Lonely Planet Peru (Country Guide)

Lonely Planet typically does a decent job with its guide books and I have bought quite a few of them. However, Lonely Planet Peru does not make the cut. This book is awful. I just purchased the newest version (2007) for a trip to Peru in May 2007 and the information in the book was almost useless.

First, there is a lot of incorrect information. For example, we had our hearts set on eating at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet in Cusco, but when we got to the address, we found that the restaurant was out of business. Also discovered that many addresses are wrong. Descriptions of the bus trip from Puno, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia are misleading, and the overall organization of the book is confusing and very disappointing.

Do yourself a favor and look for a different Peru guide book.

We planned a three week trip using info from this book, booked hotels, found local travel agencies, do it yourself stuff and found lots of information on what to do, see, avoid and even the info on taxis (so you don't get ripped off). We actually added another stop after reading about it in LP. I've used mostly LP guides for travel and haven't been let down. This book was really helpful in how to reach various places since most just take your reservation and you pay cash when you arrive. Includes info on bus and tour companies to use or avoid.

The LONELY PLANET guides are always my one stop source guide when I travel. It was my bible on my trip to PERU. There aren't a lot of travel guides written about Peru but LONELY PLANET had the information I needed. The series always provides insight into the history and culture of a country. Peru is tranforming itself into a tourist country. It's a work in progress so realize that information can become quickly outdated once a book is published. Restaurants open and close, details on museums change so keep that in mind with any travel guide. I traveled to several cities and found the LONELY PLANET guide to be immensely useful. Lonely Planet guides are great for people of all budgets. Hotels and restaurants are broken down into budget and expensive. You have the choice. I used LONELY PLANET PERU to make my hotel decisions and couldn't have been more pleased with their honest recommendations. If a place is shabby but has a great staff and location, Lonely Planet will tell it like it is...Read more