Lonely Planet Southern Africa (Multi Country Guide)

 (8 customer reviews)

I purchased this book for a month long trip that I took throughout the countries of Namibia and South Africa, and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when it came to the details. In normal fashion, Lonely Planet does a great job with historic and cultural information pertaining to a certain locality, but once again falls short on the in-depth info that many travelers would be interested in. For instance, national parks and world heritage sites are usually not covered in enough detail, and sometimes they're not mentioned at all. Much of the information is very basic as well, and doesn't really paint a solid picture of the park. Sure, we all know there are animals running around, but what makes it stand out? Notable exceptions would be Etosha and Kruger, both of which have good coverage, but so many other options exist and are just barely mentioned. Major cities are covered well, but so many exciting points of interest are over-looked that sometimes I wonder if the...Read more

This book may have everything you need about Southern Africa... that is unless you plan to travel there. It is full of background facts and history, but of no use if you actually want a guide to attractions, accommodations or local culture.

I bought it for a trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe. Big mistake. For South Africa, it misses several of the major attractions altogether, including Seal Island and Gold Reef City. When the book does mention attractions, it rarely gives any information on how to see them. In an illustrative moment, it mentions the Sterkfontein Caves in the introductory section on Africa's ancient past--but no where in the book does it mention that they offer a museum and guided tours in South Africa an easy distance for Joberg. (The Sterkfontein Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not a minor attraction by any measure).

So that's what you can expect for the most well-traveled of the countries in this book. I won't bore you with...Read more

This book is little more than a list of tourist destinations in Southern Africa. Budget accomodation is limited and information about the places listed is non-existant. Everything in this book could be found out with a few quick google searches. Save your money.