Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring (Europe on a Shoestring, 2nd ed)

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

 

 

This is a truly embarassing book.

I believe my copy included the year 2001 in the title (I binned it some time ago), but most sections of the book were at least 4 years out of date. Let's Go tells us that it is completely revised and updated every year, so I expected the same from Lonely Planet - why else would they put the year on the cover? It didn't take long to discover that my assumption was ill-founded.

There are places in Spain where over 50% of the accomadations listed are no longer in operation. Imagine walking up to the address they give and finding a condemned building, finding an empty lot, or finding a shop that has been there for a few years. Now imagine this happening to you 5 times in a row before you find a place.

Imagine yourself arriving in Bratislava and hitting up the tourist office for directions to the YMCA hostel. Smile when the agent there laughs and says they tore that place down 3 years ago, but that she always has people asking for directions there (hmmm... I wonder why that could be?). Imagine looking up a copy of Let's Go and seeing that they no longer list the YMCA in Bratislava as a place for accomadation.

Imagine reading a glowing review about a cathedral, only to go to that cathedral and find out that the blurb on the back of the admittance ticket is an almost word-for-word copy of the text in Lonely Planet (or is it the other way around?).

Imagine how helpful it is to read a book where most of the authors (especially the one who covered Spain) are unable to say a bad thing about anywhere. Arrive in a town that reads better than it looks, and imagine you are somewhere else.

Those are some of the bigger problems with this book. For the most part, it is just really out of date and it shows. The prices in Let's go are more accurate, but even they will always be a little off because of inflation. Some of the prices in Lonely Planet were off by an astounding 250% (yes, 250%), however, which is due to the fact that it has been a number of years since that section was updated. Given that this book is not updated very regularly, and that Lonely planet must make a killing off of these books, there are also a lot of errors that have remained in successive printings and which I find unacceptable. For example, in the 4 or so pages they devote to Trujillo, Merida, and Cacares (3 towns in Spain), they quote 3 different prices for transportation between these towns. Or take a look at their "top 10/bottom 10" list in the introduction: they seem unsure just where St. Petersberg is, as they list it as being in both Scandanavia and in Eastern Europe. That is just sloppy, but I think it reflects how much care has been put into the book.

What really annoys me is that Lonely Planet seems to rely on its readers to be its fact-checkers, its contributors, and its editors. If you do send in a correction, you have a chance to win a free copy of their over-priced book, a good percentage of which was written by peaople like you. Yippee! Sometimes I think that some of the non-existent accomadation information I encountered was sent in disgruntled readers as a form of retribution (Lonely Planet admits on their website that they haven't stayed at all the places they 'recommend'). Sometimes I think of doing the same.

I personally get the impression that their reviewers have stayed at something less than 50% of the places. I also suspect that they haven't even visited many of the sights they recommend (at some hostels the staff will make jokes about this). As I mentioned earlier, some of the reviews seem to have been taken directly from promotional material. And if you have any knowledge of the sights reviewed, you will often find the reviews to be incorrect or misleading.

I was also interested to note that, on their website, Lonely Planet informs us that their reviewers (those that they actually do hire) are free to tell various hotels, hostels, pensions, restaurants, etc., that they are working for Lonely Planet and will be reviewing their establishments. Perhaps that explains why many of these places allegedly feature friendly staff, free internet, free maps, free coffee, clean rooms, winter heating, etc., but the bonuses never quite materialize when you stay there.

For what it's worth, I spent 9 months traveling around with this book, and that may have contributed to my disapointment. If you aren't going to spend so much time on your vacation you probably won't go the smaller places where a guidebook is more important, and its mistakes more evident.

Lonely Planet is a great guidebook series, but their true worth shines only in their individual country guides, not in this massive tome. Sure it's got all of Europe in here, but Europe is a BIG place. If you only mean to go to major cities, this will be a great book to have, and the maps are well worth it. Spend 5 minutes off the beaten track and you'll need to do something else. I know where every English language bookstore is in every city in Europe now. I would find them and do additional reseach.

The basic problem with this book is that editorial concerns triumphed over real meaty information. I ended up buying :P Hungary for my time in that wonderful country, because this book skimped on any real information outside Budapest.

Trust me, if you're going rural than getting the individual guides is well worth it.

I found this guidebook really unhelpful as far as prioritizing what to see and do. Rather than helping a traveler sift through what's worthwhile, every place it lists sounds like a brochure advertisement. Part of the problem is the density of the book, attempting to cover forty countries in one volume, so its listings of hostels, for example, are fairly short and uninformative. As for its being on a 'shoestring,' I found a the prices A LOT better in Let's Go Western Europe, which also prioritized things, pointing less-informed reader (me) in the direction of what would be worth his time (i.e. which hostels are better than others).

