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| Guatemala and Belize (Lonely Planet Country Guide) | 
 enlarge | Author: Conner Gorry
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy Used: £0.35
You Save: £10.64 (97%)
New (4) from £3.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 333258
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0864426844
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.2810453
EAN: 9780864426840
ASIN: 0864426844
Publication Date: February 28, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Disappointing - took the Rough Guide instead March 8, 2008
I didn't find this book as useful as the Rough Guide. Information seemed to be vague in parts. Wanting to know what the weather would be like in Guatemala City when I was going, I found only a few lines on page 9 describing the climate in highlands and on coast, plus a climate chart on page 276, giving me little specific idea what to expect.
patchy, a rush job? November 22, 2001
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
I used this guide for a three month trip to Guatemala June-September 2001, during which time I spent six weeks in Antigua improving my Spanish at the Sevilla school and another six weeks travelling through the Western Highlands, El Peten and a quick trip into Honduras to the island of Utila.
Generally Antigua was covered adequately, though many things are already out of date as there have been many changes. Judging by the listings this guide was researched a long time ago, as according to my Spanish teacher many of the restaurants and bars recommended had been closed for several years. Also in this section the book mistakenly labels "Volcano Agua" as "Volcano Fuego". As this peak (Agua) is directly to the south of the town, and every language student uses it as a landmark, this is a pretty fundamental error. Not the most promising start, for a budding volcano-climber like myself - I ended up taking a volcano tour (around $6) rather than risk it.
Things didn't improve much in Lago de Atitlan, where I also studied for week. There are now five Spanish schools in San Pedro, though the book only mentions one. Also the book seems to have a rather naive, hippy-dippy sensibility towards the nature of the village, talking about "being greeted by the sweet waft of marijuana" and so on. Yes, San Pedro has a dope-smoking scene, but several travellers were being busted (some set up) for a joint or two while I was there, and there was also a (un) healthy cocaine (including crack) "scene". The LP seemed be blissfully ignorant of all this, locked in some sixties nostalgia timewarp. There are also serious social problems, gangs and abject poverty in San Pedro. Travellers are being mugged on a very regular basis on the volcano. A warning wouldn't have gone amiss.
In Peten, the LP covers Flores and Tikal reasonably, with accurate maps. There's no real coverage of the more remote sites however, the author dismisses the hike to Mirador as a five day hell-hike, while Yaxha, Piedras Negras, Cancuen and many other sites are not even mentioned or barely touched.
In the east of the country, the Jungle route to Honduras that the author describes has no longer been necessary since 1998, when a new bridge was built over the river Montagua that divides the countries (which the guidebook spells "Monagua" on its cover...).
So overall, I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the guide, which for such a recent edition should have been better researched. I did find myself casting an eye over Rough Guide and Footprint readers' guidebooks when I could. This guide needs to be sorted out.
Tom
patchy at best November 17, 2001
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I used this guide for a three month trip to Guatemala June-September 2001, during which time I spent six weeks in Antigua improving my Spanish at the Sevilla school and another six weeks travelling through the Western Highlands, El Peten and a quick trip into Honduras to the island of Utila.
Generally Antigua was covered adequately, though many things are already out of date as there have been many changes. Judging by the listings this guide was researched a long time ago, as according to my Spanish teacher many of the restaurants and bars recommended had been closed for several years. Also in this section the book mistakenly labels "Volcano Agua" as "Volcano Fuego". As this peak (Agua) is directly to the south of the town, and every language student uses it as a landmark, this is a pretty fundamental error. Not the most promising start, for a budding volcano-climber like myself - I ended up taking a volcano tour (around $6) rather than risk it.
Things didn't improve much in Lago de Atitlan, where I also studied for week. There are now five Spanish schools in San Pedro, though the book only mentions one. Also the book seems to have a rather naive, hippy-dippy sensibility towards the nature of the village, talking about "being greeted by the sweet waft of marijuana" and so on. Yes, San Pedro has a dope-smoking scene, but several travellers were being busted (some set up) for a joint or two while I was there, and there was also a (un) healthy cocaine (including crack) "scene". The LP seemed be blissfully ignorant of all this, locked in some sixties nostalgia timewarp. There are also serious social problems, gangs and abject poverty in San Pedro. Travellers are being mugged on a very regular basis on the volcano. A warning wouldn't have gone amiss.
In Peten, the LP covers Flores and Tikal reasonably, with accurate maps. There's no real coverage of the more remote sites however, the author dismisses the hike to Mirador as a five day hell-hike, while Yaxha, Piedras Negras, Cancuen and many other sites are not even mentioned or barely touched.
In the east of the country, the Jungle route to Honduras that the author describes has no longer been necessary since 1998, when a new bridge was built over the river Montagua that divides the countries (which the guidebook spells "Monagua" on its cover...).
So overall, I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the guide, which for such a recent edition should have been better researched. I did find myself casting an eye over Rough Guide and Footprint readers' guidebooks when I could. This guide needs to be sorted out.
Tom
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