Lonely Planet Tunisia (Country Guide)

Discover Tunisia

Squint in awe at the glinting-gold El-Jem Colosseum and imagine the bloodthirsty roar as Roman gladiators entertain the crowd.
Float in startlingly clear seas at El-Mansourah Beach.
Wear your fragrant jasmine flower with confidence you're sending the right message.
Sway gracefully on camelback through the endless Sahara, willing your steed not to break into a trot.

In This Guide

Four authors, 73 days of in-country research, 70 detailed maps, 102 plates of salade mechouia, one rented camel.
New Arts & Architecture chapter.
Top Tunisian chef Rafik Tlatli gives an expert take on the local cuisine.
Content updated daily: visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler suggestions.

Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack” --Toronto Star, February 2006

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

A Lonely Planet publication.

Most helpful customer reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful.
Pretty good
By wanderlust
All in all, I was very happy with this guide. It was the right size (not too thick, not too sparse), was very informative, and had great maps. I even liked the recommended routes (since Tunisia is small, it's very possible to "do" the whole country in a month), if one can "do" a country at all without living there.

Two recommendations I had for them. The first is that I did miss the recommended itineraries if you have 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc. It would have helped.

The second and more important issue I had was with the authors. Yes, they had a token female author but she reviewed the more women-friendly places such as Sidi Bou Said. The amount of harassment we received wasn't surprising, as I didn't solely rely on Lonely Planet and read up on those issues; but it really wore us down over the three weeks (I was traveling with a female friend and we are both attractive women in our 20s and 30s.)

My friend and I found ourselves in hysterics when the male author

recommended that we sit down with men in a cafe and talk to them about their lives. Yeah right!! I come from Turkey, so I am in no way ignorant about Muslim tradition (although North African culture is obviously different than Turkish), but nearly every single man we talked to hit on us.

That's ok, that's life. But I was infuriated to read that covering our heads would invite ridicule, because finally, in our last week, I started covering my head in Jerba and I felt an IMMEDIATELY positive difference. Yes, if I had been a tall blonde perhaps the reception wouldn't have been the same, but is Lonely Planet only geared towards men and tall blonde women? What about Mediterranean types like myself who can easily pass as native Tunisians? I wish I had known beforehand and would have covered up the whole time (by the way, we dressed EXTREMELY modestly and after seeing how some tourist women acted in Tunisia, we are definitely sympathetic to the stereotypes the men have there towards women like us).

Tunisia is a great place to visit and I still have to admit that this is a good guide but ladies, read up on your own. Or should I write my own guide for women? :)

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Nicely Laid Out and Easy to Use. Useful Maps
By M. Sprague
It's light and compact and has some useful maps. We used the hotel suggestions but in most cases the ratings were off, if it says 3 stars assume 1.5-2 stars. Take ear plugs. Almost all of the hotels were in noisy areas. Many of the suggested eating places were also off the mark. Extensive menus would be met with three or four options available. The guides to sights and towns to visit were very good. We used the walking tours and maps to navigate through the country quite comfortably. Assume you'll be ripped off by every taxi driver and you'll be ok. It's still very inexpensive to travel in Tunisia. And this book is very handy to have along for the ride.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Tunisia (Country Guide)
By Helen Quinn
This is one of the few guide books I have read and not had to buy others for the same country by other authors/publishers. A guide book is just that - a "guide", and nothing should be considered set in stone. The content is wide-ranging, appears to be thorough, and covers most of the places I will be visiting in the fall. I am wearing the pages thin from constant reading, and still find it very interesting and informative. Great book!

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Lonely Planet Botswana & Namibia (Multi Country Guide)

Discover Botswana & Namibia

Make peace with your creator and jump out of a plane over the dune fields at Swakopmund.
Brace yourself against the wind and fog on the Skeleton Coast.
Reconnect with your food by diving finger first into a steaming-hot plate of stew and pap.
Get a face-first view of the Namib Desert as you slide down a dune on a greased-up masonite board.
Scope some serious bling at Jwaneng, which produces 10 million carats of diamonds annually.

In This Guide:

Two dedicated authors, 146 days of in-country research, 84 maps, 41 Windhoek Lagers.
Victoria Falls special chapter, color wildlife section.
Incorporating 412 traveler tips and suggestions.

Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack” --Toronto Star, February 2006

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

A Lonely Planet Country Guide.

