Lonely Planet Brazil (LONELY PLANET BRAZIL)

Rating:
Summary: I don't know what to tell you to buy, but don't buy this.
Review: On a three month research trip to Brazil, my husband and I began a letter to Lonely Planet detailing every mistake, omission, and out-of-date reference we could remember. Sometimes we just couldn't write fast enough! Many of the maps were virtually useless (particularly the one of Salvador, we thought). Prices were vastly different and inaccurate (and not due only to changes in the exchange rate). At the end of three months, our letter was in excess of 7 single spaced typed pages! And we certainly didn't go everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: I don't know what to tell you to buy, but don't buy this.
Review: On a three month research trip to Brazil, my husband and I began a letter to Lonely Planet detailing every mistake, omission, and out-of-date reference we could remember. Sometimes we just couldn't write fast enough! Many of the maps were virtually useless (particularly the one of Salvador, we thought). Prices were vastly different and inaccurate (and not due only to changes in the exchange rate). At the end of three months, our letter was in excess of 7 single spaced typed pages! And we certainly didn't go everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: A relatively weak effort
Review: Some of the other criticisms here seem petty (e.g., the changing cost of visas, changes in costs due to unstable currency, the screed about the Carmen Miranda museum which isn't difficult to find, yammering about the fairly moderate politics). Indeed, some seem typical of the reviews of travel guides one expects from people with unrealistic expectations of a guidebook and limited travel experience. That said, this is definitely one of LP's weaker efforts. I found numerous errors on maps and in descriptions of locations, important enough that one can miss important places (like hotels or laundries--which can be few). There are significant areas of neglect, e.g., the book doesn't mention that Itacare is an international surfing center, although this is evident pretty quickly. People looking for quiet beach town will be disappointed. My guess is that the next revision needs much more care. Unfortunately, the alternative is the "Footprints" guide which has some gaping holes (e.g., few descriptions of tours and jungle lodging in the Amazon) and the Rough Guide which also has significant weaknesses.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money On This One
Review: The conventional wisdom is that you can't go wrong with Lonely Planet guide, but this Brazil guide proves otherwise. The new 5th edition is little changed from the 4th, except for 1) the new Natural Brazil section. Most travelers will find this section too dry and uninteresting, while those really interested in nature will find it too superficial 2) $5.00 higher price tag.
Useful things, such as info on hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and prices are too often inaccurate. The most annoying aspect of this guide is that all prices are out of whack. LP translated prices (some of which were probably 5 years old) into US dollars when the real was 2.2 per dollar. Now it is about 3.5.
All this raises doubts of whether or not the authors actually went to Brazil to update this edition and not just slapped on a new cover and threw in a new useless section. So, if you have the 4th edition, keep using it. If not, look into buying either the Footprints or the Rough guides. The high popularity of LP is another reason to go with something else. When you go to places recommended by LP, you are very likely to run into hordes of other backpackers clutching their LP guides like bibles and afraid to make a step on their own. On a positive note, the LP guide does have useful info about Brazil's history, economy, culture, society, film and literature.

Rating:
Summary: good, but not good enough
Review: There is no other option than to agree with the other reviewers. the language section is bad (how do you call a waiter? how do you ask for the bill? basics that are not deemed important by the writers). The descriptions are sometimes uninspired..but most importantly...the information on Brazil's most important city, Sao Paulo, The city that is most difficult to find your way in, but that has far more to offer than Rio is limited to just 15 pages!

Rating:
Summary: Simply the best / A valuable tool to explore Brazil
Review: This book is both interesting and informative. I planned a two week trip in Southern Brazil around the towns/pousadas/hotels in this book. Its information is up to date and very exacting. I bought 3 Brazilian travel books. This book is clearly suberb to the others and a "must have" for the Brazilian traveler. I traveled with a Brazilian and she too marveled at the useful information / history / travel tips. I cannot rate this book high enough! Thanx Lonely Planet!