( 5 reviews )
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( 1 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Mar 5 2007
Once again, the Lonely Planet has outdone itself with its guidebook, Guatemala. Even Guatemalans recognized the book and held it in high regard. My traveling companion and I started calling it, La Biblia--the Bible--by the second day of travel. It was, however, a 2004 edition. I traveled in February 2007. Some things were out of date or not mentioned. Nonetheless, as someone who mainly hit the tourist spots of Antigua and Pana, I felt very well satisfied with the advice and guidance in the book.
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( 1 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 26 2007
If you're heading to Guatemala, this book has tons of useful information. The maps could be better, but overall this book was with me where ever I went.
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( 15 of 19 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 5 2006
on every backpacking trip, a lonely planet was always one of the must-haves because they are always so on it when it comes to accuracy and reliability. well, i was disappointed by this guatemala edition. the author raved about the country: antigua, tikal, the people...so i had all these warm fuzzy expectations. that was mistake number one. antigua was described as this beautiful "magical" colonial city. i spent over two weeks there to study spanish and magical wasnt at all what i experienced. nice, yes, but not MAGICAL. ever been to oaxaca, mexico? now, thats lively and magical. antigua shuts down pretty early, so if youre looking for food say at 10pm or later, youre out of luck. if you like bars (i dont), well, then your IN luck. the buildings in antigua were colorful and you can find old landmarks all around, but again, it did not have that "magical" atmosphere like the author described. im not alone on this. tikal was not a must-see. at least not if youve already seen all the ancient sites in southern mexico. i was not impressed, but the author of the lonely planet (and apparently by some travelers) raved about how amazing it was. maybe the view from one of the temples was breathtaking, and oh yes, the howling monkeys can give you a startle if you didnt know they were just monkeys, but other than that, i was not impressed. and as for the people, i didnt find them to be all that warm and friendly. they know youre a tourist, and they treat you like one. i stayed with a family for two weeks and still didnt experience that sincerety and warmth. i surmised somehow, that the toursim altered that experience of genuine friendliness. i found that especially true in antigua. the locals really take advantage of the tourist. theyre like robots repeating the same whiny phrase, "que compran?" when you walk by. sometimes, they dont even look at you when they say it. i guess the author was enamoured with guatemala (he has been many times)...but i didnt find his bias to the country to be all that accurate. its the first time that ive been disappointed by the info in a lonely planet, after having used at least six or seven of them for my other travels. buy this one for its maps and how-to-get-around and logistics like that. just watch out for the biased reviews of places. judge for yourself and ask other travelers.
