Lonely Planet Britain (Britain, 5th Ed)

Rating:
Summary: I recommend examining guidebooks before purchasing ...
Review:
Okay, I've learned my lesson. Now that I'm married and am planning a month-long adventure in Britain, I thought I would branch out and try a different guide [than what I've used before]. Lonely Planet received excellent reviews, so I purchased it online.

Useful guidebooks are all about presentation and layout. It's all about what's comfortable in your hands, what is most organized for your way of traveling, and what you just can't stop reading. I am sure that Lonely Planet is perfect for many travelers. For me, it felt too bulky, the page size too small, and the layout disorganized. I'm not claiming that it IS disorganized, just that it wasn't how I would organize it! I wrote all of that just to recommend that you look at the available guides before buying them. Hold them, look up locations and places to stay, and see what works for you.

Rating:
Summary: Best guide
Review: I had Fodors and Frommers and AAA. This was the best for Britain

Rating:
Summary: Best guide
Review: I had Fodors and Frommers and AAA. This was the best for Britain

Rating:
Summary: Gotta love LP
Review: I have bought Lonely Planet guidebooks for both Ireland and Britain and I have zero regrets in doing so. I simply could not have survived w/out it in Ireland and it did not disappoint for Britain either. It is a great overview guide and covers most everything w/some detail but leaves it to you to do the exploring. Also, what is best about the guides is the way they respect all budget levels. For me I really like this, because I found myself mixing between hostels, B&Bs, and ritzy hotels and the LP was a great guide for all of them. I'm thinking of France or Germany next and I am sure the LP will be my guide of choice.

Rating:
Summary: The Best All-Purpose Guide to Britain!
Review: I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest to use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine three different books to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.

Rating:
Summary: The Best All-Purpose Guide to Britain!
Review: I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest-to-use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine four different guidebooks to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.

Rating:
Summary: Another fine guidebook from Lonely Planet
Review: I recently took this guidebook on a two-week trip around the UK and found it to be just as useful and dead-on as every other LP book I've used (even though it is almost two years old). I looked at some of the others, and this the only budget guide for Britain worth picking up. Forget Fodor's, Frommer's, and Let's Go - this book is all you need for a trip to the British Isles.

Rating:
Summary: You're going to LOVE BRITAIN!
Review: I've spent a year in England and have made >30 visits all together.

Here are my reviews of the best guides....to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for pubs, hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the underground and the double decker buses. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the city centre. When you get to be an old London hand, remember that the classic Londoners guide will always be an A to Z (zed) map and guide. If you want to go a bit beyond the central core of the city (perhaps to Windsor, Hampton, or further away) you really need the proper AtoZ to be able to find exact routes and streets.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide




Rating:
Summary: Certainly one of the better travel guide serieses
Review: My husband bought me this book before we went to Britain for our honeymoon. But, in fact, my husband, who was born and raised in W. Yorkshire and lived in London for several years, actually learned some things about his own homeland.

Rating:
Summary: The "ins and outs" of the island nation of Britain
Review: Now in an expanded and completely updated fifth edition, the Lonely Planet travel guide Britain: One Island, Three Countries, Endless Options comprehensively covers the "ins and outs" of the island nation of Britain, including basics about British history and culture, and enhanced with a vast host of maps, places to stay and eat, sights to see, and a scattering of photographs. A wide-ranging general-purpose guide, solidly recommended, if you are planning a trip to the British isles, begin your itinerary planning with a careful perusal of Britain: One Island, Three Countries, Endless Options.