Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Germany (Country Guide)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I travel a lot and compare guides a lot. I have used and enjoyed other Lonely Planet guides for other countries successfully. This one was a real disappointment. It is thorough, but does not really teach you to prioritize your time, or compare routes. It is intensely geared towards rail and bus travelers, but many things in Germany are worth renting a car to see--in which case the book will not cover those areas at all. Hotels chosen by the book will be in relation to train stations--which aren't always either a good deal or a restful place to stay. Add that to the fact it's heavy, and you'll be shlepping a lot of useless information unless you're spending the whole year there...

This lighthearted and otherwise sound book is tripped up by its occasional harsh treatment of some German areas or cities, in particular those in the former East Germany. Case in point is Frankfurt/Oder which is an historic, former East German city that sits across the Oder River from Poland.

In both this book and a similar one on Berlin by Lonely Planet, the writers appear to go out of their way to bash Frankfurt/Oder with petty criticisms ranging from the architecture to the people. I made a day trip to check out Frankfurt/Oder after reading such a review, thinking to myself that it can't be as bad as the writers at Lonely Planet say. My experiences were much the opposite, with friendly and helpful people, a charming downtown with picturesque streetcars, and a panoromic view of Poland across the Oder River from a walkway. Is it as charming as, say, Heidelberg or Bamberg? No, but it is very East German in contrast.

Take some of the advice with a grain of salt in this book and go with an open mind to enjoy the uniqueness of East German life before it disappers.

Overall, I found Lonely Planet's guide more informative and definitely more accurate than Let's Go's. However, I must thoroughly agree with other readers--the book does a severe injustice to Eastern Germany. While Eastern and Western Germany are once again one country, they continue to be very different in many respects. LP judges Eastern Germany with very Western German eyes, not recognizing the fascinating history and culture that lies within this region. Lonely Planet--improve your Eastern Germany section!

Also, more information could be included about Germany's various Nature Parks. While they don't rival the National Parks of the states, they are beautiful nonetheless and offer tons of opportunities for exploring.

This guidebook has plenty of information about Germany's main sights but it skips others (not a word about Mannheim and its huge baroque castle--one of the largest in Europe). Compared to the Let's Go Germany guide, this book is badly organized--it is difficult to find a particular bit of information because of the uninspired formatting. And the book is heavy!

I just got back from a month long backpacking all over Germany. Its truely is a great guide for independent lonely traveller. I do agree with other reviewer's comment that, its geared towards people using public transport more, but that worked out well for me. I don't know what reviewers are complaining about the East Germany part, but I had great time with the help of this book in the east (spent 1.5 weeks).
The only problem is that this guide book is updated only once in 2yrs or so, so some of the info is outdated (the Dachau tour info) and I had to miss out on some tours because of that. I haven't used other guides and this is my first lonely travel so I can't really compare, but this is a very comprehensive travel companion (when you have no companion at all :).

THE LONELY PLANET GERMANY is among the most complete travel guides on the market. Far superior to similar books presented by its better known competitor, THE LONELY PLANET GERMANY presents travel in Germany to the widest range of budgets, from elegant to thrifty. It describes a wider range of sites to visit than any other guidebook I've seen, and offers good advice toward the widest range of entertainment interests. THE LONELY PLANET GERMANY should be the first book you buy when planning any trip to Germany, and it would serve well as your only guidebook.

Like other Lonely Planet Guides, this proved invaluable as we drove the length of Germany from north to south last summer. Even though I am very familiar with Germany having spent lots of time there in my past, the guide was just what we needed to avoid missing places we needed to visit, and avoid those we needed to miss! Thanks Lonely Planet! See www.dalys.com/journal12.html for our German travel journal

I recently used Lonely Planet Germany and Austria guides on a trip with my German class, and I must say the experience was wonderful--thanks in large part to Lonely Planet's incomparably thorough information. If you want a first rate trip to Germany, buy this guide.

This book didn't give me much more information about the eastern part of Germany than I already knew. However, it's a good handbook if you travel around Germany, but it won't get you off the beaten track (at least not in East Germany). For example, the book is absolutely happy about Lutherstadt Wittenberg, even though it's the package tourist centre of the area.

Living and working in Germany is an experience I feel lucky to have. When I have time to travel, this book is invaluable. My beat up, well-used copy is my bible when it comes to finding cheap places to stay (hostels, etc.), or interesting places to visit, eat, or tour. Worth every cent I paid for it, and much more to boot!