Lonely Planet Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico, 2002)

Rating:
Summary: The Best of everything !
Review: I had the oportunity to get this great book before I went to Puerto Rico, and everything was correct. My boyfriend and I spend four beautiful days in the Island of Culebra...The best place to be; away from The main island... Peacefull, quiet, the best seafood, the best beaches, beautifull sky, and sun. I will recomended this book to anyone...and specially to go to Culebra Island.

Rating:
Summary: I was also disappointed
Review: I have used LP guides to travel all over the world and this was a major disappointment. I won't dispute that Randall S. Peffer has spent the last 30 years getting to know Puerto Rico as the book claims. He knew it very well, it seems, when he wrote the first edition. When he went back, however, in October 2002 to update the book, I got the feeling that he may have meandered by locales he had mentioned to ensure the building was still standing, not confirming any of the facts he had originally included on his way to drink "Cielito Lindos" at the friend's house who invented them and has never shared the recipe with any other bar on the island (contrary to Peffer's statement that this is the national cocktail). We had a good time despite Randall Peffer's sloppy updating. By the way, the "aphrodisiac" restaurant in Old San Juan is called "OstraCosa" .. a play on words . . . "ostra" means oyster. "otra cosa" means "another thing" the pun was lost on Peffer despite his fluent Borricua Spanish.

Rating:
Summary: I was also disappointed
Review: I have used LP guides to travel all over the world and this was a major disappointment. I won't dispute that Randall S. Peffer has spent the last 30 years getting to know Puerto Rico as the book claims. He knew it very well, it seems, when he wrote the first edition. When he went back, however, in October 2002 to update the book, I got the feeling that he may have meandered by locales he had mentioned to ensure the building was still standing, not confirming any of the facts he had originally included on his way to drink "Cielito Lindos" at the friend's house who invented them and has never shared the recipe with any other bar on the island (contrary to Peffer's statement that this is the national cocktail). We had a good time despite Randall Peffer's sloppy updating. By the way, the "aphrodisiac" restaurant in Old San Juan is called "OstraCosa" .. a play on words . . . "ostra" means oyster. "otra cosa" means "another thing" the pun was lost on Peffer despite his fluent Borricua Spanish.

Rating:
Summary: Viva Puerto Rico!
Review: I just got back from Puerto Rico and stayed with a friend who has lived there for four years. She read the book cover to cover and said that it was very accurate and the author had done an amazing job researching and writing it. I would recommend a trip to Luquillo Beach and a stop at the small, family run food joints on your way back to San Juan. Or a jaunt up into the lush rainforests of El Yunque-this book has it all! Viva Puerto Rico!

Rating:
Summary: Viva Puerto Rico!
Review: I just got back from Puerto Rico and stayed with a friend who has lived there for four years. She read the book cover to cover and said that it was very accurate and the author had done an amazing job researching and writing it. I would recommend a trip to Luquillo Beach and a stop at the small, family run food joints on your way back to San Juan. Or a jaunt up into the lush rainforests of El Yunque-this book has it all! Viva Puerto Rico!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not accurately updated
Review: I just reviewed Let's Go PR and Explore PR by Harry Pariser and returned from PR a few days ago. I agree with previous reviewers about this edition - some of the information is not accurate and was not updated. But this might be because the publication year is 2002. I really liked Let's Go - this had by far, the best and most comprehensive info on lodging, eats, and getting around. I would not use Explore PR - this is not useful at all. I would say Let's Go had mostly everything that Lonely planet PR did - except for maybe the background info on culture, history etc. I will consider travelling with both a Lonely planet and a let's go in the future. If you have to choose one book on PR, I would buy Let's Go. If you can take a second, bring the Lonely Planet PR. Also visit Culebra!

Rating:
Summary: great, and i've lived most of my life on puerto rico!
Review: i've been born and raised in puerto rico. when i haven't been in puerto rico, i've been traveling around the world with LP guidebooks. i bought this book thinking that it'd be great to do some backpacking in my own country. i was not disappointed. the information is pretty accurate. and i've learned so much stuff that i didn't even know (and i live here).

Rating:
Summary: CULABRA IT IS
Review: If you're considering a trip to PR, you have to go to Culabra, a paradise on Earth.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Travel Guide to the "Isle of Enchantment"
Review: Lonely Planet does it again! This time they have researched and presented a through and excellent travel guide to Puerto Rico. Everything from culture, to popular sayings are covered here. The series, which is well-known for covering off-the-beaten-track locales has done an excellent job of covering the rarely visited satellite islands of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona excellently. Mona was esepcially interesting to see seeing that it so hard to reach from even the main island. The only thing I found inaccurate in the book was the author's classification of Puerto Rican Spanish as "Boricua". The language is Spanish, but the dialect that is spoken on the island is also commonly heard throughout the Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean Basin. It is know as Antillean Spanish. Boricua (derived from the indigenous name of the island, "Borinquen") is an affectionate term used by islanders to refer to one of their own (just in the same way native Floridians are known as "Crackers," and Northerners are known as "Yankees"). With that exception, this book is the best book on the market when traveling to this beautiful island. I also highly recommend the Insight Guide to Puerto Rico. A must have for every traveler!

Rating:
Summary: Don't leave home without it!
Review: Puerto Rico is an informative, reliable, up-to-date guide to the island and would completely suit the needs of any vacationer or business traveler desiring information on Puerto Rico's spirited capital, its lush rainforest, vibrant festivals, dynamic nightlife, centuries-old fortresses, warms sands and lovely beaches. Puerto Rico is a compendium of lodging options for every budget from remote mountain camping to world-class resorts, outdoor activities from sailing to snorkeling to spelunking, features an in-depth traditional arts section, and is enhanced with twenty-six detailed, user-friendly maps. If you are planning to visit this lovely and energetic island, don't leave home without your personal copy of Lonely Planet's Puerto Rico!