Lonely Planet Spain (Paperback)

by Damien Simonis (Author)
Key Phrases: Santa Maria, San Sebastián, San Pedro (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

Here is an imagination-fueling guide on how to experience the best Spain has to offer. With lively features on Spanish history; coverage of Spanish Catalan, Basque, and Galician languages; more than 145 maps, including metro maps for Madrid and Barcelona; details on outdoor activities, including national parks; chapters on Madrid and Barcelona; plus hundreds of options for food and accommodations no matter what your budget, you'll be hard-pressed to limit your stay. --Kathryn True --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 900 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 5th edition (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740597001
• ISBN-13: 978-1740597005
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #556,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Up to Standards, May 13, 2001

By	Supermonkey "Software, music, and comics geek" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Spain (Spain, 3rd ed) (Paperback)

My wife and I have come to swear by Lonely Planet books for off-the-beaten-track advice on trips to Taiwan, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Peru. When we decided to visit Spain, we immediately bought the latest edition (3rd) of Lonely Planet Spain. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that what we needed instead were the City Guides for Madrid and Barcelona. The book covered all of Spain fairly, but was very skimpy on info about both of these cities. We found the detail we needed by exchanging this book for both the City Guides and an extra $5. If you are travelling Spain for an extended period, and will get all over the country, then this tome is for you (and will probably be worth it). If instead you are trying to hit the highlights of Spain, or want to base your vacation out of either Madrid or Barcelona, then skip it and find a better book.

And incidentally, I think it's a pretty lame gambit from LP to start yanking all the detail from the national-level books and slipping it into the city guides. You always end up buying more books, since you can't get the info you want in any one place! Not fair to your customers, guys!

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Success has gone to their heads!, July 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet Spain (Paperback)

After checking out an older edition of LP's Spain guide ('98 or '97) I decided to order the '99 edition here. When it arrived I noticed immediately that the book was only about 2/3 the size of previous editions. After perusing the contents I could see why. The book contained less content and many more references to other LP guidebooks (eg Trekking in Spain, city guides, etc.) Lonely Planet has obviously pared down their info in each guide in an effort to sell more books! While not a terribly surprising tactic in today's marketplace I nevertheless felt a little cheated. At $21.95 I don't think I'll buy again!

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Overweight, stale, out of date, September 10, 2004

By	Hairy Larry (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Spain (Paperback)

I have used the Lonely Planet guides in Asia, the Middle East, and in Europe. Lately, they seem to have lost their way. Originally, the LP guides were for people who had travelled at least a little bit before and needed some pointers to an area. The guides usually had some sort of walking tours in the cities they indicated. Their guides have become filled with useless colour photos of generic scenes, The quirky, fresh information has largely disappeared -- In the summer of 2004, I used the LP guides for both Portugal and Spain. I travelled for about three months. I had been in both places before and had used a LP guide. The most recent guides are stale and minimally updated. They are also occassionally misleading; especially concerning food. Sadly, the LP guide to Spain is not worth the weight that goes along with carrying it.

A telling thing is that I saw several tourists with back packs hanging on both their back and front clutching their LP guides while staggering and sight-seeing through Spanish cities in the afternoon. This is telling for two reasons: (one) In the afternoon, in Spain, there is little to do other than siesta, eat, or drink; it is not the time to sight-see (two) Carrying two packs is carrying one pack too many; the prior generation of LP users were experienced travellers (not tourists) and would find two packs foolish. Anyhow, somehow, LP has lost focus and now better serves the Lets Go crowd instead of more experienced travellers.

My advice: If this is your first trip to Europe, consider buying Lets Go. If you already know how to get your bags off of the airplane, search for an alternative by looking at country specific guides; do not buy a LP guide just because you had happily used one before.