Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but......
Review: I have used Lonely Planet guides for many years,but unlike the reviewer of July 3 1998 I wouldn't automatically regard them as the best, especially in a country as large as Canada. I recently traveled through western Canada and found this book to be relatively up to date, but way too brief in most areas and catering almost exclusively to budget travelers. I also had with me the British Columbia Handbook and Alberta Handbook by Andrew Hempstead and found them to fill the gaps with a good selection of places to stay and eat as well as hiking and all the best things to see and do (and there's lots of that-plan to spend as much time as possible in Canada) from someone who lives there. In addition to these two books, many more books are available in Canada to each region and Canadians love reading so there are bookstores in every town. If you are hitchhiking across Canada, the Lonely Planet book is the one, if you want more detailed information stick to the Moon books.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but......
Review: I have used Lonely Planet guides for many years,but unlike the reviewer of July 3 1998 I wouldn't automatically regard them as the best, especially in a country as large as Canada. I recently traveled through western Canada and found this book to be relatively up to date, but way too brief in most areas and catering almost exclusively to budget travelers. I also had with me the British Columbia Handbook and Alberta Handbook by Andrew Hempstead and found them to fill the gaps with a good selection of places to stay and eat as well as hiking and all the best things to see and do (and there's lots of that-plan to spend as much time as possible in Canada) from someone who lives there. In addition to these two books, many more books are available in Canada to each region and Canadians love reading so there are bookstores in every town. If you are hitchhiking across Canada, the Lonely Planet book is the one, if you want more detailed information stick to the Moon books.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: I used the lonely planet Canada for travelling from the West Coast to the East Coast. In most places I found that it gave me all the information that I needed on hostels and places to eat.
The section on the Canadain Rockies was not so good, and an extra guide book is recommened.
On the negative side of this book is that some of the maps are incorrect and I found myself walking the wrong way.
I don't have anything to compare the book to, but it did the job for me.
Rating: 
Summary: If you want to get ONE book on Canada, this is it.
Review: I used this guide while travelling on the east and west coast of Canada. It's most complete and accurate and also fun to read. The recommendations are all very reliable and good. If you don't want to carry around a handful of guide books, this book helps a lot. Even if it might not go as much into detail as a guide that zooms in on a particular city or region. But you'll find everything a backpacker's (and budget traveler's) eye is looking for. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Buy in Candian Guides.
Review: Lightbody, Huhti and Ver Berkmoes have produced the definitive travel guide on Canada. Up-front, this review is based on my trips to B.C. and Nova Scotia. To say that Canada is vast is an understatement, but, if these, to polarized Canadian provinces, are typical of the rest of the guide, this is a "must have" purchase.Lightbody, Huhti and Ver Berkmoes' writing is both engaging and descriptive. "Lonely Planet Canada" has a solid introduction section that covers Norway's history, government, economy, ecology, climate etc. An informative practical travel section and, most important, a reliable and up-to-date listing of recommendations that each of the contributors has checked out (lodging, restaurants, entertainment, places to see and things to do). At the start of each section is a regional map, more maps, and a list of highlights or "must see" for that region. Great! In my "must have" list to qualify a guide as "excellent", are easy to read maps. This book has the best maps found in a Canada travel guide. High marks go to the city maps that help the reader by numerically locating the recommended restaurants and accommodations on the maps. The superb information and recommendations are reliable and though the publication date is 1999 (thus the information is pre '99), I did find some restaurants and inns closed or sold. As a whole, accommodations prices have increased an average of 15% to 20%.
A weak area, which I am sure will be corrected in the next edition, is the sparse use of email/web site addresses (Halifax, N.S. had no addresses out of the 20 accommodations listings). As computer users know, website and email addresses are very helpful, especially for hotel quotes and reservations. Lonely Planet Canada is comprehensive enough to have even if you are just visiting one province and, with its excellent introduction and reliable accommodations and restaurants recommendations, you find that this may be the best buy in Canada Guides. Strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Buy in Candian Guides.
Review: Lightbody, Huhti and Ver Berkmoes have produced the definitive travel guide on Canada. Up-front, this review is based on my trips to B.C. and Nova Scotia. To say that Canada is vast is an understatement, but, if these, to polarized Canadian provinces, are typical of the rest of the guide, this is a "must have" purchase. Lightbody, Huhti and Ver Berkmoes' writing is both engaging and descriptive. "Lonely Planet Canada" has a solid introduction section that covers Norway's history, government, economy, ecology, climate etc. An informative practical travel section and, most important, a reliable and up-to-date listing of recommendations that each of the contributors has checked out (lodging, restaurants, entertainment, places to see and things to do). At the start of each section is a regional map, more maps, and a list of highlights or "must see" for that region. Great! In my "must have" list to qualify a guide as "excellent", are easy to read maps. This book has the best maps found in a Canada travel guide. High marks go to the city maps that help the reader by numerically locating the recommended restaurants and accommodations on the maps. The superb information and recommendations are reliable and though the publication date is 1999 (thus the information is pre '99), I did find some restaurants and inns closed or sold. As a whole, accommodations prices have increased an average of 15% to 20%.
