Rating:  Summary: Better than ever! Review: (From Planeta Journal) - The seventh edition of this guidebook is better than ever. One of the most popular country guides, this book provides detailed information for readers who want to visit destinations beyond the tourism resorts. It includes up-to-date information on Mexico's national parks and reserves. This is a great resource for any independent traveler -- for hikers and art lovers alike! A plus -- it features a 24-page handicrafts section and 161 detailed maps. It's hard to get lost in Mexico if you have this book!
Rating:  Summary: Pretty good, considering Review: Actually I think some of the criticisms are overdone. Of course it is nearly impossible to cover such a country as Mexico. Ideally, you need a book per region.
I have the 1998 version and it has served me very well for four visits (1999, 2001, 2003, 2004).
The country will always evolve (especially somewhere such as Chiapas - the mid 1990s LPs would have said don't go, there's a war on! I went in 2003.)
And because of us the prices will rise, and you will find ever more Americans (yes gringos, it's a terrible shame to see so many of you - but I salute your taste in this regard.....)
My book is pretty dog-eared - but I always take it.
Rating:  Summary: Some useful info, some not Review: Although generally a fair travel guide, the book is incomplete in some areas. As a resident of Mexico, I found lonely planet often does not contain the places which are the best values in each of the cities listed. However, I prefer it that way, since many of Lonely Planet's listings feel they can suddenly increase prices. Although some out of the way places are listed, not many of them, and we have Lonely Planet to thank for destroying such sanctuaries.
Rating:  Summary: great information Review: Hi my name is Jason: your book was great.But as I was visiting in Acapulco during the Easter weekened many people like myself were in trouble trying to find a place. I was and three other people were saved by this wonderful canadian women who runs something like a bed and breakfast in Acapulco. She only charged us 80pesos's per nite and had everything we needed to be comfortable..kitchen facilities, beautiful scenery of the ocean and the Acapulco bay..I would say she has a beautiful manson on the hill..just above the famous cliff divers. Her name is Heather and she can be reached in canada 1-450-297-1256 for reservations in advance and herself she will be arriving back in Mexico in November sometime.Her phone number there is 82-33-22..She is a very kind and generous person.Please add her to the Lonely Planet..Her address is 24 la mira by the famous Quebrada..Thank you very much Jason Please if there is anyone else that stayed at her house help her out..If you are planning a trip please keep her mind. Just a reminder her home is your home. Home away from home..
Rating:  Summary: MAPS & SITES GOOD - RATES & SCHEDULES BEWARE Review: I am an American Living in Mexico and as such find my Lonely Planet Mexico guide of much help. Basically it is (1) instrumental in getting my bearings in most cities where they include maps; (2) helpful in locating some hotels and tourist destinations (museums, other sites, etc.). But (3)understandably at some level, the hotel rates and bus schedules are grossly underestimated. Most lodgings are at least $10 more or even double the least-rate published for a particular listing, and you need to add an hour or more onto their bus times between cities. My guess is that the LP reps are asking the desk clerks for schedule information. The clerks always lie as the bus companies are very competitive and they want to you to buy a ticket from them. So for example, LP says that it takes 2 hours by bus to go from Zacatecas to San Luis Potosi (which is true by car), when actually it is ALWAYS 3 - 3.5 hours by bus. Also, I am not certain how LP aquires hotel rates. Unless you walk in "Undercover" and actually rent a room, you will not get the actual rate. For example, LP has Pasada Acueducto in Queretaro listed as $15/17.50 in the budget category, when in fact the cheapest room is over $30. The Hotel Operators lie to get LP to list at a cheaper rate to drive tired tourist to their destinations first. So Beware, use the maps and destination listing, but ignore any rate or schedule info. Unfortunately, LP does not have a subscription companion site, where listing info could be updated and customer comments shared. Their website is basically a storefront for their products and not of much help. I'd gladly pay more for a companion subscription site.
Rating:  Summary: Best information source to travel trough Mexico Review: I have a backpacker lodge in Mexico City and there I have had the oportunity to check most of the travellers guides for Mexico, in french, spanish, english and some in other languages. I can tell by my own experience, because I travel a lot in Mexico and use the LP guide, and by the by the experience of those guys staying at our lodge, that this guide is the most complete, acurate and updated of all guides. There you might find data that not even in the mexican tourist information centres could be found. The maps are excellent.
Rating:  Summary: I have ahouse in jalisco, mexico Review: I have a house in mexico and travel there 1 or 2 months per year . I also speak spanish less than fluently. I have found the lonely planet guides to be very useful. As with any guide there are mistakes and shortcomings. But overall, these are the best guides for those who whish to travel on a low to medium budget.
Rating:  Summary: I have ahouse in jalisco, mexico Review: I have a house in mexico and travel there 1 or 2 months per year . I also speak spanish less than fluently. I have found the lonely planet guides to be very useful. As with any guide there are mistakes and shortcomings. But overall, these are the best guides for those who whish to travel on a low to medium budget.
Rating:  Summary: You can't go wrong with a Lonely Planet guide Review: I have just returned to Norway after backpacking around in Latin America for a year (of course accompanied by the Lonely Planet book). I do not claim to be an expert, but I do know what I am looking for in a travel guide. The Mexico guide is a good, complete guide. Filled with information, history and beautiful pictures about almost every corner of this gorgeous country. Reading the whole book gives you a good update on your history and geography knowledge! (Something to do if you are trekking around by bus like I did!) I have always been satisfied with the LP guides. The information given is good, just what you need to get around. The only negative with this book (and the reason I give it 4 and not 5 stars) is that it was completely outdated on prices etc. Another thing (that goes for most of the travel guides) is that many of the hotels that are listed in the book has gotten so much (too much?) business so that the service is down to a minimum. This we found especially in Isla Mujeres where the price was the double of what the book said, and really lousy customer service, if any.
Rating:  Summary: Read these book reviews carefully Review: I have only limited contact with the contents of this book - borrowed copies and people I have run into on the road who are using this book. What little I read is enough to make me want to pick up one of the many excellent Moon Handbooks on my next trip to Mexico. Some of the other reviewers site the fact that this book is terribly outdated. I would add that it is over-used... and the hotel owners and waiters whose establishments are listed in the book know it. If you are new to independent travel and have never heard of Taxco or Guanajuato or you want to feel like you are really beating a new path but still want your restaurant menus in English, maybe this book can help. Otherwise, consider one of the amazingly well-researched and up-to-date Moon Handbooks, such as Pacific Mexico, Archeological Mexico, or Colonial Mexico.
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