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89 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed this one, but bought Rough Guide, November 23, 2001
I have travelled to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras several times over the last 4 years. I met Conner at a friend's office in Guatemala City while she was researching and writing this book. My husband and I had a fantastic time visiting with Conner and sharing travel stories. I see from some of the other comments that readers felt that the book was rushed and not well researched. I know for a fact that Conner had lost valuable notes on the highlands while in another part of the country and was going back thru the highlands to rebuild her notes. I'm not surprised that this section is not complete. Additionally, I met Conner the day after the WTA Riots in Seattle, Washington. That was in December 1999. Things can change quickly in some areas of Guatemala. Other others don't ever change. Depending on the government. She did tell us of her harrowing hike to El Mirador. In general, when I reviewed the book, I found information to be OK. However, I have found over the years we've travelled that the Rough Guide is more accurate. We have also met the writer for the Rough Guide, Peter Eltringham while travelling in Belize. Peter has a wealth of information and is brutally honest about what to expect. Especially if you want bus schedules, travel times for busses, dangerous areas. The Rough Guide makes sure that travel advisories are noted. For instance, the danger around the Lake Atitlan area for tourists. I've also found that the Rough Guide is considerable more accurate with regard to price ranges for accomodations. The maps that are included are also very good. For those of you who have never travelled to Guatemala. It is a beautiful country. The people are poor but friendly. Just like travelling anywhere -- don't leave your better judgment at home. If it looks like a rough area, it probably is. We never travel at night. We always check with out local host/hostess at whatever accomodations that we are staying at for information about the area -- crime, areas to stay away from etc. That said -- I've camped in the jungles at Mayan ruins. I've hiked into Salpeten. I've taken a pickup truck from Copan to the border of Guatemala, then the chicken bus to Chiquimula and then a bus to Guatemla City and to Antigua in one day. I've travelled overland from Belize City to Flores more times than I can remember. I'm looking forward to spending more time at Lake Atitlan, probably in Santa Cruz or San Marcos. Also, looking forward to Rio Dulce and Coban. If you've never travelled independently before, I'd say get both books. The Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide. Both writers are experienced travellers. If you get hooked on travelling independently (that is no formal guide service) -- you'll start to develop your own resources.
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63 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Sad Day for Lonely Planet, January 1, 2008
This review is from: Lonely Planet Guatemala (Country Guide) (Paperback)
I have been buying and recommending Lonely Planet guides on Latin America for 25 years. They have been indispensible for the budget traveler. I know I have saved probably thousands of dollars. I have pushed the books on many places on the internet including my own web sites and on Lonely Planet. Why? Love the layout. They are particularly good for someone arriving in new city who needs to get quickly and safely from their transport to hotel. The maps are generally accurate. LP editors have kept a consistency of design across the different books. The reader who is used to one will find using the others easy.
I also like the LP guarantee of integrity where LP authors do not accept free rooms, meals, etc. from places they review. I know the travel industry and this is not a universal practice.
Of all the countries in Latin America, Guatemala is my favorite. If you can only visit one, that's the place to go. I am saddened by what has happened to the latest volume. The other reviews here and on other sites point out omissions and places where the author has not updated widely known facts. That could be excused if taken in an isolated form. Anyone reading a guidebook must wonder how they check out all the places that are reviewed. But what concerns me the most is an apparent relaxing in Lonely Planet's standards of journalistic integrity. Until a short time ago, the author was the editor of a magazine and web site based in Xela, Guatemala called Xela Who. The magazine was a free publication that supported itself on the sale of advertisments, as did the web site. This is a direct conflict of interest. How can the author justify a review of an establishment that he sells advertising too? The author was directly involved in selling advertising. Any tourist related firm in Guatemala who receives a good LP review is bound to see it's business grow. How can they say no to someone trying to sell them ads in this situation? In a recent issue of Xela Who, the author, Lucas Vigden, was interviewed by a staff member as the author of the new Lonely Planet Guatemala. Never during this interview was it stated that Lucas was also the editor of the magazine. Numerous other readers and myself have contacted Lonely Planet and it's new corporate owner, the BBC about this situation. After several months there has still been no response.
Were this an isolated incident, in a vast publishing empire, one could expect Lonely Planet to reply and suggest a remedy. However, on a recent followup, the new LP Panama published a glowing review of a hostel. This place came in highly rated with the author proclaiming it their favorite. Reviews like that can double or triple an establishment's business. The problem: the hostel never opened. A Lonely Planet editor put it all off to an editing problem. One does not accidently write a glowing review of a non-existent at the time establishment unless some major conflict of interest is taking place. A concern amongst many long time LP readers is that now that the BBC, with it's well known journalistic bias, is in charge many LP authors will feel that since a concept such as integrity isn't maintained by BBC reporters, they won't have to either.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but contains some glaring errors, March 9, 2001
Let me start by saying that it is very difficult to keep up with the changing situations in Central America. However, Lonely Planet has chosen to flood the market with their books, which look to be hastily written and contain some glaring errors, such as identifying Agua Volcano as Fuego. Another suggests that there is a bus from Panajachel to San Antonio Polopo. This is not the case, you either have to go by private taxi or a "colectivo" (basically a pickup truck). Some of the ruins in Antigua have also been mididentified. I would suggest that they go back and do some personal research, Guatemala is a fantastic place to visit, I know, I've spent at least a month in the "Land of Eternal Spring" every year for the last 6. It's the best kept secret in Latin America.
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