Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Peru

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Bought the 2010 edition of the Lonely Planet Peru right when it came out, just weeks before my trip to Peru. Before leaving for Peru I also read the Moon Handbook and Eyewitness Travel, but this was the only book we carried. We did a typical trip from Lima to Cusco, Pisac, Ollanta, Machu Picchu, and then on to Puerto Maldonado & the Amazon Basin. The only issue we ran into, that wasn't the fault of Lonely Planet, was that the major flooding in early 2010 that wiped out the railroads for several months from Cusco to Aguas Callientes (Machu Picchu) caused a lot of unknowns when dealing with Perurail. This edition was not without its inaccuracies though. For example, at the time of our visit, you could not buy entrance tickets at the entrance to Machu Picchu; you had to buy them below at the MP ticket office in Aguas Callientes (which is only a recommended option by Lonely Planet). They should also point out that the ATM's in Aguas Callientes seem to never have cash, so have enough beforehand.

We tried several of Lonely Planet's "picks" for restaurants and hotels, and definitely agree with their recommendations. Price guidelines for hotels and food were useful and fairly accurate too. Knowing what a bus or cab should cost before getting onboard was very helpful. The book also had some good recommendations for hikes and side-trips that I didn't see in the other books I read. I will say that the Moon Travel book has a lot of good recommendations that we took as well. Traveling in Peru is not very complicated, but we made good use of this guide and I would recommend it. Peru is an amazing place to travel and the 2010 Lonely Planet guide helped a lot.

This is the first Lonely Planet guide my wife and I have ever been disappointed with. We were in Peru in November of 2005 and relied on this guide to plan hotels, excursions and restaurants in Lima and Cusco.

The big problem with this guide was with the information on Cusco -- prices and information were out of date, and we were constantly surprised to find that things the book lists as free cost money, and the costs of tours, trips, and entrance fees were much more than what the book stated. I would go as far as to say that the book was wrong more than 80% of the time. Consequently, we eneded up spending much more money that we had anticipated, and ended up not going to several sites to avoid blowing the budget we set for this trip. An added drawback to this book was, when walking around Cusco with it in hand, having guides and other tourists go out of their way to tell you what a bad guidebook this is. (I wish I was making this up.)

I also found that the information on hotels in Lima was not very good. The hotel I stayed at was excellent and not even listed. However, the hotel next door, which was not nearly as nice, was listed and given high marks. I would have been upset if I relied on the book and stayed at the place next door.

I believe these problems are all because this guide has not been updated. And until it is, I wouldn't recommend relying on it to plan a vacation.

I never visit a country with just one guidebook. For Peru, with its diversity of places and wildlife I got several. However if I really had to pick my favorite for Peru, I would chose Lonely Planet. The city maps are fairly good for the larger, more visited areas. The sections on history and culture are interesting and insightful without being too lengthy.

I particularly liked the section on health issues. This guidebook did a better job with altitude sickness, and some of the jungle diseases than any of the other guidebooks I have read. To my chagrim, I read that the two most commonly used medications for altitude sickness were contraindicated for me. I found out that I would have to plan well before my trip so that I could get all of the the proper immunizations for the jungle part of our trip. Based on the book, I decided to get a travel medicine consult--a very good move that probably saved me a lot of potential problems.

The sections on social customs and conveniences were helpful. You wouldn't buy a guidebook just because it has a section explaining Peruvain toilets and toilet paper, but things like this are really really useful if you are traveling with kids.

The climate charts for different sections of Peru only occupy a page or two, but are actually quite helpful in planning vacation dates.

I would have liked for the guide to include more information on the beautiful and remote Manu National Park. I had to buy another book and go on the Internet to get much information on that area.

My finger oil and dirt are all over the pages of my LP Peru book... I used it a lot, and it was accurate, informative, and reliable (or at least as much so as possible when accounting for the constant changes in the dynamic 3rd world). I stayed mostly in 2-star hostels or hotels, and all described in LP were accurate. I even managed to avoid getting sick from food while eating at many of LP's recommended eateries. (I would strongly recommend, however, to heed the warnings about altitude sickness.:) ) When they said a hotel or hostel was a good value, it was certainly accurate. I found LP Peru to be the best of the 3 LP's I used on the trip (Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil). Most maps are good, but sometimes street names are mentioned in the text and one has to search the maps street by street to find it (a minor complaint). Overall... its certainly a recommended book for Peru-bound travelers.