Most helpful customer reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Not the best Namibia guide
By June Bug
I've used Lonely Planet guides for trips a number of times, and always found them to be the best for independent travelling. After finding out that I was going to be in Namibia for an extended period of time, I immediately bought the Lonely Planet guide to Namibia/Botswana. The book is OK - fine, but is not as extensive or accurate as Lonely Planet guides I've used before. I didn't get the sense that the authors are that familiar with Namibia, at least in comparison to the authors of other Lonely Planet books. I have since bought every other guide to Namibia that is out there, and now after being in Namibia and traveling extensively for awhile, I have to admit that the Lonely Planet is the last book I choose off the shelf when planning an excursion or just general curiosity about the country (Bradt guide is the first). I haven't been to Botswana yet, so cannot comment on how good this book is for this neighboring country. So, this guidebook is OK, but not great.

*****UPDATE***** I just saw that the Lonely Planet had a new 2010 edition of of Botswana and Namibia. I picked up, excited that the Lonely Planet was going to rectify its Namibia problems. However, as I flipped through the new edition, I noticed right away that it had reviews of several restaurants in Namibia that have been closed since before I arrived in Namibia in 2007. These would be easy to check out. While other parts were updated somewhat, overall, still not up the the normal Lonely Planet standards.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Disappointing guide for budget travelers
By mhnstr
Whenever I plan to travel to a new country, I always purchase a guide book to help with the trip planning. I count on the guidebooks to highlight interesting places to visit that might be off the beaten path and to give guidance on how to get there without spending a fortune. So, when I planned a trip to Botswana and Namibia in September 2009, I purchased the Lonely Plant Botswana and Namibia with high expectations. However, I have never been so disappointed in a guide book before.

Part of the problem is that the prices in the book are fractions of what you will really spend. To be honest, I always expect the prices in guide books to be wrong by a bit. However, the difference between the prices in the LP and what they are in reality is staggering. This is not the fault of the authors since the prices in Namibia and Botswana seem to increase every few months. However, one would expect that Lonely Planet might then publish a new version to try to keep up. The difference is so bad and some of the hotel descriptions are so inaccurate, that we met one owner of a guest house who told us that she has repeatedly asked the LP to remove her guest house from their books because people arrive with the wrong expectations. Prior to this, I have never been at a hotel or guest house where they have wanted to end the free publicity the LP provides through the hotel listings in the book.

The other problem is that the LP does not provide low cost options at all. I can easily find super expensive drive in safaris on my own through the internet. What I count on the LP to provide is lower cost alternatives and the LP Botswana and Namibia does not do this at all. Reading the book is an exercise in frustration because the book lists the $400 to $1000 US per night per person lodges, but not any way to do it for less money. Once I was on the ground in Botswana, I found all sorts of alternatives, but by then I had already made my bookings through research on the internet.

Information in the book is also just plain wrong. For example, the book states that there are no taxis or shuttle busses from the airport in Gaborone and that you must haggle to get on a hotel shuttle. However, when we arrived, we found people at the airport entrance offering a shuttle bus into town. To make matters worse, cities like Maun and Gaborone are currently in the process of building new, international airports and these projects will make the book even further out of date.

The book has a brief section on Victoria Falls, but lacks guidance on how to make the transfer from Kasane to Victoria Falls which would have been helpful (shuttle busses make the trip daily).

The guidance for Namibia is not much better. However, we found Namibia to be far easier to plan on our own than Botswana. That probably wont be true for long since we were told by one guide that there was a large price increase in Namibia just after we made our bookings.

The rapid and unrelenting increases in price for visiting Namibia and Botswana makes budget travel to these countries really difficult. Plan on spending a lot per day (mobile safaris start around $200 US per person per day and go up from there).

We eventually turned to the Bradt guides for Namibia Namibia, 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide and Botswana Botswana: Okavango Delta, Chobe, Northern Kalahari, 2nd: The Bradt Travel Guide and I would recommend taking a look at these. The Bradt guides are far from being perfect guide books. They are not well laid out and the prices in these books are incorrect as well, but not nearly as bad as the LP. I would recommend the Bradt books in addition to or instead of the LP.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Good resource
By T. Chapman
I always fear buying a guide book as most are out of date before they get printed. Fortunately this was released only a few months before my trip, so it was in much better shape. All the prices are out to lunch, but the listings themselves are pretty accurate. Maps are OK. Didn't check the Botswana part as I was just travelling in Namibia. Came across a few B&B's listed that don't do Breakfast... Still it was a good resource to carry along and I used Lonely Planet's online Thorn Tree for getting up to date info

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Lonely Planet Romania (Country Travel Guide)

Nobody knows Romania like Lonely Planet. With our 5th edition you can discover the gruesome truth about the 'real' Dracula at Poienari Citadel, escape to Marmures where horse-drawn carts transport you to villages steeped in local customs, or experience the spectacle of mass migration on a Danube Delta bird-watching tour.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

Essential color highlights show you the very best of Romania
Dedicated activities chapter pinpoints the top hiking, skiing and cycling spots
Unique Green Index to help make your travels ecofriendly

