maps of the various routes up the mountain and to nearby peaks and not one of the other guidebooks on the Dominican Republic that we looked at (about 10 in all) had such maps. Also, while we were in the area of Pico Duarte we went to a lovely waterfall few people go to that the author wrote about that wasn't mentioned in either of the other guidebooks we took with us (the Moon book was terrible, incidentally). I also really liked all of the history in the book. The island is rich with Indian history and colonial history and pirate history, and I thought the author did a super job presenting it.

all prices are wrong, example:

a language school that was recommended for 375$/month turned out to cost 1500$ a month. it appears that the author has never visited the most of the locations he wrote about! muchas gracias

A leader in travel guides, Lonely Plant once again proves it self as the leader in the industry with this excellent guide to traveling to/throughout the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Although Haiti's tourism industry is nearly nonexistent, the guide still provides the readers with information on attractions, accommodations, and safety issues.

In covering the neighboring Dominican Republic, the book provides much more information for this country which has seen a major boom in its' tourism industry since the late 1980s. Always informative with tidbits if information, history, maps, and information for singles and gay & lesbian travelers, the "Lonely Planet Dominican Republic and Haiti" is the best book for anyone planning a trip to the island of Hispaniola. Excellent guide for an excellent price.