This book was absolutely invaluable to me as I backpacked across Europe. We relied on it for hostels, maps, attractions and restaurants. There were one or two times where we found innaccurate information, so if you're using an older edition, be sure to call ahead before rearranging your trip around something you read. It also isn't as detailed as the more focused Lonely Planets, but, as anyone who has backpacked knows, you don't want to haul around more than one of these guidebooks. I've used Rough Guide and Fodder's, and Lonely Planet is definitely my favorite.

I've always travelled the world using LonelyPlanet as 'My Bible'. It is always on my person in all my travels... kinda anal but it has served me extremely well over the years... By now I have travelled to over 30 countries (so I'm no newbie traveller!)

I just got back from a quick trip to Europe went thru about 10 cities in 8 countries over 16 days - I hate to say this but 'LP: Europe on a ShoeString" IS THE WORST TRAVELBOOK EVER WRTITTEN! It did not give me enough information to spend EVEN HALF A DAY IN EACH OF THE CAPITAL CITIES ( I shudder at the plight of anyone wanting to use this for anywhere else in any country of Europe!) I went to Luxemburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Brussels, Stockholm, Berlin, Bergen, Brugge, & Paris.

It was a challenge to be able to figure out what to do... where to eat (for cheap!)... what to see (other than museums). So if you don't have the time, money or inclination to see museums in 10 different cities you are pretty much SOL :( If you have any desire to be outdoors you are SOL. If you have any inclination to experiencing distinct cultures, & people you are SOL!

I'm not looking to blame anyone but all I can say is SAVE YOUR VACATION & DO NOT USE THIS BOOK. (Perhaps it is because they have tried to pack in so much in one book: which they need to!) But then how did they forgot to put in the really important stuff like what to eat, where to eat. & what to see... (other than the insides of buildings called museums!) Tch tch tch....

I hope the publisher (Lonely Planet) actually withdraws this title from the shelves and saves their reputation from furhter tarnish... I love Lonely Planet!

Maybe this book belongs in the 'Read This First' series.... but please oh please do not ruin your trip by using this book. Happy travels!

I used this book this past summer for my European travels. It is a great essential book. It's a nice resource to have with you because it is so comprehensive that it gives you the freedom to change your plans and go where ever you want. I also found it very accurate and up to date (some of the prices had gone up.. but most were close). This book was also useful in planning my trip.

It does not replace a more specific guide book. Also the info in these books goes out of date quickly though (I had one other similar book that was 2 years old and it was nearly useless), so don't buy it for future trips. Only get it if you planning a wide ranging trip across the continent.

One other thing I really liked was the history and culture review of each country. It made it fun to read for the inevitable delays on the train.

I traveled through seven wester European countries with this book. It had good general information on how to get around using public transportation, hotel/motel/hostel information and restaurants. If you plan on backpacking through Europe or just heading there for the first time and want to get your hands on information and maps that can help you along your way, this book is for you!

The best guide i could have got while travelling. I backpacked alone around Europe for two months, and this book was pretty useful!
The book contents are just what you need while travelling, it gives you great detail of each country, starting with information about the country itself as well as lodging,money,food,dangers,entertainment,exchange rates, you can find everything you need to spend a great time while travelling.
This book is a very useful guide while travelling alone or in group, your best friend during the trip.

This book was my "Bible" for backpacking through Europe in '99 & '00. After having never stepped foot out of the US, i ventured to Europe alone w/ nothing but a backpack, some phone numbers & this book. I did not have the problems of out of date info as some have mentioned. In fact i came across some of the best & cheapest hotels i've ever been to, found very good inexpensive eats & learned how to read a map thanks to this book. Each chapter gives you some historical info on every country, city & town & even tells you what dangers to look out for, do's & dont's, train info & where to go if you need help. After 3 months crisscrossing 12 different European countries, my Lonely Planet Book was dog-eared, torn & severely worn-out...I highly recommend this book for long term travel on a buget.

When my friend and I travelled Europe last April we used this book and the Let's Go book. Lonely Planet was helpful, but we mostly relied on the Let's Go as it had more in-depth information and usually more listing for hostels and restaurants. This books isn't bad and one can easily rely on it to go through Europe, but I'd recommend the Let's Go. However, Lonely Planet does have better maps, although it has left has not included subway maps, which would be helpful.