In 2003, Leif Pettersen was 'Kramered' by an unbalanced friend into abandoning an idiot-proof career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and embarking on an odyssey of travel writing. He has since visited over 40 countries and lived in Spain, Romania and Italy. (He speaks all three languages in descending order of fluency). Leif's Lonely Planet work has appeared in Romania 5, Tuscany and Umbria 6, Eastern Europe 10, Italy 8, The Europe Book, Bluelist '07 and the LonelyPlanet.com features section. Leif writes an almost award-winning, "slightly caustic" blog, KillingBatteries.com, read by literally tens of people each month, where he dishes on travel writing, Romania, Italian internet, his grammar deficiencies, Berlin, the Baby Jebus and his remarkable-gift-for-hyphenation.

Most helpful customer reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Disappointing
By a reader
Lonely Planet, why have you foresaken us (inquiring- and budget-minded travelers)? The guidebooks seem to be trending towards mediocre, and this is the worst one I've come across. It's short on both practical info. and historical/cultural context.

The maps are largely useless. I would say that on average, about half of the streets go unnamed (not even in the tiny print). Another failing is the pronunciation guide, i.e., there is none for the consonants. One can infer a rule for the sound of, e.g., the letter "c" before the different vowels (s- or ch-sound) by looking at the phonetic spellings given, but there is no reason to make the reader do so much work.

It would have been helpful to know more about business hours ("orar" or "program" in Romanian). LP says that "'Western-style' supermarkets and shopping malls are common in much of Romania". Well, if they say so; such are not common in the pedestrianised city centers where tourists otherwise have the most reason to be. I found that "non stop" convenience stores are abundant, so it is much easier to pick up necessities at odd hours than in, say, Germany or France. But it would have been very helpful to know that, e.g., there is a supermarket (Carrefour) in the Orchideea mall in Bucharest that stays open late. More generally, this LP has virtually nothing to say about what the old LP's called "self-catering". It would have been useful to know, e.g., that the "Angst" chain stores in Bucharest are groceries (wouldn't have guessed that from the name). And I wish I'd known sooner that Piata Amzei in Bucharest is the site of a nice produce market.

It would be useful for vegetarians to know whether the ubiquitous ciorba (soup) is made with meat stock. (I'm guessing it is.)

LP tells you that one can buy train tickets at the stations or at CFR offices, but doesn't specify where you can use a credit card to pay for them (not everyplace, I've learned). Also, trips on the line from Bucharest north to Brasov take about 2 hours longer than the times listed due to construction that's been underway since at least the summer of 2010.

The introductory sections failed to answer some basic questions. For instance, who was Nicolae Balcescu, namesake of so many streets? (Leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution, according to Wikipedia.) Under the heading "Women in Romania", we are told about domestic violence and rape laws. Those are certainly important. But there is nothing about abortion policies, about which those of us are curious who have seen the film "4 mos., 3 wks. and 2 days" or who are old enough to remember the Romanian orphan crisis of the 1900s.

But I bet we're not the market for this book. In place of information like this, we get a comparison between Vlad Tepes (the Impaler) and Dracula on such parameters as "Bi-curious" (apparently Vlad's "handlebar moustache" is a giveaway) and "Legend has it that Iasi's street system was plotted by a blindfolded, three-legged donkey. OK, we made that up, but look at the map--it's plausible". Not a great use of space, in my opinion.

My irritation with this volume only increased when I read that a co-author's "weakness for pretty girls brought him to Romania in 2004". (The most generous interpretation I can put on this is that it is an obscure reference to the legend that the Romans stayed in Dacia because they found the Dacian women beautiful.) I guess obtaining useful information wasn't his priority in chatting up the locals.

Post scriptum: I found the Rough Guide to Romania much more useful, although also more bulky and heavier.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
If I could see the small print
By travelingbesties
I bought this book for $16.00 and it might be a good book if I could actually see the tiny tiny print and no color maps and tiny maps as well save your money..If you want to carry a magnifying glass with you when you travel this is for you.Do yourself a favor and check out your libary before buying this book..

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
A must for travelers to Romania.
By Janet W.
Well written and full of necessary information for Romania.

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Lonely Planet Discover Scotland (Full Color Country Travel Guide)

Experience the Best of Scotland

Edinburgh Castle, Loch Ness, the Isle of Skye’s Cuillin Hills – we’ve selected the most iconic sights and incredible places so you can enjoy the real Scotland with the minimum of fuss.

Highlights reveal the must-see attractions and unbeatable experiences

Itineraries make planning your trip simpler than ever

Local Experts recommend what not to miss

Pull-Out Map puts the streets of Edinburgh in your pocket

Our Promise

You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, so you can rely on us to tell it like it is.

