Lonely Planet Southwest USA

Average customer rating:

Downright incomplete
The leader in books on the American Southwest.. A must-purchase!
Tons of information, well organized
survey of Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico
One of the best around

Lonely Planet Southwest USA (Lonely Planet Southwest)
Kim Grant , Becca Blond , and John A. Vlahides
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lonely Planet California
Lonely Planet Grand Canyon National Park (Lonely Planet National Park Guides)
Lonely Planet Zion & Bryce Canyon: National Parks (Lonely Planet Travel Guides)
The Rough Guide to Southwest USA 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
Lonely Planet Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque (Lonely Planet Sante Fe and Taos)

ASIN: 1740595173

Customer Reviews:

Downright incomplete.......2007-06-03

I am a major, lifelong supporter of Lonely Planet from the first core Asia books. I have till date not filed a review of a book online, but felt compelled to highlight some major deficiencies in this product and make a recommendation to look elsewhere for information on the American Southwest. Of late, I have begun branching away from Lonely Planet for more detailed information, but still rely on it for useful phone numbers, maps and other logistical information. For a three week camping trip in the Southwest with a few splurges along the way, I wanted to rely heavily on just such a book.

In the Southwest book, much of this information was not present (for example, 'Many campgrounds are available in local state parks' is one of the entries, but no phone numbers, maps nor details given. Not only were options for lodging half-heartedly described, often food options and maps were entirely missing or erroneously described.

The cities are a bit better described, but that isn't offering much of an excuse for an area and geography that is utterly unlike any on earth.

It is not surprising that this particular book is so short on useful information given its small size, but I found it egregious that LP would compromise so heavily on its core responsibility - providing useful, practical information that saves time and enhances the travel experience.

I highly recommend flipping through another guidebook in your local bookstore or experimenting with one of the other brands before relying on the Lonely Planet in this case. I plan to do so for the near future.

The leader in books on the American Southwest.. A must-purchase!.......2007-04-05

I recently made a road trip across the American Southwest and purchased both the Lonely Planet 4th Edition (December 2005) and the Rough Guide 4th Edition (October 2006) as my guides for the week-long adventure. Lonely Planet emerges as the clear winner when the two are compared side by side. It is less than half the thickness of the Rough Guide book, yet has more coverage per town or natural site. I commend Lonely Planet for using such a thin but readable font and thin, high-quality paper to make this guidebook have such a small footprint.

The Lonely Planet guide is divided into tabbed chapters by state (the guide covers Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Las Vegas, and Southwestern Colorado). Maps cover both regions and downtown areas of the major cities and towns in the Southwest. For each city, restaurants, hotels, attractions, and essentials like internet access, post offices, bookstores, and medical facilities are listed. The sidebars contain information from a historical or side note perspective--these are perfect for reading aloud during the inevitable driving time for any Southwest adventure.

If you are planning to spend a long time in the Grand Canyon or other attraction area, I recommend purchasing an additional supplemental guidebook. As a road warrior, I appreciated that this book has all the essentials, but leaves week-long trips to Las Vegas or the Grand Canyon to other guidebooks.

Tons of information, well organized.......2007-02-15

This guide has tons of info for food, lodging, shopping, services, attractions, and activities. Margin "tabs" make it easy to thumb to a specific area. My only complaint is the greyscale maps are unreadable because of tiny fonts and low contrast.There is bleed thru from backside of pages also causing contrast problems and readability. Overall though, it is a good, packable guidebook.

survey of Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico.......2006-10-22

It's considerably difficult to make sense of so much land in one book, so this guide ends up with brief entries and succinct recommendations. It's useful for suggestions on where to eat and sleep, and places to visit by car. If you want to do a more "adventure" trip, such as to the national parks, you might be better served by more specialized books out there for specific areas.

One of the best around.......2006-06-26

I compared this guide with Mobile's and Frommer's when I visited a book store and I ended up buying this one even though it was the most expensive. It appeared to me that it contained more useful and condensed info compared to the Mobile guide. That one used big fonts and a lot of gaps in the text so it filled up pages with not much. The Frommer's one was more bulky and felt that I couldn't spot some useful info quickly. It's interesting to notice that the previous version of lonely platet's southwest had very good ratings compared to this one. I haven't seen that edition. I hope this new one maintained some of its quality.

Lonely Planet the Southwest, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah (1995 ed.)

Average customer rating:

Lonely Planet the Southwest, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah (1995 ed.)
Rob Rachowiecki
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lonely Planet | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0864422555

Lonely Planet Southwest (Southwest, 2nd ed)

Average customer rating:

Great!
Lonely No More
Used It, Read It, Loved It.
Authors don't like New Mexico
Your standard LP book

Lonely Planet Southwest (Southwest, 2nd ed)
Rob Rachowiecki
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Lonely Planet | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Lonely Planet Santa Fe & Taos (Lonely Planet)

ASIN: 0864425392

Book Description

Want to explore the Grand Canyon? Ski Olympic-caliber slopes? Watch red rock turn fiery at sundown? Our expert authors show you where to find these thrills and more in the Southwest. From Albuquerque to Zion, this guide points you toward the region's urban centers and natural wonders alike. <ul>

full coverage of national parks and monuments, including Bryce canyon and Carlsbad Caverns </li>

more than 22 scenic drives, with color maps to help you hit the road </li>

places to stay and eat for every budget, whether you're seeking the best campsite or the lap of luxury </li>

120 user-friendly maps of cities, trails and natural sites </li></ul>

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2006-06-21

Does a very good job of covering a large area. This book exhibits the best of the Lonely Planet series: a combination of facts, interesting suggestions, opinion and background information. Good maps and graphics. I like that camping suggestions are included for many places.

Lonely No More.......2005-09-10

Living in Australia, planning a road trip around the Southwest is not an easy consideration. I received this book and suddenly the Southwest was withing smelling distance. The reading is easy and expressive. I have a clear idea of where I will go and what I will do. No matter if I were travelling with children or on my own, I'd be clear about what is available to me. This will be the trip of a lifetime and this sensational book is a catalyst for my planning. Fully enjoyable, this book allows the magic of anticipation to grab me and give me colourful dreams.

Used It, Read It, Loved It........2005-07-31

This book was incredibly helpful to me. The maps are awesome. It's organized well. I hiked and did Route 66. The book was great for both. The table of contents is super accessible. Buy it and take it everywhere!

Authors don't like New Mexico.......2004-02-25

I purchased this book before a recent visit to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. I lived in Albuquerque for 4 years about 6 years ago, but I hoped to find new insigts on places to eat, explore, etc. Basically the guidebook told me where not to go. It failed to mention some excellent restaurants in Albuquerque including The Dog House, Las Mananitas, Il Vicino, etc. In Santa Fe I attended a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking which was a five star class - not mentioned in the guidebook. In Taos I visited a community of alternative homes constructed of tires and cement (earthships.com will explain more) - again not mentioned in the book. I did go to look at a ruin near Espanola that was recommended, but the reservation does not allow admittance.

Your standard LP book.......2003-07-02

I have recently encountered poor Lonely Planet books, but this was not one of them. It is the good old LP at work.
The coverage of Las Vegas, however, was extremely poor. I spent there 24 hours and this book didn't have enough info for even that short of a trip. The rest is great.
The California LP had twice as much info on Las Vegas.

USA West: A travel guide to Hawaii, the Pacific states & the Southwest (Lonely planet guidebooks)

Average customer rating:

USA West: A travel guide to Hawaii, the Pacific states & the Southwest (Lonely planet guidebooks)
Joan Storey
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0908086091

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