Also - to note: Although other books MAY have better aspects - the lonely planet easy way to find the info you want is vital. You need to be able to find the info you want - otherwise you wont use the book.


Good enough   December 2, 2005
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a pretty good book. Not all consolidated LP books are of equal quality, but I was pleased with the accuracy and volume of detail for each country. The crucial thing like border crossing points, times, and rough costs were good. Not much else really matters.


Lonely Planet S.America on a Shoestring   October 13, 2005
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I used this book for five months of backpacking in S.America and found it absolutely invaluable. Of course it doesn't contain as much specific info on the countries as the individual guides do, but when space and weight in your pack are important you don't want to be carrying around over a dozen books. It offers a great overview of the highlights of the country but I mostly used it to find cheap accomodation and routes/times/costs of the local buses. I can't comment on any of the itineries the author recomends, but I wouldn't use them anyway - decide what you want to see and go it alone!
On a side note, this is a fascinating and varied continent, on which I will always want to return to and would highly recomend to travelers.