Neil was born in Scotland and, save for a few years spent in England and Australia, has lived there for most of his life. When he was 14 he relieved the boredom of a rainy school holiday by leafing through a book about the Scottish mountains. The photographs of mist-veiled ridges, yawning cliffs and distant sea lochs opened the door to a lifelong enthusiasm for the great outdoors, and since then he has hiked, biked, climbed, sailed or snowboarded in almost every corner of the country. Neil has been a full-time writer and photographer since 1988 and has written around 45 guidebooks for various publishers, including Lonely Planet's guide to his home town of Edinburgh.

Most helpful customer reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Helpful Travel info
By Skitt
Lonely Planet Discover Scotland is an excellant book to read and review before traveling to Scotland. I found it to be quite helpful and informative. I am so glad I got it before my travel! Photos were great as well as the maps and other helpful info. I took the book along to refer to during my travel in Scotland.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Lonely Planet Discover Scotland
By Sherrill A. Kuckuck
All of the books that I purchased from Amazon I previewed somewhere else (a friend's copy or in a bookstore); therefore, I knew that the content would fit my needs. All of the books arrived on time or well before time. The condition of the books were all excellent. The content was exactly as represented. I am a very satisfied customer and will purchase from Amazon in the future.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Why never ask about the book we received on Ireland?
By Amy Benedict
All of the used books have been in great shape - WITH THE EXCEPTION of the book on Ireland. It was missing the first 7-8 pages - you know the color ones that give a quick synopsis of best of. Very disappointed with it. Pleased with all others.

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Middle East (Multi Country Travel Guide)

Nobody knows the Middle East like Lonely Planet. From Egyptian oases, hidden gorges in 'the other Iraq' and hamams in Istanbul, to the old city of Jerusalem and the labyrinth of Aleppo's souq, we've got the whole region covered.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

Expert authors share their best experiences in Middle East Stories chapter
In-Depth itineraries that take you from country to country
Unique Green Index highlights the best eco-tourism options

As usual the guidebook standard is set by Lonely Planet-- Outside

Most helpful customer reviews

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful.
Middle East on a Shoestring
By Davis Good,am
When one takes the initial steps of such an exotic trip as the middle east, a guide is needed to educate yourself on everything. Even the experienced traveler will find their trips to Europe did little to prepare them for the Middle East. This is why this guide does so much for the independant, and is so invaluable. Lonely planet has a history of helping people travel on a meagre budget, however gives a warm and caring introduction as to why indulging yourself occasionaly in the more expensive treasures can make your vaction. The authors expell the myths of all around violence in the region and firmly warns you where not to go. The religion and customs sections are so informative that I found myself prepared for the basics of Islamic life and ready to learn more. This book inspired me to take the unbeaten path and to still take in the wonderful tourist draws. Ive browsed through the two other major guides on the middle east, they dont compare to the thorough down to earth writing that Lonely Planet produces. Occasionaly, there could be more entries on Long Distance Travel (getting there and away) and there could have been more mention of the smaller budget tours that are offered in the region, however I still contend that this is the best pick for Middle East travel guides for all traveler of all Budgets.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Good for my purposes
By El Cid
Traveling to Egypt and Jordan and wanted a single guide to take with. This one will fit the bill, but missing some detail on the smaller sites we are going to see. I'm sure the individual country books have had more info.

I like the additional tips scattered throughout that point out curiosities as well as practical information.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
First time Lonely Planet was so inaccurate
By damionwagner
Wow this book is out dated! I went to the Dead Sea in Israel in May 2010. The owner of the bungalows I thought to stay at laughed at the quoted rate that was about 10% of what he wanted. This happened in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and of course Palestine. I use Lonely Planet all the time and this is the first time I have been disappointed.
The general knowledge seemed up to LPs normal quality.

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Lonely Planet Oman UAE & the Arabian Peninsula (Multi Country

Nobody knows the Arabian Peninsula like Lonely Planet. Whether it’s exploring the alleyways of Old Muscat, bargaining in Abu Dhabi’s atmospheric souqs, diving in the Red Sea or finding the best spot for a desert safari, we bring you the most extensive coverage of the region.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

In-depth advice on safe travel in the region
Expat chapter packed with insider tips from our resident author
Only guidebook to cover every country in the Arabian Peninsula