I swear by Lonely Planet guides since 1999 and found their books to be superior in many destinations, but the Peru book is an unfortunate exception. I hope that the publisher puts it for a complete re-write like they did with LP Bolivia. Anyway... I have traveled in Peru for 2 months and the following are the problems with the book: in each city I found that many addresses and locations marked on the maps are incorrect and represent either private residences, closed establishments, or a few blocks off; the information between sections does not jive (the book gives different travel times to/from Arequipa, depending on the chapter you are reading even though the cities are the same); the book gives BAD advice on what to do - in Lima it suggests a bicycle trip to Pachakamac ruins, which is a suicide mission because it involves first cycling through the slums of Lima and then many miles on the shoulder of Panamericana w/o a cycle lane, pretty much sharing the road with speeding trucks and buses; the book skips on the choice destinations and activities by locals - I was amazed that LP did not even mention Lares hotsprings near Cusco, which is not only the finest hotspring in the region, but also a spectacular trek, and the choice of local residents to visit when they have time off; many establishments, such as restaurants, mentioned in the book no longer conform to the description either due to change of ownership or just being spoiled by listing in the guide... There many other misc inaccuracies in the book as well. Alas, I can't recommend this guide book for travel in Peru. I ended up getting most of my intel from the South American Explorers club or just talking with the locals.

This book is well organized, presenting important and useful information in an easy-to-read format. Facts about the country and guidance for travel within Peru are included in the first four chapters in the book. The next several chapters are neatly organized by area within Peru. The colored tabs are a great help in finding the different sections of the book. The map of Peru inside the front of the book is in color, giving instant information to the reader about the elevation of the area, along with a brief description of the highlights of the area. Great book!

I am so dissapointed that the Lonely Planet Guides are changing their format and leaving out the budget traveller. This was evident in the Peru guide, the first of these new Lonely Planets I have used. The voice has really changed, and many of the suggested sites and so forth no longer speak to travellers on a small budget or travellers wanting to get off the beaten path. The clarity of the guide remained intact. The maps were great, and many of the essential details I found deficient in the Rough Guide were included in the Lonely Planet. But without the Rough Guide, I would have missed many of the great experiences I had in Peru.

I'd used Lonely Planet several times in both east and west Africa, and was impressed by the breadth of their coverage. So when planning a trip to South America, I bought their guide to Peru, as well as their books to Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile. The plan was to start in Quito and spend six months en route to Tierra del Fuego. Well, I'm in Cuzco now, and just steps from Machu Picchu, I've dumped all four at a book exchange. The Ecuador book (last written about eight coups and one currency ago) was a joke. Some of the museums I tried to visit had disappeared or moved, years ago. Many of the railways I tried to ride had been crushed in mudslides. The restaurants they recommended? Some never existed at all, according to townspeople. But it wasn't until Peru that I really lost all patience. The transportation information is a joke, and some of the information about jungle trekking near Iquitos is downright dangerous. The most infuriating thing about this is that this was a brand-new edition--it came out right before I left. Yet I really don't think they updated a single thing in the book--I've compared it with other travelers' old editions, and the two are identical; basically, Lonely Planet slapped another cover on the same old coverage and re-released it. I wouldn't recommend Lonely Planet's South American books to anyone. __________________________

This very recent guide published by Lonely Planet in year 2000 is an indisensable and wonderful tool to take to Peru with you. As always, LP has explored the country, giving you advice on places to stay - from top 5-star hotels to low-budget accommodation - as well as restaurants, transport, etc. There is little or nothing which you won't find in this book, because this guide has it all... Including indispensable advice on local customs, how to deal with people, what to buy, etc, as well as historical, social and political overviews, all up-to-date ! A small piece of luggage, but well worth the weight and the price.

I've been travelling to Peru regularly since the mid 1990s and lived in Lima for a year in 1996 to 1997. My wife is also a native of Lima, which is one of the reasons I'm back so often.

The Lonely Planet Peru guide is one of the books we continuously refer to for ideas and advice about trips and excursions around the country. The data regarding the different regions of the country is accurate and descriptive, the categorization of hotels and restaurants is as up-to-date as can be expected for a guidebook, and the overall format is easy to follow from section to section.

One thing to remember when using a guide like the Lonely Planet is that it is not a substitute for an encyclopedia or local knowledge, and cannot possible contain limitless information on every square inch of the country. But, it will help you navigate from place to place with relative ease and within a reasonable budget. I would recommend that once you reach a destinatation, hire a guide recommended by the book or take a city or town tour. Don't worry about looking like a tourist. The local already know your not from there!

Finally, Lima can be somewhat intimidating initially as it is a very large and busy city. But Peru is a very safe country and the people are friendly, and as a guest you should simply take the intelligent precautions to ensure that your trip goes smoothly. Using the Lonely Planet can help, and I would also recommend the South American Handbook, especially if you plan to visit more than one country on your trip.