Is this the sort of person who should be writing the guide for a place like the Delta? All rights reserved. Why? Rough Guides versus Lonely Planet guides, your opinion? Whereas RG tends to give you an outline of the place LP takes you right to the heart. Rough Guides versus Lonely Planet guides, your opinion. Available for sure in Chiang Mai and likely elsewhere. Hi there, Bradt guidas is good if you heading for counries like sudan, congo, Benin, suriname etc. This was our first trip to Portugal and we took and used extensively the Portugal books from Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. They expanded but still kept the orig budget feel. Then sometimes I'll pick up secondary books, mostly because it's one way to quell my travel addiction. The good news is that the new edition will be out very shortly. More information can be found by viewing the following announcement. The maps will be virtually unchanged (I guess Shanghai will be an exception) as will the main "cheap hotels" district. I know this is a bit of a cheeky question to ask on this site, but I feel it's a valid one.Which travel guides do people out there generally find better, Lonely Planet or the Rough Guides ?Especially in relation to Thailand...I'm going there in a few weeks and I don't want to have to buy two (especially when you consider that either cost nearly the same price as a night's accommodation in a good hotel over there).Also, are the sub guides like LP's Guide to Thailand's Islands & Beaches worth buying, if you already have the main guide ??? 2020 I think it's probably a very personal choice - Rough Guides suit me but I know others who would always choose Lonely Planet. I see some people say that Rough Guides are better than LP but I would like to hear why you think so( or don't) Lonely Planet is much more thorough than Rough Guide. These days, more and more "hostels" are the same quality as hotels but just with 4-6 in a "dorm.". Although i think traditionally some countires have had stronger representation in their books htan others eg i think LP isn't strong in europe but has been good in asia. Or better yet, just read a book about it. I preferred the Footprint guides in South America and India but honestly no guide book can be definitive, entirely up-to-date and without flaws. I have used a lot of…. However, every single e-mail address in a lonely planet guide book is wrong. The 'places to stay' and ESPECIALLY 'places to eat' sections are the most useless in the LP. Please feel free to browse existing topics for answers to your travel questions. When I got home and looked in an old guide, it was in that one, so someone consciouly dropped it. I always had the impression that LP's were aimed at younger backpackers, while Rough Guides were a bit more 'grown up', but I think thats changed as LP have gone for the more mainstream market. Rough Guides, Lonely Planet and Footprint – Travel Guides — I use their country, area or city guides when planning an independent trip but rarely take them with me unless going to many of the countries listed in the book (e.g., Lonely Planet’s “West Africa”). I notice that they have now changed to the LP style of seperate sections for accom, transport, etc. The only drawback being that its the most popular and sometimes everyone ends up at the same places - which is no good if thats what your trying to avoid! Here I've got Rough Guide Thailand which is excellent but my copy is an old one. I"ve just got a france LP and what i've noticed is that it hardly even caters to the ordinary backpacker anymore. However, every single e-mail address in a lonely planet guide book is wrong. I buy the latest book to be published, whether it's Moon Guides, Rough Guides, or Lonely Planet. I thought that the info provided in LP was more comprehensive as well. I like it that lp provides all the essential that one needs to play a trip and figure out what there is to actually do in a place. Thailand Island and Beaches is a good one and not too bulky in your rucksack. Find a destination, look for inspiration, read features and get great travel advice, from Rough Guides – the leading publisher of travel and reference guides. Please feel free to browse existing topics for answers to your travel questions. I still like to have a guide book, as much for sights as anything. This is more current than any guide when it comes to accommodation. The target market is defniitely now much more up market than they used to be. Trump mocks Biden for wearing a mask amid pandemic. I was only going to Reykjavik which I already know quite well and so didn’t really need a guide … GOD im BORED. ...the footprint guide to Thailand is pretty good ! I also like the "Let's Go" series. I have read Lonely Planet online, not the book. Agree with all the above.... shame they cant divide the Lonely Planet series up into 'Tourist' guides and 'Shoestring' guides, so the shoestring editions just left out everything unnecessary to the budget traveller (and vice versa). The old LPs are terrific. Looking for travel info I assiduously avoided all things Lonely Planet and took only a $10 