Writes the author: "History", said T E Lawrence when pulled up by his biographer on a point of fact in the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, "is all lies anyway, so why worry". Why worry indeed, but I did worry: I wanted to be sure that ostriches didn't use their tails as sunshades (as one 18th-century travel writer would have us believe), and that Nile crocodiles were indifferent to the religious persuasion of their dinners. So began thirty years of independent travel that has taken me to 84 different countries on four different continents. Which is my favourite? Well I have fond memories of being lost in a rain forest in Costa Rica and nearly losing a leg in Panama; of beetles hatching in police custody in Sudan and the art of micro-copying in Pakistan; there was a wayward camel in Xinjiang and editing of books on Indonesian travel modes at the University of Hong Kong. I have slightly less fond memories of riding with herdsmen in Mongolia ? or at least of the wooden saddle: after that, the long trans-Siberian crossing through a grey Gorbachov winter, being pinched all night by Cossack women in pink nylon vests, was a 'standing room only' experience. But, in the great tradition of travel literature, I digress. If I had to choose a favourite country it would have to be England. A raw day in winter, with copper light on the beech trees of Surrey to be exact. As everyone knows, it's only when you've been to one or two other places that home and birthplace wins the top spot. A close second, however, would have to be my second home of the past 7 years, the Sultanate of Oman. Apart from its raw natural beauty and legendary hospitality, this is where, after six months travelling the silk route compiling a book on contemporary artists, I met my beloved husband. It is also where, while sitting eating egg sandwiches on a windswept escarpment in the Hajar mountains, I thought "What a lonely planet". It was only logical, then, to write up the experience for the publisher of the same name in Middle East (4th edition) and Arabian Peninsula (1st edition). All in all, I've had a long association with the Middle East: entomological field trips with parents in Saudi; a dissertation on Doughty and Lawrence (BA, Stirling University); a thesis on the perception of the Arabic Orient (MPhil, Oxford University); milking goats in Syria; watering poppies in Jordan; covering Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait for Arabian Peninsula. The connection continues with an off-road driving guide of Oman, for Motivate Publishing, and an academic writing skills course, akin to the work I produce for Oman's Ministry of Health, due for publication in 2006. So did they have sunshades? Did they eat heathens? "Actually yes"; factually no. But who's worried? My top travelling tip would be to pack some "willing suspension of disbelief", and be surprised when it delivers some universal truths.

Most helpful customer reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Review of UAE Book by Lonely Planet
By Fred
Of the seven books I've recently purchase prior to my trip to the UAE, Oman, Quatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, this was by far the best reference book. The maps are not a fancy as in some other books, but the B&W maps they had were the most useful. The tourist guide provided was also the best of the books. I highly recommend it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Great Guide
By sunshine608
Good travel guide for the region. I enjoyed the history of each country and some of the tips provided by the author. I used this book for travel to Doha, Qatar and Dubai, United Arab Emirates and found most of it pretty spot- on. I had another book that focused just on Dubai, but I really enjoyed this book for the depth of information about the entire region. Hopefully one day I'll make it to some of the other countries.

As with any guidebook, changes ( especially in such a growing area) occur rapidly and some of the information in this book was outdated, but that was my only complaint.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Lonley Planet-Oman
By Blumenmom
Like all of the other Lonely Planet books, this one is a storehouse of knowledge for any traveler. Before our recent trip to Qatar, I had a number of questions one of which was , "which adapter plug should I take?" It was a simple matter to turn to the appropriate page in this book and find that Qatar uses the "English-3-prong plug" and with that I was good-to-go! No detail is too small for the Lonely Planet series...and if anything, they may include too much. But I would be hard pressed to suggest what to leave out; just skip what is not of interest.

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Lonely Planet Nepal (Country Travel Guide)

Lonely Planet has found the best of Nepal. Lose yourself in the temple-strewn alleys of Bhaktapur, the quiet beauty of a Himalayan vista or the vibrant excitement of a Bodhnath Stupa pilgrimage - then find your next adventure with our 8th edition of this indispensable guide.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

Adrenaline-packed activities chapter has you paddling, biking and climbing Nepal
Full-Color Feature reveals the best temples, festivals and mountain trails
Green Index helps you tread lightly

LONELY PLANET aims to cater for every independent traveller, whatever the destination, whatever the style of travel and whatever the phase of the journey.

Most helpful customer reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
don't leave home without
By Stephen Pellerine
Have been to Nepal and found the lonely planet to be a useful tool there as it is in other places. If you are going to Nepal it would be wise to buy this as you can save the price of the book before you go from the advice it gives in simple matters like booking gust houses and avoiding taxi scams as you arrive at the airport.

Remember that with this book on Nepal, and most Lonely Planet Book things will be out of date, this is a given as from the time of creation to the date of publication time has a tendency to change things, so although I found things very reliable - but ready to be flexible within reason.

