Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet South America (Shoestring)

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

 

 

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 This book however was a severe disappointment that unfortunately can't be justified by simply saying it is out of date.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

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!

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.

Lonely planet is a great travelling guide - it gives you just enough information to get you by when you're in need, and leaves enough blanks for inspiration of your own.

South America on a Shoestring (10th Edition/March 2007)Big Trips on Small Budgets by Danny Palmerlee

I needed an overview on all South American countries and i got what i wanted - the directory at the back, a useful overview of S/A is just what i wanted.

Like all travel books they soon date and each author of each country writes from their opinion, which is not bad, but as in all L/P books there is so much repetition which could be covered in see appendix a, b , c etc. We all know that certain places are dangerous (the world over) and that you should not leave your bag lying around at the station - we hear these announcements hourly at the airport!

Info in this version was a little outdated, but still a good overall view of the region. I had a great time in SA, and I'd still reccomend this book to anyone looking for a solid overview.

This book has tons of helpful info, but it's not organized very well so it's tough to get around it. Also there are ads in the book (?)

I was very, very disappointed in this book and would have returned it but I had highlighted one article before looking at the book completely. This is probably a good book for a college student who will stay in hostels but as for a book to help find hotels and sightseeing places, it missed the mark completely.