Lonely Planet South America (Shoestring) [Paperback]

Danny Palmerlee (Author), J. M. Porup (Collaborator)

Book Description

Series: Shoestring | Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Challenging? Check. Rewarding? Beyond your wildest dreams. South America is made for travel-the gripping, spine-tingling, adrenaline-charged type of travel you live for. Tred the Cordillera Blanca, glide along the Amazon, explore lost cities and samba up a storm. For backpackers, by backpackers, this best-selling, unbeatable guide gives you the tools you need to create your own adventure.

Get Off The Trail-emerging hot-spots, overlooked attractions, alternatives to the Inca Trail-our authors go beyond the obvious, and show you how to do the same.

Live On The Edge-the best spots for hiking, skiing, diving, surfing, rafting, paragliding, and other thrills.

Straight Talk-opinionated reviews ensure you won't waste a precious peso.

Tread Lightly-make a positive impact with sustainable-travel tips and volunteering opportunities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Best for curious and independent-minded travelers' --Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1148 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 10 edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 174104443X
• ISBN-13: 978-1741044430
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Budget Travel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just OK, January 18, 2010

By 

Laura Ramos - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet South America (Shoestring) (Paperback)

I'm a huge supporter of the Lonely planet series having purchased and thoroughly used (and enjoyed) a wide assortment of these books to travel the world. This book however was a severe disappointment that unfortunately can't be justified by simply saying it is out of date. There is much more missing here and the out of datedness is easily forgiven as prices go up, hostels close down, and new places spring up.

I found the section on Colombia to be the biggest joke with many basic details wrong, important areas of interest not included (Luckily Colombia has fantastic tourist information centers), and is rather thin in comparison to say Peru. This is such a pity. Yes, the book is covering a huge area but come on stating for the 8th time that the septic system can't support toilet paper being flushed down in the beginning of each country's section is a flat out waste of space- space that could have offered perhaps a little more information on off the beaten towns, food, or a larger city map (including the bus station please). I also realize that this book appeals to a wide audience from youngsters, families, and hip older folks who make traveling their mantra however this is a SHOESTRING edition, which means a unification of a common penny-pinching bond. Including splurge sections on hotels costing $80 or luxury wildlife retreats at $300 for 2 days is also a waste of space. Get rid of the chichi mid-range hostels; leave it to frommer's or the country specific LP books to include these. There is also a lack of information on how to do things on the cheap such as more creative alternative routes to Machu Pichu. I also became frustrated when towns were mentioned but not included on any maps or no maps included for significant tourist destinations such as Tiwanaku or the Chachapoyas region.

Overall the most comprehensive sections reviewed (that i visited) were Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador with Colombia and Bolivia sections on the thin side. Hopefully some of these issues are remedied in the new edition. I did enjoy the LP humor such as buying a guinea pig roaster as a gift for mom. If you are reading this review and considering travelling South America, I would recommend you hold off on buying this book. Pick up an LP of the specific country you are going to spend the most time in then find your hostels through hostelbookers or hostelworld and pick up free maps along the way such as at your hostel or tourist information booths (which are plentiful in S.America and always give out lovely free maps). Ask locals where the eating is good, the drinks cheap, and check local papers for stuff happening in town. Your $24 is better spent on traveling and trust me- your backpack will be much lighter without carrying this whopper.

Cheers,
Laura

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I used both LP and Footprints and this one is better, February 2, 2009

By 

NinjaSkills "NinjaSkills" (HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet South America (Shoestring) (Paperback)

I used both books when I was traveling through Peru, Argentina, and Uraguay. I found the this LP book to be more useful, more interesting, and easier to use.

The Footprints gives you TOO much info. When in a place it's best to just look and ask around for the best restauraunts instead of having 10 pages of places. Like FP has and only one line about them. I like street food myself or super high end dining. I'm a man of extreams.

I can't explain it...The best I can put it is that LP is just a better book for people who are looking for tips an have a independent spirit, FP is better if you want to somebody to hold your hand(Do you need two pages on how to get to the airport in Buenos Aires?)

Travel safe!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never travel without one, January 2, 2012

By 

Chua Ban Hoo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet South America (Shoestring) (Paperback)

I used this book for travelling all over Latin America. It was such a useful book, without it, I would be lost. The only comment I had is that the maps are too plain - black and white, too difficult to read. I wish the map are at least 2 other colours. Also, the index to the hotels, sights are quite difficult to identify on the map. I wish they use something like A-Z for attractions, 1-999 for hotels. Anyway, it is a great book.