I would also recommend another book or two on the region so you can build your background knowledge on the area, especially if you have not been to a nation like Nepal - BUT I feel from my travels abroad LP is something I don't leave home without.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Mostly helpful in Nepal
By Ms Beastle
I was thrilled to have a Kindle version of this book, and the links worked well (once I got used to using them.) Some items were vague, for example the Bat Cave in Pokhara - although the information was true, maybe more emphasis on just how small that exit hole is would have been more informative. Another example: a trail trek from Nangarkot to Changu Narayan was totally not an easy trek - a lot of the trail is washed out, and there is no information on how long it is. (4 hours to a tiny town, about halfway to Changa Narayan, then another 7 km uphill in a beautiful forest, but you'd better be in shape!) In general it was a wonderful guide, but better to ask the locals about specific treks, etc. One great "Plus" is having it on the Kindle, it's not more weight in your backpack!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Pretty good
By Robert Cox
We recently (Feb 2012) returned from 3 week trip to Nepal. We hiked in the Everest region for a week, spent a week in Kathmandu, and a week traveling around by car. We took both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books with us. Generally, we found that the LP book was better, both in practical details and in site descriptions. One thing we liked was the walking tours in LP -- through old town Kathmandu and through Bhaktapur -- RG has similar things, but without maps, and the LP has maps for these tours -- I can't imagine trying them without the maps to help guide myself. Also, in general the LP maps are better than the RG maps. Generally, we like RG more, but for Nepal, LP was superior -- there were places where RG was better, but if you only take one book, LP is the way to go for Nepal.

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Tahiti & French Polynesia (Country Travel Guide)

Nobody knows Tahiti & French Polynesia like Lonely Planet, and our 8th edition offers the best of these island paradises. Whether that's diving in the Tuamotus, floating away the day in Maupiti's lagoon, exploring the market in Pape'ete or hiking in the Marquesas - you decide.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

No Hype luxury spas and resorts independently rated and reviewed
Dedicated diving chapter located the best sites in these pristine turquoise waters
Expanded coverage of the islands' historic sites and ancient temples

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

If the magical islands of French Polynesia are on your itinerary, here is the perfect traveling companion. Its 29 maps highlight 4WD vehicle tracks, walking routes, and dive sites. The guide features a thorough history section, food section, accommodations for any budget, and useful Tahitian and French language sections. This book also includes all the archipelagos: the Societies, Tuamotus, Marquesas, Australs, and Gambiers--with extensive information in inter-island travel. The authors have personally tested all of the dive sites. --Kathryn True

…Lonely Planet, the intrepid traveler's bible...' --Los Angeles Times, April 2005

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Most helpful customer reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful.
Good, but needed more
By A Customer
I've used many Lonely Planet (LP) guides and found this one to be lacking their usual detail. I got the sense much hotel information was pilfered from Web surfing the basic info, rather than first-person investigation. While still a good book to take, next time (and there will be a next time because Tahiti is wonderful) I'll be sure take another guide along with it, and to thoroughly read actual travelers' online reviews. I'll also know the questions I need to ask before booking. My sense was that the reviewers weren't seeing things through the fresh-eyes of a first time traveler. The details, such as directions accommodation features were often lacking.
One thing I've always liked about LP is that they will list small locally owned budget places - that are occasionally hidden gems - whereas many other guides only list "approved" chain-type accommodations. However, in this book key information about lodging was missing. For example, it's very uncommon to find window screens in Polynesia despite a lot of mosquitoes, yet it is not standard for the book to say if there are screens or mosquito netting at each location (sometimes there are neither). Screens would be a big selling point for me. In Lonely Planet's India guide - which I was quite happy with - they deliberately note whether hotels have air-conditioning or not; in this guide this rather important information (for the tropics) is randomly added. Sometimes we'd get there and they'd have AC and sometimes they wouldn't. A more specific example is a pension primarily described as "friendly" - which it was in spades - with no mention that there's one bathroom shared with 8 people and that doesn't have hot water. With what prices are in Tahiti, poor information is very costly. One "resort" (our over-water bungalow splurge) was merely described as "competitive with other luxury resorts." Come to find out it had bedbugs and no air-conditioning.
If level of detail can be evidenced by pages numbers, note that LP's Hawaii guide (five main islands) is 615 pages, while their Tahiti guide (50+ islands/atolls, with ten commonly traveled) is a only 287 pages.