map. Also LPs potted history, etc is a useful intro to a country. The standard guide books like Lonely Planet and Rough Guide are more mainstream and will highlight all the main sight. I like Rough Guide too. Obviously they'll be no good for timetables and prices but even a guidebook published 20 minutes ago will have a couple of errors in this. I did better by choosing my own or asking my accommodation for recommendations. Lonely Planet. :D Also, Lonely Planet were the first to have the glossy look with photos in the book, which made the books more attractive. When we lived in Australia, Lonely Planet seemed to be the most easily available guidebook and we used their various guides (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, etc.) Rough Guide is fine for maps and directions, and I preferred it to the Lonely Planet Japan guide as it seemed a bit more detailed. Since then, the Rough Guides have started adding photos too. I do as shannonbdavis does. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. I haven't used either in a while, but I think it really depends on where you are going. Bad news for 28,000 Disney theme park workers. They don't add a lot of information. It's not cheap at 500 baht or so (then again, full color every page..) but worth it if you spend some time there. The Lonely Planet series offers comprehensive, no-nonsense facts, low- and mid-budget listings, and helpful on-the-ground travel tips. Thorn Tree is currently set to READ-ONLY mode. I think they changed from hiring 'travellers' to write it to local writers giving more of an inside track (which I think was always Rough Guides approach). The current Rough Guide to Norway was published in June 2009 (5th edition), so might be due for updating soon. Nonetheless, the modern books are definitely less relevant to me, so I will look more closely at the RGs. But that could be a misperception. This may change though. Based on Tony Wheeler's orig idea - basically a guidebook for people doing the classic overland routes. with Lonely Planet Portugal (2nd ed.). So I wonder which travel guide is the best. "Places to stay" is remotely useful to identify areas of town with lots of hotels and guesthouses. Its only because they had such a big market. This review compares the Rough Guides Portugal (9th ed.) A quick count on my bookshelf and there are 23 there. I marginally prefer Rough Guides - they seem to have more in the way of recommendation rather than just raw facts. BORED BORED BORED. Actually I start planning my trip to South Africa in 2010. Lonely Planet Thailand writer vs The Rough Guide to Thailand writers. Personally I think the LP format is easily the best (i dont work for them either) . Copy and paste the url below to share the link. I suppose, people like things to look nice, as well as be useful. we use cookies to improve your experience on our website. My main problem with recent LPs is that they have gone too upmarket. Rough Guides to...vs... Lonely Planet guides. Right I finished pluggin LP unless they send me some cash! Usually stuff like: lonely planet @whothehellknowswhereaswecouldnotbearsedcheckin.comThere, that passed five minutes or so. Not much in it either way really. I like to stand by my Lonely Planet guide (I like the overall layout and they way they list accomodations based on price), but I'd recommend taking a look through the Rough Guide to make your own opinion. For the rest of it - well, it wouldn't be independent travel if you followed a guidebook the whole way. You can get the history and background from tourist information when you are there. Lonely planet is largely derided amongst "travellers" due to the large number of people arriving in various places around the world and almost liveing their lives by them, but they can still help you out when you aren't sure where to go. And none of them are up to much when it comes to cycle touring. South East Asia on a Shoestring, etc. I went through 3 of those books.. They are also tougher and last longer on the road. Thorn Tree forum Interest forums On Your Bike. Frommer's Guides : The granddaddy of travel publishing, Arthur Frommer has reinvented his series to be leaner and more focused on the budget traveler. The info in the various guidebooks is basically the same. © It was perfect 'backpacker' place, clean good value, etc. One final point, the new town maps in the LPs are much less cycle friendly - why have they dropped the little arrow that show which (main) roads lead out of town? Lonely planet , with the odd exception, are more sterile giving just the facts and figures and with better maps than the rough guide. I remember using an Irish one when in my van and it was fine, but I wouldn't have liked using it trying to sort out info when on bike or bus. Rough guides can be good, but really depends on which country or region you are travelling to. I just want to know about what to see, how to get there, where to sleep etc. Rough Guide. Lonely Planet. Check the lonely planet thorn tree forums or other travel forums for what people recommend for that region. I used the Lonely Planet guide for Turkey and the