[edwardseco]

I would suggest Footprints. It covers many areas better. I would suggest it as a complement to the LP. Leave more junk like clothes out before you skimp on info..

[whatsilliness]

well, i got mine (2001 edition) off of ebay for 3 dollars..
i havent BEEN to india yet, soi cant say how helpful/accurate it is.. but it definitely was very informative on the regions
and it offers a lot of budget-traveller options, which was really great.
i actually like the way its organized better then LP.. but thats personal preference, i suppose.
though it is fairly skimpy on the Tamil Nadu region
i definitely wouldnt get it on its own without another guidebook (LP)

what i do recommend very highly is the lonely planet food and cuisine book for india..
will avoid you a hell of a lot of embarassing moments, especially in 99.9% locals-only restaurants which are so abundant in the small villages in the south!!
and is just a faschinating read.

cheers.

[rv224]

I havent seen either South India books but in general, I prefer Rough Guides to Lonely Planet. Rough Guides has a much wider budget in mind for the traveller. LP keeps it really low when it comes to budget, often suggesting places that are really skanky (one hostal they suggested in Europe turned out to be a brothel!)

Rough Guides focuses a lot more on giving background information, culture and history and spends less time on suggestions for restaurants, shopping etc. which is what a guide book should really do.

[TimMakins]

Originally Posted by edwardseco

I would suggest Footprints. It covers many areas better. I would suggest it as a complement to the LP. Leave more junk like clothes out before you skimp on info..

Yes, that's right. I used to research for Footprint, and chose them for the higher quality content and maps. There is a new edition of the Footprint South India guide out now, by a new author now that the Bradnocks have retired - I had a brief look and it seems OK.

I used to carry the Rough Guide around with me as well - it has some stuff the others miss, so worth having as well, but if you only want one book, take Footprint.

Tim Makins.

[Mandsaur]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but I noticed a sign in the travel section at Barnes and Noble today that said the new edition of LP India will be released in early September. So if you're thinking of buying it, you might want to hold off!

[Sunray]

Prolly had many of these before, but given that the new Lonely Planet for India is out according to the brochure I saw in Bangkok, on the 5th of this month, I thought this would be a good time to have another discussion of the guides for India.

The problem I have with the current and now well out of date LP, the so called 'Bible' for India, is that its become the guide to all the shit places when it comes to hotels and guest houses, especially the backpacker ones. This is not just related to the India guide, its a common complaint for all the LP series that are anything over about a year old. I did use it in India and in someways its quite informative, in others its distinctly lacking.

The Footprint guide. This for me, trumped the LP guide. From a hotel/guest house perspective, simply because its not the lonely planet and not used by every single Indian tourist, the listings are generally good and if the words Recommended/Highly recommeded are at the end. They are excellent places to stay. Its also got better maps and is much more thorough in the content. Its over 400 pages longer than the LP, the paper is thinner.

Anyone used another guide?

Sometime soon, someone can review the new LP India if they have been before and used the last one.

[Jeroen]

I used The Rough Guide India to my full satisfaction - there's a nerw one of those in the works too. They also have more detailled North and South India guides.

RG also has thinner paper and hundreds of pages more for the same price, but at the same time they are much more selective - they are happy to skip towns/cities that are just not worth the trouble while LP seems to want to list hotels and restaurants in every possible place. I find that RG has more background texts so that you understand what you're looking at better - while LP provides more detailled information on transport and lodgings... though their strange habit of listing all the prices in the guide down to the rupee makes their guides look out of date very quickly.

I tried using the Footprint Indian Himalayas guide, but I find it it has an irritating layout (just try to figure out their title/subtitle system) was full of mistakes, sometimes serious ones - I wouldn't use it again (though as a first edition maybe they let a few things slip that will be corrected next time round).

In the end, it's down to personal preference...

[guerik]

The new LP India's officially out- has anyone picked it up?

I'm imagining it's much the same as the old one, except with updated rates and hotel listings etc, but if there are any major differences let us know

[tonylittle]

Originally Posted by Sunray

Prolly had many of these before, but given that the new Lonely Planet for India is out according to the brochure I saw in Bangkok, on the 5th of this month, I thought this would be a good time to have another discussion of the guides for India.

The problem I have with the current and now well out of date LP, the so called 'Bible' for India, is that its become the guide to all the shit places when it comes to hotels and guest houses, especially the backpacker ones. This is not just related to the India guide, its a common complaint for all the LP series that are anything over about a year old. I did use it in India and in someways its quite informative, in others its distinctly lacking.

The Footprint guide. This for me, trumped the LP guide. From a hotel/guest house perspective, simply because its not the lonely planet and not used by every single Indian tourist, the listings are generally good and if the words Recommended/Highly recommeded are at the end. They are excellent places to stay. Its also got better maps and is much more thorough in the content. Its over 400 pages longer than the LP, the paper is thinner.

Anyone used another guide?

Sometime soon, someone can review the new LP India if they have been before and used the last one.

Hi

If the L.P book is crap why do so many folks buy it ? is it because we are brainwash or could be its very good

[Sunray]

Originally Posted by tonylittle

Hi

If the L.P book is crap why do so many folks buy it ? is it because we are brainwash or could be its very good

Its crap, not because of the information, but because everyone uses it and there really are LP user areas of India! So its a catch 22 situation. Having used the RG, the LP and the Footprint. The Footprint, easily the best guide much more information and the hotel guides are spot on and because hardly anyone uses it, they are still OK 2 years after publication. The LP hotels get hammered and if the guy that runs it wants to sit on his/her arse they can and people will roll in till the next guide.

I've got the new LP guide, its much improved. The womens situation has obviously detiorated because its got a lot of warning about the problems women face there. No warning about armed guards in Bihar, infact says just be careful after dark. On the whole, taking a generally more relaxed attitude to things. Hotel guides are revised.

Nice new feature is the 'Something special' boxes. These feature bits of india that are something special like a restaurant or hotel. I doubt they will be quite so special when the next LP comes out, but will have a look when I go as the guide is only 10 days old.

[FirstTimer]

Just got the new LP. My first reaction was - why the hell to make a 20 LB book for travelers???... It's so thick that I'm still thinking if to take the whole thing with me or just tear out some pages I really might need (about 10-20 I personally found this forum much more useful than any guide - thanks again guys!

[haritha]

Whichever the guide you take -- it is not a problem at all .

But remember to open you eyes and look around --- the guide book writers are not spending the whole of their life in a particular places .Do not be the prisoers of the guide book .Have a good attitiude of the traveller . You will enjoy your India .Do not always say NO THANK YOU TO THE FLYERS PEOPLE OFFER YOU .
There are lot of surprises .So just take some time to read .

Tourism offices are not effiecient as other places still .

[Jeroen]

FirstTimer - that's what I did to my 1400-page Rough Guide - I cut it up into 4 handy parts, and bought some cardboard and tape to make new covers. No need to wander around twon clutching the whole fat book with your finger jammed in, marking the page with the map you need!

I actually looked all over Delhi and Jaipur but could not find a bookbinding shop where they could do this for me. Here's an idea: start a shop in Paharganj where travellers can have their guidebooks chopped up into smaller books and given a nice new cover perhaps with Indian motives. Charge a few rupies and it could be a smash hit. The girls will love it. You could call it 'Pimping your guide'.

[LindaK]

Does anyone know if there is a new Lonely Planet or Rough Guide for South India coming out soon? I believe the current Rough Guide was published Nov 2003, and the Lonely Planet in 2001. I am leaving for Kerala and Tamil Nadu in January.

[Pille]

New Lonely Planet India was released in Sept 2005.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/product...lpgn-preleases