Lonely Planet Peru (Paperback)

by Charlotte Beech (Author), Rob Rachowiecki (Author) "A bustling, fast-moving modern metropolis, Lima is sprawled untidily on the edge of the coastal desert..." (more)
Key Phrases: criollo music, private hot showers, shared hot showers, Plaza de Armas, Machu Picchu, Puerto Maldonado (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
As usual, the guidebook standard is set by Lonely Planet.

-- Outside (USA) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Follow an ancient footpath to the lost city of Machu Picchu. Explore a colorful crafts market. Answer the call of the wild in the lush Amazon rainforest. Peru offers inspiration from every angle. Our unbeatable guide will enable you to climb mountains, delve into canyons and get to know the essence of the Andes.

* GET READY, SET GO! - highlights, itineraries and planning sections get your adventure started
* UNDERSTAND IT ALL - expert authors provide insight into Peruvian history, culture and current events
* FIND YOUR WAY with loads of detailed maps - more than any other Peru guidebook
* TALK THE TALK get from buenos dias to hasta luego with our easy-to-use guide to Spanish, Quechua and Aymara
* REST EASY - frank, in-depth hotel and restaurant reviews eliminate the guesswork at any budget

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 5th edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740592093
• ISBN-13: 978-1740592093
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #19 in

  Books > Travel > Latin America > South America > Peru

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great, but with deficiencies..., September 30, 2002

By	Nacozari - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Peru (Paperback)

like all travel guides, you can find something that is not there in 'lonely planet peru'... i traveled peru for three months last year and had the advantage of using three different guidebooks along the way... they all have their pros and cons, so a review of any of them must necessarily discuss these:

the pros: the maps and city plans are substantially better than in the competitors' guidebooks (where footprint is severely lacking, for example)... lonely planet is one of the few cheap-o style travel guidebooks that gives you information on at least a few hotels that are not youth hostels, dives or other forms of bottom-barrel accommodation; in other words, they at least give you a few mid-range and expensive options if you wish to go that way... all the essentials are there, with great suggestions on places to sleep, eat and visit

the cons: as with ALL of the backpacker/youth travel guidebooks (LP, footprint, rough guide, let's go), the information on sights/monuments/museums, etc., is SEVERELY lacking... there is just the most basic of information on the history of the sights that you have gone so far to see... which makes it necessary to buy another book, pay an expensive guide or some such thing... (for instance, you will rarely read detailed descriptions of the artwork to be found in a church and are often left wandering about saying 'this is so beautiful, i wonder what it is...i wish the guidebook would tell me more!') i know this would make the guidebooks huge, but even 50% more information would be wonderful so as to have a little bit more of a grip on what you are looking at after taking a 12-hour bus ride through the andes to get there!

which is why, despite its quality, i always felt the need to take another guidebook along, just in case...using my usual technique of tearing out just the pages i would need from each book

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed with this Guide, November 23, 2005

By	Promethius (South Florida) - See all my reviews

This is the first Lonely Planet guide my wife and I have ever been disappointed with. We were in Peru in November of 2005 and relied on this guide to plan hotels, excursions and restaurants in Lima and Cusco.

The big problem with this guide was with the information on Cusco -- prices and information were out of date, and we were constantly surprised to find that things the book lists as free cost money, and the costs of tours, trips, and entrance fees were much more than what the book stated. I would go as far as to say that the book was wrong more than 80% of the time. Consequently, we eneded up spending much more money that we had anticipated, and ended up not going to several sites to avoid blowing the budget we set for this trip. An added drawback to this book was, when walking around Cusco with it in hand, having guides and other tourists go out of their way to tell you what a bad guidebook this is. (I wish I was making this up.)

I also found that the information on hotels in Lima was not very good. The hotel I stayed at was excellent and not even listed. However, the hotel next door, which was not nearly as nice, was listed and given high marks. I would have been upset if I relied on the book and stayed at the place next door.

I believe these problems are all because this guide has not been updated. And until it is, I wouldn't recommend relying on it to plan a vacation.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Least Helfpul Lonely Planet Guide, October 19, 2005

By	G. Petrov - See all my reviews

I swear by Lonely Planet guides since 1999 and found their books to be superior in many destinations, but the Peru book is an unfortunate exception. I hope that the publisher puts it for a complete re-write like they did with LP Bolivia. Anyway... I have traveled in Peru for 2 months and the following are the problems with the book: in each city I found that many addresses and locations marked on the maps are incorrect and represent either private residences, closed establishments, or a few blocks off; the information between sections does not jive (the book gives different travel times to/from Arequipa, depending on the chapter you are reading even though the cities are the same); the book gives BAD advice on what to do - in Lima it suggests a bicycle trip to Pachakamac ruins, which is a suicide mission because it involves first cycling through the slums of Lima and then many miles on the shoulder of Panamericana w/o a cycle lane, pretty much sharing the road with speeding trucks and buses; the book skips on the choice destinations and activities by locals - I was amazed that LP did not even mention Lares hotsprings near Cusco, which is not only the finest hotspring in the region, but also a spectacular trek, and the choice of local residents to visit when they have time off; many establishments, such as restaurants, mentioned in the book no longer conform to the description either due to change of ownership or just being spoiled by listing in the guide... There many other misc inaccuracies in the book as well. Alas, I can't recommend this guide book for travel in Peru. I ended up getting most of my intel from the South American Explorers club or just talking with the locals.