Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Peru (Country Guide)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lonely Planet typically does a decent job with its guide books and I have bought quite a few of them. However, Lonely Planet Peru does not make the cut. This book is awful. I just purchased the newest version (2007) for a trip to Peru in May 2007 and the information in the book was almost useless.

First, there is a lot of incorrect information. For example, we had our hearts set on eating at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet in Cusco, but when we got to the address, we found that the restaurant was out of business. Also discovered that many addresses are wrong. Descriptions of the bus trip from Puno, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia are misleading, and the overall organization of the book is confusing and very disappointing.

Do yourself a favor and look for a different Peru guide book.

We planned a three week trip using info from this book, booked hotels, found local travel agencies, do it yourself stuff and found lots of information on what to do, see, avoid and even the info on taxis (so you don't get ripped off). We actually added another stop after reading about it in LP. I've used mostly LP guides for travel and haven't been let down. This book was really helpful in how to reach various places since most just take your reservation and you pay cash when you arrive. Includes info on bus and tour companies to use or avoid.

The LONELY PLANET guides are always my one stop source guide when I travel. It was my bible on my trip to PERU. There aren't a lot of travel guides written about Peru but LONELY PLANET had the information I needed. The series always provides insight into the history and culture of a country. Peru is tranforming itself into a tourist country. It's a work in progress so realize that information can become quickly outdated once a book is published. Restaurants open and close, details on museums change so keep that in mind with any travel guide. I traveled to several cities and found the LONELY PLANET guide to be immensely useful. Lonely Planet guides are great for people of all budgets. Hotels and restaurants are broken down into budget and expensive. You have the choice. I used LONELY PLANET PERU to make my hotel decisions and couldn't have been more pleased with their honest recommendations. If a place is shabby but has a great staff and location, Lonely Planet will tell it like it is. I found their suggestions and recommendations to be right on the mark.

I am not a huge fan of Lonely Planet Guides like everyone else is...I much prefer Rough Guides. That said, this LP is much more up-to-date than Rough Guide Peru. It's helpful and gives you the facts, but I find the tone and attitude of the authors to be too jaded for my tastes. They seem to like being alternative for the sake of being alternative. I hope Rough Guide comes out with an update before my trip. Otherwise I'll be taking my Moon Guide, which I've found very helpful and upbeat.

I usually swear by the LP series (LP Mexico is great), but this is not LP's best effort. My girlfriend bought the Moon Guide while I bought LP, and we ended up using Moon Guide much more throughout our trip.

I use the Lonely Planet travel guides all of the time. They are of great help in trip planning. I am a budget traveler normally, being more interested in seeing the local sights and local aves than in staying at 5 star hotels. This travel guide fills that purpose explicitly. My one critique is that smaller towns are not very well covered if at all. The guide does provide very useful information on bus connections and where the bus stations are located. The maps are not always completely accurate and the locations specified for restaurants and hotels are not always exactly where they should be, but for the volume of information that is covered they due a more than sufficient job. The book is very good about providing internet addresses to various Peru links.

Peru is one of the most amazing countries in the world. The mountains are as spectacular as the Himalayas, and the deep canyons, remote jungles, and fabulous surfing beaches give an adventure traveler lots of options. The Lonely Planet guidebook is very helpful for exploring these vast resources. There are many good maps, and I have found there recommendations for hotels, and places of interest extremely helpful on occasion. They also include lots of tidbits about culture, history, and safety. The biggest problem with Lonely Planet is that it is very widely used, and the recommended hotels are suddenly crowded and prices can rapidly change. I have also met a few authors while traveling, and their budgets and time frames do not allow them to thoroughly check out all the places. I recommend buying this book, but keep your eyes and ears open. Many of the best places that I have found have been by word of mouth from other travelers, or just roaming the streets. Bus schedules and restaurants change rapidly, so it is best to inquire at the local stations. Dancing on the Edge of an Endangered Planet

I traveled for two weeks in Peru this past November using the LP guide. The transportation, restaurant, and hostel info were all great- I actually ended up staying at the "Editor's Picks" accommodations on two different occasions and was really pleased- but you will find that the actual prices are about 20-30% higher than listed in the guide. Aside from that, the guide is informative and well organized. Would definitely recommend it to anyone traveling that way.

If you are going to explore Peru and if you may go off the tourist track, then by all means get this guide. I first came to Peru in 1996 and I lived near Cusco from 2002-2006. I have explored most of Peru and I reach for this guide first to help me with almost any places of significance in Peru. Each time the information has been accurate and trustworthy.

This is 6th Ed. 2007 and Benson, Hellander and Wlodarski have done a very job on collecting, organizing and explaining both the essential information and the unique aspects about this alluring culture. That said, these authors don't have Rachowiecki's and Beech's (this guides previous authors) critical critique of those that are privileged, wealthy and political positioned and how they exploit the wealth of this country and the poor (54% live in poverty). No, this is a nicer guide. However, as I write, protesters are blocking roads and rail to Machu Picchu because the government of Allen Garcia wants to "privatize their water". There are two worlds, those that the tourist see and the one the Peruvians live in. The previous edition told you more about the later.

Back to the review; the traveler's information section is buried at the back of the book. It should be at the front of the guide as this is important, if not essential, information that you should read before going.

The guide give you very good recommendations on what to see, what to do and where to stay and eat. Most of the accommodations now have a webpage address. The cost for each accommodation and restaurant is listed in dollars, instead of the insipid icons that other guides use. Kudos!!! Wonderful are the population stats for each town/city and especially, the altitude. The maps are very good and the restaurants and lodging recommendations are reliable, though many are the same that was in the last edition.

Do consider reading "White Rock" by Hugh Thomson, especially if you are trekking the ruins. For those with a tour group, consider getting Frommer's Peru. It is also a very good guide and its description of sights to see is more informative and descriptive than Lonely Planet and its restaurant recommendations are the best.

That said, Lonely Planet guides are known for their no-nonsense, off the beaten path advice, this guide is no exception. Highly recommended.

I am a seasoned backpacker and have been to places in the remote jungles of the Philippines to the cosmopolitan city of Sydney and back. I have tried using Fodors and Frommers, but Lonely Planet has by far served me better. I am not saying that I totally depend on Lonely Planet for all of my travel needs and resources, but I use it as an invaluable resource especially for transportation and maps. I have yet to use the Rough Guide Series or the Moon Series, so I cannot speak on their behalf.