Central America (Shoestring)

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Binding: Paperback Brand: Lonely Planet Dewey Decimal Number: 917 EAN: 9781741045963 Feature: ISBN13: 9781741045963 ISBN: 1741045967 Label: Lonely Planet Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 788 Publication Date: 2007-11-01 Publisher: Lonely Planet Studio: Lonely Planet
Features ISBN13: 9781741045963 Condition: New Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
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Editorial Reviews: Dig into history along the Ruta Maya, zip through the rain forest canopy or spend the day searching out that perfect hammock spot by the beach. Adventures are born every day in Central America. And this comprehensive guide - with expanded Yucatan and Chiapas coverage - gives you the tools to avoid spending an arm and a leg on the journey of a lifetime. Explore More - expanded do-it-yourself features help you create your own adventure beyond the 'Gringo Trail.' Get Lost - detailed language and cultural coverage and more than 120 maps means you'll never get lost...unless you want to. Immerse Yourself - volunteer as a game warden, study Spanish, or simply learn how to extend your stay. Culture Club - candid local interviews reveal the true nature and spirit of the isthmus' No. 1 natural resource - its people. ALL NEW Highlights & Planning Sections Cutomized Itineraries Snapshot Coverage Responsible Travel Tips Cross-referenced Maps
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Sucks for Planning a Trip to Mayan Ruins: AVOID Comment: I love Lonely Planet books, but this version for Central America on a Shoestring SUCKS BALLS for planning a trip to Mayan Ruins. Here are some quotes: p15 on planning itineraries lists ruins as a "Side Trip" and says of Chichen Itza "If you've done Mexico, though, skip it." p45 lists the top seven ruins to visit, of two of those, Tonina and Chinkultic, less than a paragraph is written on each, LESS THAN A PARAGRAPH, seriously, only 25 words on Chinkultic, and most of those are "of, for, the," ect... p45 on Chichen Itza, there is no discussion of where to stay p34 to p73, only 40 pages, summarizes all of Mexico horribly leaving out tons of important information, while nearby Guatemala of lesser size and less ruins gets p74 to 214, 140 pages! AVOID THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT TO VISIT RUINS, I bet Let's Go does a better job. Customer Rating: Summary: Good and can be better Comment: I purchased this book last minute from my local book store and found it very useful on my adventure through Central America. The book is very informative and there is allot of real life information from the book. For example, the book talked about how you get hounded by the local vendors, tourist companies and such when you get off the bus in Arenal, Costa Rica and boy do they ever. Luckily I took several years of Spanish before going and I was able to wait it out until things calmed down. It was also true about how not to take a taxi that sits outside a mall or hotel in Panama because they are more expensive. It also came in handy when I was trying to get to Granada by having the info to a shuttle service. When I got off the plane one of the taxi drivers was trying to gouge me by jacking up their prices, and they stick to you where ever you go until you get fed up and tell them to go away. Some of the drawbacks about the book are that it really needs better information on how to get to a bus terminal from the airport. I was really ticked off when I had booked reservations in Belize and the hostiles were all in the worst area. The area was like the worst ghetto you can think of. When I got off the plane and told the taxi driver what hostel I was going to I saw his reaction of, man this guy must be stupid or something, then when we arrived at the hostile I realized why he gave me that reaction. I tried canceling the reservation but couldn't and let them keep the money. I asked him to take me to a safer area and the closest place was a best western which cost me about 160 usd for the night. Take it from someone who learned the hard way about Belize, if you go then stay in a hotel and use a travel agent for Belize. Do it for your safety. Customer Rating: Summary: Can't find a better book to travel with in Central America Comment: If your traveling in Central America I highly recommend this book, I've never seen one that does the job better, as is the case most of the time with lonely planet. If you're going to more than one country in C.A. than get this, carrying a guide for each country can be annoying and those issues don't provide that much more information. Nothing you can't find out online really quick anyway. Customer Rating: Summary: Muy util la guia Lonely de Centroamerica Comment: Compré la guía por internet en Amazon y el delivery fue excelente (en solo 4 días estaba en Argentina el libro) EN mi viaje la guía fue de gran utilidad,la información es específica y no está sobrecargada de info innecesaria. El tamaño de la guía es muy práctico para llevar en tu bolso de mano y los mapas son muy útiles. Es un producto mas de Lonely PLanet muy recomendable para cualquier viajero. Mis felicitaciones!!!!!! Sebastián Customer Rating: Summary: Missing important information. Poor recommendations Comment: Lonely Planet fails yet again with this book. Especially poor are the Guatemala and Honduras sections. My main problem with Lonely Planet is that they focus way too much on bars and restaurants. As a consequence, they leave out more vital information. For example, I arrived at the border of Guatemala. The book had no information about where to find a bank or ATM. Not knowing, I paid a scammer with a cab about $5 to drive me one block to the bank machine. Once I arrived in Tikal, I met a representative of San Juan Travel, recommended in the guide. The guide also recommended to reserve a seat on the late shuttles to Flores. The rep (Cesar Carrera, avoid him) proceeded to take my money for a shuttle that never arrived. The rep was driving a van labeled "San Juan Travel" in case you think I just stupidly paid some random hustler. Later, I found out that San Juan Travel is charging 50% more for shuttle services than other companies in Flores. This is yet another one of the problems with the Lonely Planet. Once they recommend a company, that company often ceases to try, and the standards are lowered and prices are raised because they now have virtually guaranteed business. Too many travelers blindly flock to their recommended places. But, those very hotels and restaurants tend to quickly become run-down. Lonely Planet becomes a victim to their own success. Another issue I have is that this "traveling on a shoestring" rarely mentions the possibility of camping. The authors will recommend against certain places because "no accommodation for those on a budget." I went to some of these places anyway to find that it was often possible to camp... sometimes with the campground lending equipment. I have found many of the Lonely Planet guides to be poorly researched (other than the history section which is well researched), and this guide is no exception. I am always amazed at the percentage of incorrect telephone numbers in the LP guides. My recommendation... If you need a guide book for your travel, you are better off with one of the competitors. More Reviews