Puerto Rico (Regional Guide) (Paperback)

by Brendan Sainsbury (Author)
Key Phrases: dinghy dock, Mesón Gastronómico, crash boat, Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rican (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...Lonely Planet's Puerto Rico guide includes detailed trail descriptions and history." -- Times Union, March 12, 2006

Times Union, March 12, 2006
'...Lonely Planet's Puerto Rico guide includes detailed trail descriptions and history.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Discover Puerto Rico

Venture outside the fortified walls of Old San Juan for a stress-free coastal cycle to Pinones
Channel Hunter S Thompson with shots of rum at El Batey
Salsa till the small hours with San Juan's suited-up office-set in La Placita de Santurce
Volunteer to oversee turtles laying eggs at sunset on Playa Brava

In This Guide:

Two authors, two bikes and a two-year-old get under Puerto Rico's skin to find all that lies beneath
From cycling to kayaking to publicos, we've got the island covered...without a car
Dedicated chapter and reviews get into the roots of the country's music
Content updated daily - visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler insights


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 4 edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741047234
• ISBN-13: 978-1741047233
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly accurate and reliable, with a few oddities, March 16, 2006

By	V. C. Wald (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Puerto Rico (Regional Guide) (Paperback)

In general, this Lonely Planet "Puerto Rico" (there are more than one; this one is by Ginger Adams Otis) is overall reasonably accurate and up-to-date as of February 2006. There are a few oddities within, however:

One is the pronounciation of the word for chicken, pollo. As many times as I've been in Puerto Rico, I've never heard it pronounced PO-lyo, as indicated on page 67. It is PO-yo, or sometimes more like PO-djyo. I never heard any Puerto Rican pronounce the "l" sound in this word.

Second, some of the hotel classifications seemed to based on the hotel's self-classifications (or wishful thinking) more than anyone's actual experience. For example, although the author's description is reasonably accurate, on page 95, Otis lumps Hotel El Milano into the same midrange category as El Convento. El Convento is truly upscale, and always has been, both in accommodations and in price. El Milano is very firmly mid-scale in all dimensions.

Of course guides like this are very hard to keep up-to-date, especially in countries like Puerto Rico where businesses are easy-come-easy-go, and change owners constantly. We found big differences in restaurant qualities in several cases, and in others, eateries she recommends were dark and locked the whole time we were there. My advice is to check with your hotel concierge or call ahead rather than depending on any guidebook when making dining choices.

The author also exaggerates the wonders of the Ruta Panoramica and various state parks in the central mountains. Some of the reservas forestales were total junk yards with burned out auto hulks literally every 300 yards for miles on end, and loads of roadside litter (alas, typical of Puerto Rico.) This is not to say that a drive through the mountains of Puerto Rico is not a must-do, because it is, but just be prepared for a big dose of reality that the author choses not to mention. Lift your chin high and enjoy the flora and fauna (mainly roosters wandering all over the road, with the occasional paso fino horse, with a long-leggedy bareback rider on board) and the gorgeous views in the distance.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very UNHAPPY with this book, May 3, 2006

By	Yume (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puerto Rico (Regional Guide) (Paperback)

We just came back from a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico (04/21 - 05/01, 2006) and we have to COMPLETELY disagree with the previous review. In fact, we were thinking about burning this LP copy. Don't get us wrong, we own several copies of LP for China, Eucador, South America, Guatamala, and etc. But we have serious reservation about recommending this one to anyone else. Here are some of the reasons:

1. Several budget restarurants in Old San Juan no longer exist. They include St. Germain, Brenda's Cafe, and Los Amigos. It became very frustrating after going to several places and finding out 3/4 of them were closed.

2. The same happened in Ponce, but for hotels. Two out of three hotels listed on pg. 166 (center of Ponce, by the Plaza las Delicias) were not there - they simply don't exist.

3. Now, telephone numbers. we can't say that all of them in the guidebook are wrong, but the ones we called are either disconnected or a wrong number. This goes for the UA Cinema 150 in San Juan (pg. 105), which we found out at a Holiday Inn in Isla Verde that it was torn down a year ago. Or the Museo de Art Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico, which doesn't open on Monday, as the guidebook indicated - in fact, no museum in San Juan opens on Monday!

4. We can list more annoyances, like the lack of good maps for most of the cities described, or bad driving directions...

We are not saying that this book has no value, but when you finds enough inconsistencies and errors, you has to wonder what else is wrong, and more importantly, whether or not you can actually trust and rely on the guidebook. And in that respect, our answer is NO.

The take home message: carefully compare this book with another. If you do decide to buy this LP, always call the places ahead to see 1) if it still exist, and 2) if the number is correct.

On a side note, at one point during the trip, we thought that we would probably have had more luck with a coqui as our guide than using this guidebook! =)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than nothing, September 15, 2006

By	Deirdre M. Yambo "traveler by mind" (STONY BROOK, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Puerto Rico (Regional Guide) (Paperback)

I bought this book 2 years ago for a trip to Puerto Rico. It was a bit outdated than. I traveled there again 9/2/06 to 9/11/06, this was my fifth time, so I have a bit more knowledge than the first timer. For the most part every bit of information about Rincon is inaccurate. Everything closes the week of labor day until around the end of October, so do not go there during those dates, you will have wasted your day. Well not everything is closed, Rincon proper is still open. And you can always watch the surfers at sandy beach or go snorkeling at steps beach (rent your gear at Taino Divers, they are still open). In fact there is a great coffee house that stays open,(better than starbucks and they have soy milk!) it is called Taino international cafe, try their frozen coffee drinks, they also have WiFi.

Prices have gone up for the camuy caves and the ferry ride to Gilligans Island, but only by a couple of bucks. There is a lot more traffic than the last time I went there, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time, otherwise you would have wasted a day in the car, when you could have been happier sitting at a beach. I stayed on the west coast, so I was traveling mostly going east, but from what I could tell the traffic was equally bad going west. I believe most travel guides say it takes 2 1/2 hours to travel from San Jaun to Rincon, bank on it taking ATLEAST 3 and perhaps up to 5. So leave very very early.

Anyway, I think this book is better than having no book, the directions are generally the same, some places do not exist anymore, but just call up before you venture out. Pretty much you will find a decent amount of people that speak English (especially in Rincon, where almost everybody is from the states, talk to them they have good stories, most of them went to Rincon for a vacation and stayed).