A weak area, which I am sure will be corrected in the next edition, is the sparse use of email/web site addresses (Halifax, N.S. had no addresses out of the 20 accommodations listings). As computer users know, website and email addresses are very helpful, especially for hotel quotes and reservations. Lonely Planet Canada is comprehensive enough to have even if you are just visiting one province and, with its excellent introduction and reliable accommodations and restaurants recommendations, you find that this may be the best buy in Canada Guides. Strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Best Among Seven Similar Guides
Review: Picking a Travel Book on Canada
If you visit a large bookstore in Canada where I live one can find a broad selection of Canada travel books, all written in English. There are two types of books: the general guides (described here) and then there are other guides on specific topics such as provinces (example Quebec), cities, parks, restaurants, mountain regions such as Banff/Lake Louise guide, etc.
If you want information on hiking or similar and are new to Canada then buy two books, i.e.: a general guide and then say if you are going to Banff or Vancouver or Toronto - then buy a second book on just that area, city or park. Otherwise you will be disappointed. General country guides cannot cover a 5000 km wide country (3500 miles) plus 10 provinces and all the numerous parks, cities, rivers, lodgings, restaurants, etc plus all the other activities in one guide. It is a mistake to expect that fine detail in one of these books.
So these books are general introductory books and good for general trip planning - but not every detail. I did a bit of research and have compared and ranked 7 of the current best known guides. Many of these publishers such as Fodors have other guides for hiking, parks, restaurants, etc. In any case these 7 books cover all of Canada, they have maps, cover the major cities, have subway or similar guides, some restaurant and lodging information, and cover some of the politics, history, attractions such as parks, lakes, etc. and industries in each region. I rank those guides higher that have everything, i.e.: good text descriptions combined with good maps, sketches, photos, trip planners, etc. I am less concerned about small details such as particular hotel and its nightly rate. For that check the internet. None of the books are bad.
Coincidentally all of these books cost approximately $17., and vary in size from 400 to 1136 pages. Here are the rankings.
1ST Place - Ranked Best Overall.
1. Lonely Planet Canada, 992 pages, 1.4 x 7.7 x 5", sales rank on Amazon.com 20,196, published October 2002. This book is rich in text, maps, and high quality color photos. Covers most of the country with lots of information. Best overall value.
2nd Place - Tied For Second
2. Michelin Green Guide Canada, 461 pages, 0.8 x 9.4 x 4.4", sales rank on Amazon.com 626,192, published June 1, 2003. This is a well made book with lots of maps and photos. Short but well written. Slim and best made and weather resistant covers - to some degree.
3. Canada - Eyewitness Travel Guide, 432 pages, 0.8 x 8.7 x 5.2', sales rank on Amazon.com 14,893, published September 2003. Has the best photographs of any guide, acts as a souvenir instead of taking photos yourself. Stunning aerial photograph of Niagara Falls plus many more. Excellent history time lines and cut away photographs. I put it second choice only because it is just 432 pages. Best photos and other visuals. If I was in Canada just for a short trip or planning a trip - this would be my first choice.
4. Baedeker's Canada, 640 pages, 1.3 x 7.6 x 4.9", sales rank on Amazon.com 792,753, published December 1, 1999. This book is similar to Lonely Planet, but 1/3 smaller and now a bit dated. Since all he books listed here cost $17, I prefer the bigger and more up to date Lonely Planet or the Michelin Guide or Eyewitness Travel with better photos.
5. Fodor's See It Canada, 1st Edition, 400 pages, 0.8 x 9.1 x 5.3", Amazon.com sales rank 1,703,104, published June 1, 2004. Most recent available guide in this group (see 6 below), good maps and photos, large font with a slight cartoon feel and shortest of the group. Do not confuse with Fodor's 1000 page food and lodging guide.
3rd Place
6. Rough Guide Canada 5th Edition, 1136 pages, 1.4 x 7.8 x 5.1", Amazon.com sales rank 991,800, published June 22, 2004. Most text only information for the dollar. Lots of information and descriptions. Does not convey the scenic grandeur - no photos to speak of, but it has maps. I prefer the Lonely Planet because it has text plus good photos.
