Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet South India

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India is really too big to be adequately covered in a single guidebook. That was one of the main reasons I used Lonely Planet's "South India" while travelling there in December 2003. Some of the information, particularly prices for accommodation was out of date, but this is to be expected of a guide book that has been in print for more than two years. What disappointed me about this book was that even though it only covered part of India and should be less constrained by space considerations it was frustratingly short on detail in various ways. Some places could have had more detailed coverage and there were still many places omitted completely. I also think Lonely Planet stretches the definition of South India a bit far by including chapters on Maharashtra and Orissa. Less states and more detail would make this guide book much better value for money.

I ventured to South India, Bombay and Goa, last January, and this book never left my side. As a first-time visitor to the country, I was nervous at first, but the information found in this book helped me to prepare adequately for the trip and navigate my way through this often confusing (but always amazing) country. The guide caters to travelers on a variety of budgets, and offers tips for escaping the white-washed tourist trail to really get a taste of local culture. I would recommend ordering a copy a couple months before leaving- there is much to peruse in the book and region, and it will help you to plan out what you want to see, what you need to pack, and how to get by when the culture shock is hitting hard.

This book proved helpful on my recent biycle tour of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. It's one of Lonely Planet's better guidebooks, however some sights suffer from rushed research. For example, the fort at Gingee--one of India's best--has three sections, but the authors failed to mention the most spectacular of the three. The authors should have mentioned Suchindram Temple, just north of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu; the beautiful stone temple is famous for its musical columns and 6-meter-tall statue of the monkey god Hanuman. I found the book weak on off-the-beaten-path destinations. I would have liked more information on culture--places to visit and background; if this is your main interest, I recommend that you also check out the Rough Guide edition on South India.

You can never go wrong with lonely planet.

The Wheelers have made life so much easier for travellers the world over. Even though I live in South India I have bought this book and use it like a reference. It gives me ideas for what to do over weekends.

South India is probably wrongly named as it also includes states of India which are not considered to be 'south' of the country (e.g. Maharashtra and Goa). Nonetheless an absolute must for anyone living / travelling to 'south' India.

In some places the info is dated (the edition is of October'01) and needs to be updated.

The guidebook does not include all the options or highlights of places but it has sufficient information for your first or second time visit. Very useful opening times and price guidelines!
...In fact I found myself returning to South India many times after the first review of this book. Even though these are always business trips I try to get the most out of them spending weekends in the more or less touristic places. Thanks to LP I've even guided some Indians around Chennai and Mumbai!
Try out bird sanctuaries or Gingee Forts for example - you'll be surprised by the fact there are places in India charming though not overcrowded (and not located in Himalaya). The book does a pretty good job in this field.
After a while you'll need to search for some more info on the web or in local resources however LP always provides with good ideas and directions for exploring.

I had already purchased the Rough Guide to South India, but decided to order Lonely Planet's South India guide too, just to have a second opinion or different take. After having read the Rough Guide and now the Lonely Planet guide, I would say that the Lonely Planet guide is a bit more user friendly and gives you more "ideas" about how to plan your trip. It has an "Itineraries" section, complete with maps of each itinerary, that give you ideas of possible trips and how much time you'd need for each. Itineraries include "classic routes", "roads less travelled", and "tailored trips", with different trips suggested under each category. This can be very helpful in taking on India, which is a huge country with much to see and do, even when focusing on "just" the south. The book is also a bit smaller and lighter than the Rough Guide. I will probably bring both books on our trip, just so I can read each book's section on our stops, to make sure I'm not missing anything. But if I was buying just one book, I'd buy the Lonely Planet South India guide.

This product was a tremendous help when I was trying to plan my trips in South India. It does a great job of not only giving maps and historical information of a particular area, but it also recommnends restaurants and hotel accomodations, which is always extremely helpful when you find yourself in an unknown place as a foreignor! I would definitlely recommend this book for both first time travelers and the travel veterans.

A very comprenesive guide specific to the South of India giving very important and easy to understand explanations as well as important information of every aspect of the south.The maps are clear and the reccomendations of Restaurants are indeed right as many were checked by us personally. The high end places are not the bread and butter of the LP but I guess they aim at a more general public.

there is not too much more information in this book than in the full India version. The information is not sustaisially more recent either.
There is a little bit more in there and the book generally has it all together though. Worked well for me.

In a couple of days, I'm again off to Bangalore and a month wandering South India. I'm assembling my stuff which includes the latest version of Lonely Planet's guide to South India. Could I get along without it? Sure, I'm experienced enough, but why make life and travel more difficult than necessary?

There will be late arrivals to places I've never been but a room will be waiting at price and condition okay with me because a telephone number in the Lonely Planet guidebook worked and the review was close enough for my needs.