Let's Go 2003: Mexico

Rating:
Summary: sooooo disappointing
Review: I have been a faithful user of Let's Go guides for Europe - and have found them to be great for previous trips. So naturally, when planning a trip around the Yucatan Peninsula this summer, I picked up Let's Go 2003 Mexico. What a disappointment! I completely echo the complaints of the previous reviewer regarding the fact that addresses were wrong. I also found that maps were wrong, that the information was often out of date - meaning that places listed were closed or under different names or moved, prices were much higher than stated in the book, etc.. (One example of a very annoying out-of-date tidbit is that this book says that there are no ATMs in Tulum -- while actually there has been a Bital ATM there for 2 years now apparently ... so, I took out way more money in cash before going there than I was really comfortable carrying around with me b/c Let's Go convinced me erroneously that I had no choice.)

Most disappointing of all, though, is that this book has so few of the great, colorful, "inside" tips that has made me cherish some of my other Let's Go editions (like what to expect when you land in Cancun and immediately get bombarded by also sorts of people wanting to be your best amigo and take you wherever you want to go, etc. - hidden, authentic sights and restaurants).

In short, this books is definitely not worth the money, I'm sorry to say. Go with one of the competitors.

Rating:
Summary: sooooo disappointing
Review: I have been a faithful user of Let's Go guides for Europe - and have found them to be great for previous trips. So naturally, when planning a trip around the Yucatan Peninsula this summer, I picked up Let's Go 2003 Mexico. What a disappointment! I completely echo the complaints of the previous reviewer regarding the fact that addresses were wrong. I also found that maps were wrong, that the information was often out of date - meaning that places listed were closed or under different names or moved, prices were much higher than stated in the book, etc.. (One example of a very annoying out-of-date tidbit is that this book says that there are no ATMs in Tulum -- while actually there has been a Bital ATM there for 2 years now apparently ... so, I took out way more money in cash before going there than I was really comfortable carrying around with me b/c Let's Go convinced me erroneously that I had no choice.)

Most disappointing of all, though, is that this book has so few of the great, colorful, "inside" tips that has made me cherish some of my other Let's Go editions (like what to expect when you land in Cancun and immediately get bombarded by also sorts of people wanting to be your best amigo and take you wherever you want to go, etc. - hidden, authentic sights and restaurants).

In short, this books is definitely not worth the money, I'm sorry to say. Go with one of the competitors.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive book if you like to go off the beaten track
Review: I spent 10 weeks in Mexico this summer relying on this book. Let's Go had more written about the non-touristy city (Orizaba) where I was working than any other book I compared it with. This book guided me away from the crowds and to some gorgeous and secluded beaches in the south shore (Puerto Escondido area), and was accurate about where was best to snorkel, get transportion by boat, etc. I found the language guide in the back to be useful, although you'll probably want to supplement with a full dictionary. There was also a good page on "slang" -- my Mexican friends found it accurate. The history section was not great, however -- a lot of name-dropping but little sense of the big picture. The book also didn't describe much about the state of the computers in the internet cafes (e.g., my work required a data CD-burner, and the book didn't say if cafe computers in Mexico had them (the answer is that such cafes exist but you have look)). However, this book was still very comprehensive and useful for me.

Rating:
Summary: Reliable and useful
Review: I spent the summer in Mexico (from Matamoros all the way to Palenque!) using this book. I often compared it to Lonely Planet, Moon, and Rough Guides and I think it was the best of them. The Lonely Planet was way out of date compared to Let's Go. And I didn't have any of the map problems that a few other people have described. The book wasn't perfect, but it was very useful and current. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Reliable and useful
Review: I spent the summer in Mexico (from Matamoros all the way to Palenque!) using this book. I often compared it to Lonely Planet, Moon, and Rough Guides and I think it was the best of them. The Lonely Planet was way out of date compared to Let's Go. And I didn't have any of the map problems that a few other people have described. The book wasn't perfect, but it was very useful and current. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Good overall, but inaccurate addresses
Review: I used the 2001 version of this book for two trips to Mexico. The first was in late 2001 for 3 weeks of travel by bus in southern Mexico, and the second in November 2002, which was 10 days in around the DF, Puebla, and Tlaxcala. On my way back from the latest trip, I saw the 2003 version in an airport bookstore and was able to spend about 20 minutes while waiting for a connection to look through it and check against my impressions from the earlier edition.

In general, I found this guide book to have good and accurate descriptions. The one description (for a hotel) that I didn't agree with in the older version, had been updated to match my impressions more closely in the 2003 edition.

My main complaint with this guide is that addresses for shops and especially restaurants are often wrong. Several times on both trips I would try to find a recommended place without success. Then later while wandering, I would happen to see it a couple of blocks away on a different street. It is as if the authors forgot to take good notes, and later looked at a map and made up an address that seemed close. Very frustating.

It seems that many of these same mistakes appear in the 2003 version, since I checked several that I could remember to be incorrect (one example is El Tigre, a torta shop with great sandwiches in the DF near the Monument to the Revolution: it is listed as being at Mariscal and Arrispe, but is acutually a couple blocks away at Mariscal and Iglesias).

Prices are also often inaccurate (currently 10-40% higher for many hotels), and many hadn't been updated from the 2001 prices. However, relative prices between hotels were still pretty accurate.

Most of the other foreign travelers I met in Mexico had the Lonely Planet guide. One advantage of the less popular but still good Let's Go is that you can avoid some of the places thronged by LP owners and interact more with the Mexicans than foreign tourists.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good guide. I would have given it another star, but for the frustratingly incorrect addresses.

Rating:
Summary: long-time fan very dissapointed
Review: I've relied on Let's Go for years, but after 2 months in Mexico I'm ready to trash my 2004 Let's Go Mexico. I expect prices and other info to change occasionally, but I don't expect the latest edition of a guide book to be blatantly wrong more than half the time. I have serious doubts that anyone from Let's Go has actually stepped foot in Mexico in years.

On multiple ocassions the book has costed me huge amounts of time by directing me to restaurants that didn't exist, or by falsely saying that a museum would be open on Monday. I also second the last reviewer's comment that the current edition doesn't have any of the unique tips that made Let's Go such a treasure in Europe and South America.

Definitely DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. My friends have Lonely Planet and seem a lot more satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: The map errors frustrated me but otherwise good info
Review: This book is a pretty good alternative to the Lonely Planet (which is probably more polished but overly popular). If you are traveling in a pair, maybe one of you could carry this book. The hotels and restaurants I found to be accurate. Beware of the the inaccurate maps, however. For example, on my first day in Mexico City the completely wrong placement of a major landmark (Monument of the Revolution) threw me for a very long unnecessary walk.