4th Place
7. Frommer's Canada ( Frommer's Complete), 828 pages, 1.6 x 8.6 x 5.1", Amazon.com sales rank 1,038,793, published May 17, 2004. Frommer has a number of books - this is the complete Canada guide. In any case it is similar to #6, the Rough Guide, but shorter.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: The new edition of this book fails to deliver in every aspect. I've used Lonely Planet books in the past, and they've proved to be reliable and useful, but not this one. I live in Banff, and so the observations are from this region. Firstly, the "new" edition is terribly out of date. I purchased it after seeing the publication date was October 2002. It's accepted and understandable that things change, but there is information that was wrong well over a year before the publication date. A hostel that burnt down in 2000 (Hilda Creek, page 701), and reference to Banff and Jasper as "townsites" (Banff was incorporated in 1991, Jasper in 2001) are examples. The description of Banff is laughable. There is no possible way anyone could describe the town as a "small, alpine-style village that consists of essentially one main street" (page 686), as this book does. The following history section doesn't get better: "The Bow River forms a class-distinctive boundary that is still evident today." In the first instance, the side of the river that LP tells us "caters to the wealthy crowd" comprises mainly of subsidized housing. And "Many people complain that the townsite is too crowded and argue that more hotels and streets should be built." Aside from the fact a 12 year old could have written the sentence, it's just simply not correct. In an effort to include an environmental slant, the authors have touched on current issues. Readers are informed that a convention center at Lake Louise is controversial because it's "in grizzly bear habitat-good goin' guys" (page 696). Bad goin' I say-it's controversial due to water issues, not bears. The book is riddled with inaccuacies. Not information that is out of date, but straightforward mistakes. Page 688 talks of canoe rentals at Banff's Central Park. There has never been a canoe rental place here. How could a trained writer even imagine there was? Golden is "just outside the park" (page 692) No, it's over an hour's drive away along a treacherous road. There are literally dozens of similar mistakes in just the few pages on Banff. This is also reflected in the maps: Banff has no "Mamoth St." (page 687). As all Banff streets are named for animals, I guess they meant "mammoth" street, but there is no street of this name either. The mapmakers can't even correctly spell an incorrect name, or something along those lines anyway. Most surprising for me, the good, solid travel information these books were once renowned for has been replaced by useless, fluffy text that serves no purpose at all. For example, the restaurants listed are not recommendations as such, but simply listings. And where there is a description it does little to inform. Four lines are used to explain the source of the name of an Irish pub (page 694) that has absolutely no relevance to Banff or the mountains, including that the original Guinness Brewery is still open and that it was "founded by 34 year old Arthur Guinness in 1759." The next listing is for Bruno's, named for one of Banff's most famous and respected mountain men. This name isn't explained, just that the restaurant has a "wide-ranging menu." There is an excellent reason why renting a vehicle in Banff, as opposed to Calgary or Canmore, is a bad choice (no unlimited mileage is offered, even by the majors), yet, this important and useful information isn't included (page 696). My original purpose of buying this book was for travel around my own country, not so much to rely on every word in print but to get a feeling as how Canada is portrayed by these books. The litany of inaccuracies and uselessness seems to continue beyond the Rockies section. On page 34 readers are told brown bears are "actually a black bear but brown in color." I just wish I could ask the author how he came up with this unique theory. I imagine picking a Lonely Planet book as the guide of choice is habit more than anything for many travelers. It's reflected in the attitude of those I meet on the road and the reviews I see here at Amazon. It seems somehow ironic that Lonely Planet has evolved from the likes of an Africa book I relied on for every word in the 80s, written by a guy whose biography had him living in a hut brewing mango wine somewhere I can't recall, to this worthless tome that relies on name rather than content to generate sales.
Rating:
Summary: The only book on Canada you need
Review: This book is (like most LP books) the definitive guide to seeing Canada. If you only want to take one book with you make it this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Money
Review: This book is a lot of things, and none of them good. The authors really don't know the country very well, or have failed to visit many of the palces they recommend. I buy a guidebook to learn what's good and what's not. But this book doesn't give that. It just lists the same information anyone can find on the internet or in tourist brochures. I want to know if the rooms are big, if they're clean, where they are in relation to local attractions. None of this information is given. I used this book to seach out a hotel near Vancouver Airport, which was my arrival point in Canada. The text says that the Holiday Inn is "beside Highway 99.", with no indication where along this 30 mile long road it is. When the author does add a description, it does nothing to inform. Or it's incorrect. My travels took me to Lake Louise. There are lots of good hiking guides to this region, but I figured the outlines in this book would get me going. I hiked 2 trails the author suggested. The descriptions of both were so wildly inaccurate as to be dangerous. The author thinks there is a teahouse at Mirror Lake (never, I was told). He or she highly recommends hiking the "popular" trail between Moraine Lake and Lake Louise when in fact one doesn't even exist! The Lonely Planet description of Mt. Assiniboine Park sounded good, so I followed their lead which said "a gravel road takes you close to the park through the ski resort of Sunshine Village." I followed my map to Sunshine Village to be told the gravel road has never ever been open to the public. The only redeeming feature of this book is that when the author hasn't bothered to visit a place, he or she admits it in a subtle way: In Lake Louise, the extent of recommendations for places to dine is "Eat at your hotel." (lots of great places here for all budgets including the best bakery I found in a month on the road). In Nelson readers are encouraged to "ask at the visitor center" for somewhere to stay. These type of entries make me doubt whether they even bothered to travel to many places they write about, let alone do any actual research. This book has turned me off a guidebook series I have used for years. Never again.
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