Travel to South America

Lonely Planet Chile & Easter Island (Lonely Planet Chile and Easter Island)

Format: Paperback
Author: Carolyn Hubbard
ReleaseDate: May, 2003
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications
Rating:

Disappointing to an LP fan
In retrospect, I think we should have spent the money on a fancy restaurant (Yes, B. While staying in Argentina, my husband and I decided we'd like to travel to Chile for a short period of time, and thought we were lucky to find a copy of this book in a bookstore in Buenos Aires. A. is that cheap. ).

Even in helping us decide which city to travel to, this book contained little information, lacking the great in depth and funny stories that characterized the other LP books we've used. (Perhaps other cities in Chile had better info, but we were comparing Santiago, the capital, Valparaýso, and Viýa del Mar. )

We ended up going to Viýa del Mar, and in spite of the city being a huge tourist destination, there was little information about lodging; ditto for restaurants or entertainment. Those 3 things being our main use of the LP books (which we could not have lived without in Argentina and Brazil), I wish we had not wasted our money.

.

A rather weak LP guide
Unfortunately not this one. Some Lonely Planet guides become a traveler's "bible". I lived a whole year in Chile and during this time traveled extensively from north to south. The book is alright if you are just looking for a short overview and some basic info. However, the book falls sadly short of providing really detailed info on accomodation (especially budget and mid-range) or restaurants and in general too often only scratches the surface, leaves out less known but equally interesting places. In a nutshell - the LP is good for some practical info but shouldn't be the traveler's only source of information. I would recommend to buy either the "Chile Experience Travel Guide" (English) or the annually updated, excellent "Turistel" guides (Spanish), both by Turiscom. You can get them in any bookstore in Santiago or other Chilean cities. Chile is a wonderful country to explore and definitely deserves a better guide book.

Concise, filled with great information, excellently written.
Perhaps aided by the fact that Chile is a relatively small country, yet stretching from the tropical to the antarctic areas, and by the relative homogeneity of the country in terms of society and culture, the author and editors have done an excellent job in collecting and putting together all the best information a traveller to Chile would need. This is for certain one of the best Lonely Planet guides I came across (and I do have a very large collection). I know Chile very well, and can witness that this information is up-to-date, correct, unbiased, and altogether an indispensable tool for any traveller, providing all necessary data for the more well-off and for 'backpackers' alike. The information is concise and clear. Everything is excellently written, thus ensuring real pleasure too. The sections on politics, history and society are excellent too. Altogether, it is a great companion while travelling in Chile or dreaming of Chile.

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

	Lonely Planet Argentina
	The Rough Guide to Chile 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
	Lonely Planet Peru
	Lonely Planet Bolivia
	Frommer's Argentina & Chile (Frommer's Complete)