Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Mexico, 9th Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I live in Mexico, and I bought it to have a better reference while traveling in my own country. I've found places that I didn't know that existed, it has not let me down. The maps are accurate and the recommendations always are correct. The only problem I see is that the prices are not up to date, but it gives you an idea of what to expect to pay in hotels or restaurants.

We first used this book to decide where to go in Mexico, and we read various chapters then picked just one state. The sample itenaries for various types of trips are really helpful for figuring out what you want to do.

We used this book for 2 weeks in Oaxaca and while there compared it with other travellers who had a book from another company that covered only Oaxaca. The bigger book did not seem to have any more or better information in it!

Although my husband and I are in the "gray ponytail" age group, we still grab backpacks and do the lower end style travel. Lonely Planet had some natural areas and hiking descriptions that others did not.

If you are looking for the best 5-star resturant in Mexico City then perhaps some other guide is for you. If you are looking for the best deals on some unusual experiences then the staff at Lonely Planet seems to know their stuff.

This is an excellent guide for budget travelers, backpackers, and even people looking for a more expensive visit. Lonely Planet specializes in cheap sleeps (budget hotels & travel hostels), affordable meals, and local customs. There's solid coverage of major attractions, plus off-the-beaten-path ideas for those wishing to skirt the tourist haunts. I particularly liked the vital information on getting to and from airports, city centers, bus and train stations, plus using local busses and the subway in Mexico City. The information in Lonely Planet guides is clear, concise and direct - perfect for travelers needing vital knowledge at their fingertips.

This 9th (2004) edition is very good, yet has two weaknesses. First, Mexico is too big for any travel guide to list every pueblo, motel, mountain, beach and sight - even in a large (1,028 pages) yet compact book. Second, places and prices can change, so travelers need to beware. Still, this is an excellent travel guide - visit Mexico and you'll probably see others carrying this book.

I just got back from backpacking around Oaxaca and Mexico City, and found this book extremely useful. Great recommendations, correct information, and generally helpful in choosing what to see and visit. The prices are a bit lower than I found on the trip, but not enough to make a real difference. Highly recommend this book - all the people I met who were using it were very happy.

I just returned from a 10 day trip to three different states in Mexico with a friend. I had "Let's Go Mexico" and she had this book. By the end of the trip we were both cursing this guide. We found several innacuracies (the museum hour times in Mexico City are not correct for the Museums around the Zocalo, it also is innacurate as far as the days open while the Let's go book is correct), the descriptions were not helpful, and we found several instances that the descriptions describing sites were simply false. Also, Let's Go gives much more information and history on Mexico.

Though I give this only three stars let me say this is a good guide but lacks in two aspects. One is that it is so cumbersome to carry around. I can see if you are going to be traveling all over Mexico then you cannot help but carry the one bulky volume. But if you are just concentrating on one area, like Central Mexico, you really do not need the rest of the volume. There needs to be a Central Mexican guide--smaller and more compact.

Second is that the guide is really geared toward a certain class of travelers. The middle-class, middle aged traveler doesn't find much useful geared toward them. I have heard this complaint over and over again from the tourists here in Guanajuato that I interview.

Doug Bower
Author, THE PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT LIVING IN MEXICO

I think this book is one of the best guidebooks to travel in Mexico. It gives a lot of inside information and useful reviews of hotels and restaurants. It is good sometimes to have the information in front of you in a book, but you can still get more and better travel information surfing the web.

I looked at approximately 10 different guides and Lonely Planet Mexico was the most detailed and easy to read. Very thoroughly researched and up-to -date.

I am living in mexico now and working and have a two year contract. Living here, I take advantage of going around Mexico during my holidays at work. I always take this book with me around and traveled around Mexico. This book was very helpful to me and telling me where to go. However, it is good to note, sometimes if you are looking for mid range to high end hotels in big cities (Mexico City, Monterrey, Acapulco, ect..), it is better to make reservations via the internet. But smaller cities like Durango, Zacatecas or Torreon, LP is very helpful and truth to what it mentions. Reserving through the internet, you can also see what it mentions in LP to compare, which is very helpful.

I will always recommend the Lonely Planet books. This one in particular got us all over Mexico City, Veracruz and everywhere in-between with great recommendations on restaurants and hostels that felt like actual hotels.