36 of 44 people found the following review helpful.
Was it really only a bad dream?
By A Customer
I was flabbergasted to find out that one of the most popular guidebooks in the world was not able to accurately describe our accomodation (The Blue Lagoon in Vaitape, BoraBora) as it later turned out to be ... namely, a disaster! In the guide we could not find any details about the REAL condition of the bathroom or the rest of the pension. We also had to share our room with a mouse (rat?) of undefined size (we met him only through his "leavings" and scurryings) and the traffic of wasps coming and going from their nests in our room. The shower was black and crusty, as was the toilet. Walls and floors were peeling, the air was filled with an overpowering stink of decaying fish and dirt, and we were afraid to get into our beds. The exterior of the building looked like a Tijuana flophouse. We traveled all over the South Pacific, staying in many different hotels and pensions, and never did we encounter such a horrible variance from the description in the guidebook. I mean, this is Bora Bora, an expensive, upscale resort area, and it seems incredible that such lodgings could even exist there. They would have to be more accurate in their evaluations of accomodations and be prepared to warn travelers of nightmarish places like this one!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
New edition is great!
By C. M. Richards
This new edition of LP's Tahiti and French Polynesia guide was invaluable on my recent trip. The details of the out of the way islands like Maupiti are wonderful, the writing is funny but clear and informative. It had details of local places and special spots that were not in the old one. I read up on the writers and one of them is an American woman who lives there, I could really tell that she understood the perspective of a tourist. I carried this book in my purse for the two and a half weeks I just spent there and referred to it often. Especially for the directions, cultural details and local customs that I needed. I felt like I had a local friend as my guide. I also find it comforting that they take no freebies from the hotels.
We stayed in small pensions and loved it, no one has screens in Tahiti it seems, but the guide did mention electric mosquito devices which was helpful, it also gave food details on the half-board places, and on the whole seemed accurate and well researched. The enthusiasm of the writing is infectious and I totally fell in love with Tahiti and the other islands we visited, I felt like I really got to know it better than I would have alone because of this book.

See all 14 customer reviews...

Lonely Planet Taiwan (Country Guide)

Lonely Planet Taiwan

Take your tastebuds touring around the buzz of food stalls at Taipei's Shilin Night Market
Soak yourself in the steaming, smooth waters of the Taian hot springs
Hike the Walami Trail to the sound of monkeys crashing through the jungle canopy
Emerge from the temples of Penghu straight onto some of East Asia's finest beaches

In This Guide:

Two resident authors, 42 helpings of stinky tofu, 15 swims in waterfall pools, 1 run-in with the police
New coverage of places and activities along the east coast and a fresh chapter on Taiwan's islands
Visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-date information

Best for curious and independent-minded travelers' --Wall Street Journal

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travelers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travelers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travelers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travelers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

LONELY PLANET aims to cater for every independent traveller, whatever the destination, whatever the style of travel and whatever the phase of the journey.

Most helpful customer reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
2007 Edition significantly improved
By Jah Lynnie
All the other reviews for this book are for the previous edition. I'm very happy with this updated Taiwan 7th edition which came out a month ago. The two writers live in Taiwan and have added an extra focus and assembled detailed information on a range of Taiwan's attractions like hot springs, mountaineering, river rafting as well as the more well-known things like eating out, temples, museums etc. that bring people to Taiwan. At the same time, the urban attractions of Taipei and more established destinations like AliShan, Taroko Gorge, Kenting beach and other areas have been updated and more obscure areas have been added since the last edition. Despite its small size and reputation as a junkyard, Taiwan has a wealth of things to see and do and this Guide, for my money, has been successful in showing how to get the most out of it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Great guide book for Taiwan
By David Reid
For the seventh edition of their Taiwan guide Lonely Planet didn't just stick a new cover on an old book. The guide has been extensively updated and includes some new places. The east coast section has been expanded with details of many of the interesting places between Taidong and Hualian as well as the expected coverage of these two cities. There is also more detailed coverage of Taiwan's islands such as Penghu and Kinmen.

There are always a few places that will get left out of any guide book. Nanzhuang and Taipingshan were two that I thought were notable for their omission. However, I don't think this is such a bad thing. It still leaves a few interesting places for the traveller to discover and adds an element of surprise. There are also a number of places listed in the book that I had never heard of but am certainly curious to visit. The Danayigu Ecological Park is one. I suggest you read the book if you want to find out more.

The coverage of hiking is great and there a range of hikes covered from easy walks that take a few hours to multi-day expeditions. I like the writing style of the with its many interesting little anecdotes.

There are plenty of maps, as is the standard for Lonely Planet guides. The map keys have place names written in English/Pinyin as well as Chinese characters. Names in the text also have pinyin with tone marks which should be useful for getting the pronunciation right.

Overall, this is an excellent guide that would serve any traveller in Taiwan very well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Throroughly updated, and now very good!
By Laszlo Wagner
For a long time, Taiwan was rather neglected by Lonely Planet, and their guide to the country used to be awful - many reviews here still refer to old editions! That has changed with publishing this edition, which is very good. Completely rewritten by authors resident in the country, it now covers diverse attractions with accurate, detailed practical information of the sort LP specializes in.
If you simply want to tour the main tourist sites of the country, aided by prior knowledge of prices and the like, this is pobably the best book to take.
However if your interest extends to exploring further off the beaten track and especially to hiking in the national parks, or would love to know more about Taiwan's culture and history, get the Rough Guide, which is even better!

