Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet India

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

 

 

It's both amazing and pathetic how many rucksack travelers to India follow every word of this book as if it were some holy scripture. So many travelers spend their all of their time with their noses in this book, trying to fill every last moment following each and every step recommended by the book. In the meantime, all too often, they fail to experience India itself. Such devotion to a travel guide is a bizarre phenomenon. Without a doubt, this book is an indispensible guide for those who truly need assistance in knowing on which Bombay street corner they should tie their shoe laces. There's too much chit chat and lame humour in this book (although, granted, it evidently appeals to some). To the book's credit, there are some nice city layouts and state maps. However, for travelers who prefer information without all of the weak attempts at humor and for those who prefer to make their own opinions rather than to blindly follow someone else's words, I would wholeheartedly recommend Robert Bradnock's India Handbook. I've traveled India with both books, and clearly Bradnock's is, in my opinion, the superior of the two.

I happen to be an Indian and bought this book to have a better idea of my country.I am impressed by the coverage of the book. It covers a lot of ground and the collection of maps is really good... from the Golconda Fort to Kanyakumari city.

There is the element of humour in the writings.... makes it all the more interesting.

As others have written, prices change.. esp in a country like India. The hotel rates etc. have risen. Be aware of that fact.

A great buy.

This is the second time to visit India.Both time I took the same Lonely Planet. Always I choose hotel from it and felt not bad. In some small city, hight rank hotel means good servie and the price was not so high as you image it. First all the price listed in the book is as same as in the hotel, so try to cut off nearly 30% off is the very important thing to do during the trip.
Also I visited Jaisalmer on May, but if you following the book you will never go there in such cray summer. In fact, the summer was high enough, but still interesting. No more tourist means you can enjoy alone, and only myself in the hotel you can get nearly 50% discountdown for low season. If you read you can find a lot of things from the book, but on the trip everything is changed, you never image the book can guide you everything. Try to ask person around you, and get the most reasonable price.
I will plan to go to india again, by the guide of Lonely Planet, but I think I need a new version.

Great, useful, informative! I recommend it even if you already have other guide books on India. The only minor problem I had is that it does not describe dangers from animals and insects.

lp's book on india is a must for westerners travelling for the first time to india. the book covers everything a tourist needs to know - including (and this is stressed all too often) all the negative things about india. as an indian, i find the book not very accurate, and at times misleading. but it certainly caters to the holier-than-thou attitude of most tourists from usa and some western europian countries who visit india - more often than not to find faults than appreciate a different culture!

A fantastic guidebook to the mysteries of India. The Lonely Planet has become known as the 'Bible' of independent travelers the world around and guidebooks like this one have set that reputation. My wife and I spent three months in India and our sole source of information was the LP - India. It has a great blend of information pertaining to accomodations, food, sites, maps and plenty of history and mind opening stories. The Lonely Planet India guidebooks and Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' are all you need when visiting India.

The lonely planet guidebook to India is the best one I have ever seen for India. The details and information that are in this book a very usefull. I use it even though I live in India. I read the book and find out new stuff about the city I live in.

Gladly I did not choose this guidebook for my recent vacation to India and what a pleasure it was to see all the backpackers faithfully reading the LP like a bible and doing everything it says along the well beaten path. I was pleased to be heading the other way as all the rest followed the LP cheap tourist track. The India Handbook was a fantastic alternative. Smaller, concise, and much more informative.

The book is amazinly detailed. However the rates of hotels in Himachal Pradesh (where I have just returned from) have changed drastically - the book being more than a year and a half old. Be ready for prices twice what is in the book.

Yes, this book is full of valuable info. It doesn't quite prepare you for the shock (though nothing does) of India itself, it does help you enjoy it when you can. (And when you can't, eat only bananas and yogurt for about 24 hours straight, trust me on this one).

It would be nice if the book wouldn't be so heavy. If you are planning to go to only part of India, strongly consider the LP books that cover only the area(s) you will travel, they are much lighter and can be easily resold to locals who have no internet access.

Of course the book is irreplacable as everyone clearly admits.

Thank you LP for being so straightforward with your opinions.