Lonely Planet Cape Town (Paperback)

by Simon Richmond (Author), Jon Murray (Author) "Signs of the first humans have been found in several places in South Africa..." (more)
Key Phrases: great mountain passes, cellar tours, rugby stadium, South Africa, Table Mountain, City Bowl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"It's the sort of city guide that only Lonely Planet could produce: smart, thoughtful, honest, fair-minded and hard to put down." -- Chicago Tribune, February 2007

Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack” --Toronto Star, February 2006
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

How do you reconcile Cape Town's brutal history with the pursuit of pleasure? Let Lonely Planet guide you through the townships, wineries and jazz joints of Africa's most hedonistic seaside city.

• 8 colour maps covering the whole city, plus excursion maps
• kloofing, abseiling, cycling, hang-gliding: all the information you need to get your adrenaline pumping
• the best in nightlife, including a special section on gay and lesbian Cape Town
• accommodation options in every style, from converted trains to boutique hotels
• transport information that will have you riding a Rikki like a local

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 3rd edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 086442759X
• ISBN-13: 978-0864427595
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,123,702 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but out of date already, July 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet Cape Town (2nd ed) (Paperback)

This guide covers many things that a tourist would like to know. But a year old is too old for fast-changing South Africa.

It is nice to see Lonely Planet adding web pages - but I wish there was an index somewhere rather than having to search through the book looking for them once I'm at the computer!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disorganized and a waste of money, May 2, 2005

By	Fanoffans - See all my reviews

SUMMARY OF MY REVIEW: Save your money and get free guides at the Cape Town tourism office instead!!!

Lonely Planet guides usually rate pretty good in my view, but this guide to Cape Town has made me re-think my devotion to Lonely Planet books. The one positive thing I have to say about this book is that it is small and packs easily, and that is why I think this guide deserves even one star.

The book is a very disorganized rambling description of Cape Town and neighboring communities. The guidebook begins with a historical overview, which is appreciated, but then is divided into sections that defy logical order. One of the first sections in the book, for example, is about wineries. Why is this section near the front of the book? Shouldn't more essential Cape Town items like lodging and dining come before wineries? Some destinations, such as the wine country, have different descriptions in more than one section of the book, making this book even more frustrating to use.

Additionally, there are very detailed descriptions for things like how to buy a car in Cape Town (how many vacationers are actually going to buy a car and then resell it while on their vacation???), but descriptions of more touristy things like Table Mountain or the Kirstenbosch Gardens are lacking.

Speaking of lacking, when you're in a new city, good maps are essential. So why are the maps in this guide so lacking in detail? The free maps at the Cape Town tourist office are ten times better.

It would be a much more effective guidebook if (1) it were organized in a more logical fashion, and (2) gave readers a clearer picture of what is a "must see" versus something not so good. Frommer's has a pretty good guide to South Africa in general, but I bought this one because it was specific to Cape Town and because it was small and portable.

Bottom line is that if you go to Cape Town, avoid using this as a guide. I'm sure there are better guides out there. If not, the tourist offices in Cape Town are EXCELLENT resources.

16 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is incorrect, poorly written, unreliable, June 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet Cape Town (2nd ed) (Paperback)

I would not recommend this book