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South Pacific (Multi Country Travel Guide)

With 10 authors hitting the islands everywhere from the Solomons to Pitcairn and Easter Island, Lonely Planet's South Pacific is more comprehensive and more rigorously researched than any other guidebook. See inside for the real story on tropical beaches, island resorts, blue lagoons and friendly Pacific cultures.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

Honest assessment of resorts. Read this book before you book!
Diving chapter takes you to the best of the Pacific beneath the waves
Unique Green Index to help make your travels ecofriendly

Lonely Planet guidebooks are, quite simply, like no others.' --New York Times

Most helpful customer reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful.
Below the LP standard, and biased in the region's favour
By Maurizio Giuliano
As all of Lonely Planet's guidebooks, this is of course an excellent travel tool, and truly "sets the standard". Any traveler is surely better off to the South Pacific with, rather than without, this densely written and wonderfully filled book (even though, for this particular destination, the Moon Handbook for the South Pacific would also be a very good choice). However, two things should be said about this particular LP guidebook. First, its coverage is hampered by the region's magnitude and diversity. The effort to cover so many different islands, with their own realities, their own peoples and cultures, is surely a noble endeavour. Yet, it resulted in lack of clarity, and data which is vague or uncomplete, especially on some countries (such as those of Micronesia) more than others. Getting separate LP guidebooks for individual countries or sub-regions (Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Rarotonga & Cook Islands, Tahiti & French Polynesia, etc) would be a much better choice for the discerning traveler - even though it may involve carrying a bit of extra weight around the beautiful seas and skyes of the South Pacific. Second, this guidebook suffers from an evident's "author's bias" in favour of the region. It is quite natural and inevitable, and also very positive, for authors to feel that their region is the best and nicest on our planet, home to the finest wonders of this world (to have the opposite, namely authors who are biased against their own regions, would be horrible). Yet, not all regions of the world can be great and perfect, and their peoples the finest and most friendly. Unknowing travelers should not be led to believe this. The South Pacific can indeed be a very tough place: not all islands and places are as great and beautiful as they may appear from this guidebook, getting around and having a nice time is not always easy (in fact, the region can be horribly frustrating), and the people are not always as pleasant as one might wish. By following indications for visa requirements for the Republic of Kiribati ("British citizens do not require visas"), I found myself pushed back on the aircraft, having to force my way in order to remain on the ground, and avoiding one nigt in a cell only thanks to the intervention of HM High Commissioner. Likewise, in Nauru it is not true that "you'll get a visa on arrival, provided the hotels have rooms". The Otintaai Hotel in Kiribati (allegedly the best in the country) does not have hot water as is claimed in the guidebook, and the Waterfront Villa Hotel in Palau (allegedly "the best deal around") is apparently so simply because the owners are extremely rude and prone to cheating, able to make your stay in beautiful Palau a real hell. Altogether, many countries which may sound like earthly paradises, are simply not so. The people, who are made seem friendly almost without exception, can be extremely obnoxious and difficult, not always happy to receive foreigners - especially in Micronesia and to a lesser extent in Melanesia, yet not so much in Polynesia. The advice contained in this guidebook should be taken with great care. Yet, in the end this remains a truly valuable tool, in a region so hard to get to know, where getting around and finally managing to enjoying one's trip - for those who do decide to go - can be truly hard. The sections on culture, wildlife, etc., despite their being rather summary, are extremely valuable and provide enjoyable reading. This book may not be up to the Lonely Planet standard (we should also consider that this is only the guidebook's first edition); but, considered LP's already high standards, it is not bad at all.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
Incomplete
By Readz Alot
A typically good LP guide, but be aware that while earlier editions of the title included the whole South Pacific area, this edition does not include Micronesia. (And LP hasn't updated their micronesia guide since 2000.) So if you're planning to visit Kiribati, Palau, or other countries in Micronesia, this guide won't meet your needs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Great intro to the French Polynesia
By V Atan
If you've never been to the French Polynesia, this is a great book to start with. If you are planning to check out a few islands as we did, it gives a lot of good information with low, middle and high prices. I particularly enjoyed the little history sections it had for each island. However, some islands are still wilder than others and Moorea is a great example. It was very hard to find places that were mentioned in the book, simply because the locals don't care as much about tourists as some other islands do and they don't mark their establishments so that they can be seen easily from the road. So take the book with you but always explore and find those hidden gems. We did and found amazing places.

See all 17 customer reviews...