Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Nepal (Nepal, 5th ed)

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

 

 

It's undoubtely a very good guide, with lots of informations, but it only covers the southern part of Nepal, and contains no informartion about the Himalayan region (for example, cities such as Namche Bazaar and Lo Manthang are not covered).

Before traveling alone to Nepal, Tibet and Thailand in the summer of 1998, one of the first things I did was purchase travel books. My main purpose was to find a book which would serve as my travel guide. This was a very important factor since I wasn't even going on a tour. The right or wrong book could make or break my trip. I spent many hours at local bookstores as well as online bookstores looking for the perfect travel guide. Space was a factor for me since I wanted to travel unencumbered by a lot of luggage so I decided to buy an appropriate all encompassing book for each of the three countries. The Lonely Planet's Travel Survival Kit for Nepal was a comfort to have on my travels AND it was also an indispensable source of information for planning the trip, before I even booked my flight! If I had a question, I could usually find the answer in the book. Some particularly helpful information covered vaccines I would need prior to the trip, suggested items I should think about taking with me, highlighted many, many places of interest and included their background and history, covered visas, passports and the necessary documents along with entrance and exit fees charged upon arrival and departure and much more. Also, there are specific sections on women traveling alone, recreational activites, photos and maps, places to stay and even a section of Nepali phrases and words. If I felt uncomfortable or wasn't sure about something, all I had to do was open up my Lonely Planet and find the answer! Above all, I would definitely recommend that you find the right book for you since travelers have different needs. Peruse the books inside and out at your local library or bookstore. You can ask for recommendations and read reviews like mine, but ultimately, you're probably going to be far from home, and you want to make certain you have the essentials. This book, for me, was one of those essentials!

This book is great! I like to travel and not be a "typical american", and this book really helped me in that effort of knowing the culture and the land. I spent 5 weeks in Nepal and was more educated about the country/traditions/culture than any tourist I ran into. I spent a week in Kathmandu, 3 weeks trekking the Annapurna Circuit, and 1 week kayaking the Seti River. I used the medical section of this book (almost everyone gets sick), but should have bought a little medical book available in the bookstores in Kathmandu. Also, the trekking information in this book is good, but it's not great. If you want the BEST guidbook for trekking the Annapurna Circuit or Everest, then go to yetizone.you know what. It's a good site and the webmaster publishes his own guidebook for cheap! It's the best darn guidebook out there without question. Everyone I ran into in Nepal that looked at my book, and I mean EVERYONE, wanted to buy it or make copies. Also, it's not really a book, it's more like a little spiral bound pamphlet, so it weighs practically nothing, and I could keep it easily accessible in my cargo pocket.

I looked at some other guidebooks, specifically, the one by Stephen Bezruchka. He is a doctor, and it shows in his guidbook. He has the best medical section of all the guidebooks, and between his and the Lonely Planet one, I learned A LOT. If I had to choose one book to take with me (weight is an issue when trekking), I'd choose the Lonely Planet, along with the guidbook from yetizone.

I bought this book to prepare for my trip to Nepal. I found the advice in the book regarding cultural mores and appropriate behavior to be invaluable. The descriptions of places, restaurants, and hotels was accurate. I would have liked to see longer lists of accommodations. One thing I learned in Nepal is there are many, many more hotels than this book describes.

Here's why I gave it a 4: if you are over 40, go out and buy reading glasses before purchasing this book. The font size is very small and difficult to read for those of us with older eyes, especially in the dim light of an airplane or a Nepal Hotel Room.

I really only used the info regarding Kathmandu since that is the only place I visited but the information given was accurate even the warning about the electricity going out all of a sudden for hours in the city. That was fun to experience and thankfully we read it in the book. The best recent book I could find on Nepal.

The first time I traveled to Nepal I was on a limited budget, was alone, had no idea where I was going to stay and there was a riot going on in Kathmandu.
This unassuming book got me through.
Fantastic!

This book gave a good review of the sites that would be visited. I felt that I had a fair idea of what it would be like. The health information was helpful in preparing for the trip. It was detailed enough to help obtain the correct water purification products. It gave some very helpful information about trekking which I used to great advantage.

we were in nepal in recently and found this guide to be very useful and informative; will recommend it to anybody who is travelling to a new country.

Good overall coverage of the region. Listed all major activities from rafting, hiking, driving, or whatever. I would recommend it for people traveling there. I wish it would have gone into detail about the tour operators.

Lonely Planet has never let me down. It seems no matter where in the world I travel, LP has walked, slept, and eaten there! I am still looking for a place to travel where they have not been. Any suggestions?