individual city guide for Istanbul.I find then easier to read than the Rough Guide. I thought footprints and lp are almost the same. This topic has been locked by a moderator. In the year I’ve been using the latest editions of both books I’ve also noticed The Rough Guide has more content than the Lonely Planet Thailand book does for most of the destinations I specifically go to. I think there are regional differences too. I have a copy of the Rough Guide, and I use it quite a bit. You can All rights reserved. I would be happy to pay the same for less. Some hardier travellers than me have said that LP rules in Asia, while Rough Guides are best for Africa. I can do without cooking classes, homosexual hangouts and LP telling me to behave ecologically and politically responsible. Slow day or what....Rough guides are best to begin with, they are more opinionated and i think give you a real feel for a place that you have not been to before. I use that for important details that may change. The Lets Go Thailand book is quite good.A couple of years ago, I took along the 'regular' LP Thailand book, but it is now very dated. Rough Guide vs Lonely Planet. On the whole more people have more money these days. Lent them to someone or it ended up missing some other way. Just thank your lucky stars that it's not 1986 and you're not relying on the Let's Go guides of that era. The maps in the Lonely Planet guide were more detailed than those in their competitor's and looked more practically useful. One thing about LP is that they tend to produce updates more frequently. More information can be found by viewing the following announcement, I see some people say that Rough Guides are better than LP but I would like to hear why you think so( or don't). Lonely Planet has traditionally been better on information for the independent or budget traveller, but I actually think the Rough Guide has a lot more pages for your money, so on balance, if I had to take just one, it would be that one. Lonely Planet Japan 205: 26% Rough Guides Japan 46: 6% Fodor's Japan 40: 5% Frommer's Japan 43: 5% Gateway to Japan 88: 11% Let's Go Japan 123: 16% Eyewitness Travel Japan 67: 9% Michelin Japan 21: 3% Other 149: 19% There are often NO budget places. Publishers are well aware of what #4 says.. I have used a lot of LP books and like them but in later years they tend to cater more for normal "tourists" and not bikers and longer time travellers. They are much more useful for reading at home to decide what it is that are the places you really want to see. The problem is that there are fewer and fewer shoestring travellers these days. It just depends on your preference for the layout of the information. Look a few prices up and compare them to the ones in your book and you'll be clear on the majority of stuff. I liked this standard format, particularly if you had to look something up in a hurry. The colloquial style makes an easier read. We didn't visit the Algarve or Alentejo, concentrating on Lisbon and north. You can I know this is a bit of a cheeky question to ask on this site, but I feel it's a valid one.Which travel guides do people out there generally…. If I was interested in going to a country, I would go to the library, borrow the book and could then work out how feasible it was to travel there. I find the Rough Guides are not just a pocket travel guide, there's quite a lot of background history for the countries/regions in question which I … Lonely planet vs. 2020 4 years ago. They are also tougher and last longer on the road. Ian Wright, we loved you way back when. Personally, I like Michelin guides where available, and Footprint guides if they are not out of date (the latter is a much smaller operation so they don't seem to be able to keep their guides up to date). What i didn't like about rough guides whenever i've looked at them is a) the layout and b) they just seem to ramble on in a general way a lot wihtout actually providing detail. Pages of my R.G to Canada are still to be found in various national parks of british columbia as i opened it up on top of a mountain and half the soddin pages blew out. This is a really colorful guide with a lot of very interesting places that are not (or not prominently) in the Lonely Planet so get few visitors. Copy and paste the url below to share the link. My first LP is dated 1982 - a Shoestring Asian book. Lonely Planet vs Rough Guides (Iceland) A comparative review of the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet guides to Iceland. Patrick Mahomes's fiancée: I'm having a baby Lonely Planet has just published a new edition (May 2011) of its Norway guide. Get onto abebooks.com or any second-hand books website, and buy the 1986 guide to wherever you are going. 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Guides of that era Guides can be good, but really depends on where you are going country or you... No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission pluggin LP they..., transport, etc Algarve or Alentejo, concentrating on Lisbon and north my! Standard format, particularly if you had to look nice, as well i use for...