Lonely Planet Wales (Country Guide)

 (5 customer reviews)

Lonely Planet Guides are for "advanced" travellers, but this one is usable and very fine even for those of us who aren't in that category. It also seems to be the sole "Wales only" guidebook now available, so for those who plan to travel only in Wales and want detailed information about places, history, transportation etc. it is excellent. Although these days even the un-advanced can plan a trip by websites, most of us need a guide such as this to get started, and the material here proved more reliable than that on some websites. Realistic information about travel distances and times, cautious advice on how to climb Mt. Snowdon, and background about Welsh mythology all can be found here. The guide also tries to counter the "theme park" atmosphere by including the sad history of the collapse of mining and industry.

I'm in the process of researching a trip to Wales, as my husband and I have traveled to England, Scotland and Ireland but want to make sure we see all aspects of the UK. I've been to Cardiff before, but aside from that really didn't know much about Wales.

I picked up the Lonely Planet guide hoping to get some ideas and inspiration to plan the trip. Unfortunately, I just wasn't inspired by the book. I started to doubt whether or not we should really visit Wales based on what I was reading. The book totes walking tours, etc, but I felt like it really glanced upon other beautiful sites like the cairns, castle ruins, and so many other sites. They were in there, but the layout just seemed jumbled together with no distinction of 'must see's!'

I think I was spoiled on our last trip overseas where I relied heavily on the Rough Guide and Rick Steve's. Neither book had 'everything' that I needed alone, but together, they were the perfect resource to make an amazing trip...Read more

We are using this book as an aid to planning our trip to the southern coast of Wales. The maps are reasonably helpful and the listings of "sights" in each area are fairly comprehensive. There are some suggestions of eating places, and good shopping areas. I do wish, however, that there was an additional bit of info on which restaurants are especially family/kid friendly, since we will have 2 children, age 5 and 9, in tow.