Travel to Latin America

Lonely Planet Brazil

Format: Paperback
Author: Regis St. Louis
ReleaseDate: 15 January, 2005
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications
Rating:

Many errors in LP Brazil
Unfortunately, there Brazilian version is full of errors. Lonely Planet is usually the best travel guide out there. A friend of mine purchased LP for our trip to Brazil in May 2005 while I got Let's Go Brazil. Like another review stated, there are several errors in Sao Paolo alone. We were search for a Italian restaurant that is suppose to have the "best pizza in Brazil". When we got to the restaurant, we were told by the owner that the restaurant has never sold pizza. I was told by one travel agent/guide in Sao Paolo that the person that did the section on Sao Paolo was only there for 1-2 days and there was no way he could have accurately gotten all the information that he needed in that short time span. We also had a problem finding out hostel in Rio using the map in LP. For a book that was release in Jan. 2005, it is missing much information. I would purchase Let's Go just to have another reference guide book.

Lonely Planet should be ashamed
I read criticism of the prior edition on Amazon but assumed that Lonely Planet would have corrected the errors in this updated edition. After trying to use Lonely Planet with my first Brazilian stop, Sao Paulo, I would definitely NOT recommend this travel guide. I assumed wrong. Errors on the map still persist. The first day I wasted a good amount of time looking for accommodations that were incorrectly indicated. Once I did find them, I found that Lonely Planet was way off with the price information. Granted the Real has increased recently, but the prices were more than 3 times higher than Lonely Planet's estimate, so the information is plain wrong, not because of currency fluctuations. Another day I wasted time trying to find a bookstore that wasn't even close to the map's dot. Assuming the stated address was correct, I was told to take a cab from the spot where the map indicated it should be because it was so far away.
I was able to look at a Let's Go Brazil at my hostel and I would probably recommend that book. Even with the earlier publication date, the information seemed to be more up to date. Rough Guide's information on the internet also looks useful. The poor quality and apparent laziness I found in the Sao Paulo section is really pathetic and Lonely Planet should be ashamed of publishing such errors. I want my money back.

Couldn't have done Brazil without it
Maceiý, Salvador, Rio, Blumeneau, and Foz de Iguaýu (Iguazu Falls). My husband and I spent 3 weeks traveling around Brazil. We used a travel agent who was from Brazil to book our hotels and flights in advance, but as far as local travel (and in one case, arriving in an airport an hour from our destination city, Blumeneau), we found this book indispensable. For example, it clearly explains how the bus systems work and why you should take them. It also have info in Rio about an airport bus that saved us at least $25, if I remember correctly, in not taking a cab. Recapped the cost of the book right there. Most often, and in spite of my being able to converse in Portuguese, the book was more helpful even than the hotel staff of the hotels where we stayed.

As an earlier reviewer mentioned, prices are completely out of date, due to currency fluctuations, and I agree that listing them in the local currency would have been helpful. Still, since the exchange rate the prices are based on was also posted in the book, it is possible to recreate that information.

As is inevitable with any travel book, some smaller restaurants have closed since publication, and we often relied on locals to give us recommendations (sometimes those recommendations were also in the book, though!). Ditto on a laundry place in Rio. ;) Overall, though, the recommendations in the book allow a tourist to navigate the city without feeling lost and out of place. At least, it did that for us. We used it so extensively that the cover is going in our scrapbook, having been such an integral part of our journey.

Related products:
click image or link for details on these Latin America travel books.

	Brazilian Portuguese: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
	Lonely Planet Argentina
	Lonely Planet Rio De Janeiro
	Frommer's Brazil (Frommer's Complete)
	Brazil Map (International Series)