[aadil]

The latest one from LP is the September 2005 issue. It is pretty much the same except for some changes from the earlier issue which I also have and the one earlier to that too!!! most of the stuff that changes is the internet addresses and telephone numbers if the new codes have come into place and the prices always change even with the latest editions as they are already outdated the day they print them. It is best to have LP for the pictures as well as maps which are not so in the Rough Guide which does not have any pictures though their maps are still fine. And the information is usually pretty similar though seen through different eyes even the same guide will have different perspectives as seen from the different writers who pen the same book!!! Foot print is also a nice guide and has a lot of information but am not so sure if they have regular editions like the LP which comes out once every two or three years for most major countries. I just use one of the guides with most of the information about the place and hotel listings for the cheaper hotels though some places it is best to scout around on your own before finally settling in one!!! Check out the place first and then book it if you are not travelling in the peak season as I usually do as it's better to get good bargains too!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

[adam_carsis]

If the latest edition of Lonley Planet is Sept. 05. Will their 06 edition come out in sept??? I am leaving on sept 4th. I want to but a lonley planet but if a new edition is coming out I would rather wait and get that one. Does anyone know a real release date???

[aadil]

The LP India edition usually comes out after two or three years so you may have to make do with the last edition which came out in September 2005.

Cheers,
Aadil.

[TimMakins]

Originally Posted by aadil

The LP India edition usually comes out after two or three years so you may have to make do with the last edition which came out in September 2005.

What do you mean? Two or three years after what ? After it has been researched ? Do you have contacts with someone in the Lonely Planet organisation, or did your information come from other sources ?

Tim in Ireland

[aadil]

Originally Posted by TimMakins

What do you mean? Two or three years after what ? After it has been researched ? Do you have contacts with someone in the Lonely Planet organisation, or did your information come from other sources ?

Tim in Ireland

I meant that the India edition of LP comes out every two or three years and not every year as far as I know!!! And no, I don't know anyone from any of the guide books!!! Do correct me if I am wrong though!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

[adam_carsis]

I called Lonley Planet today. The official responce is that the very next editon on India will be relesed sept. 07.
Every 2 years.

[lunaitz]

hotel listings in travel guides are useful when you arrive to a place late at night so you can book a room in advance and you know where you are going. the next morning you look for another hotel, you never know if you have the same taste as the person that wrote the review. taking advice from other travelers is probably more useful.

[wonderwomanusa]

Originally Posted by TimMakins

Another thing - just because a new edition is published, it does not mean that EVERY item in the book is new. If a company has not got sufficient researchers, it is hard for them to go to every town in every state in India.

A couple of years ago, in Puri, I met a gal who was researching a guidebook for updates.... unfortunately, she had a very closed mind and I'd never use her version of this book.

When I asked her how she'd enjoyed Kolkata, she said she'd not gone there and had no intentions to go there -- because her (Gujerati) friends in New York told her it was an awful city and that she'd not be safe there!

How can you trust the information that someone like that gives you?

[himadventures]

I have seen that LP is good for details and illustration about any feature or place but should not be used as refference.

1. If some GUEST HOUSE has been mentioned in LP-after publication, features and services of that place changes. I have personaly visited a refference mentioned in LP for a ROOFTOP RESTAURANT near TAJ MAHAL.

When we visited along with some high profile clients- we were shocked to see that it had become a drug joint and lot of people were there smoking ...blue smoke !

2. Train timings, phone numbers and prices also changes by the time someone edit them and by the time ot gets intopublication.

3. Rules in INDIA changes without much infromation to public. INNER LINE PERMITS, FEESES and tariffs are different when someone wrote to LP and by the time it gets into publication.

[cosmic-unity]

Hi, I'm on the road at the moment and have no time to wait around and order a lonely planet guide from the net. So would like to know where I can get a guidebook before I enter India from Nepal, or as I get in India.

Cheers!

[PeakXV]

You can get an LP at any decent bookstore in India & Kathmandu in Nepal for sure - if you're passing through Delhi you might try the Sunday morning book sale at Daryaganj for a used one.

[giripriya]

Pilgrims Book House in KTM will have all of the regional LP guides for sure. If you are going there by taxi, ask the driver to go to KTM Guest House - it's a few steps up the road from there.

[virajverma]

In Delhi almost all the book stores at CP would have it and In Kathmandu any of the book shops in Thamel(the tourist district) would give you the same.
You can also find used ones if Lucky and can exercise the option of returning it after use at a cost ofcourse in case you dont want to carry it with you.
Enjoy

[slumpainter]

I use LP. I xerox portions of the book for places I plan on going. If I change my itinerary, I either read or buy a used version from some bookseller on the street. They always have many, some new, some old.

I kinda get the feeling that these guidebooks are used too heavily, like what is printed are the only places people should go. It is almost embarrasing seeing a bunch of westerners sitting in restaurants, everybody reading these big tome guidbooks.

If I am familiar with a city, I like to look for places not so obvious and frequented by the LPers. Then again, I've found that it seems hotels have to have a license or something to cater to Westerners, so your options are limited.

[Atypicas]

I presently have both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide to India, but I noticed that there are North and South specific books. Aside from landing in Mumbai and perhaps a few other things, I will be staying in North India (six months). They have a similar number of pages, so I'm guessing that the North India book has much better content for someone planning to stay in the area?

I will probably leave the Rough Guide at home, as it seems more fragile and, while it's a better read, it doesn't seem aimed at budget backpackers.