[the opoponax]

I'm not sure the North India book is still in print. I've never seen it in any bookshops here (and I've been to some bookshops with very comprehensive travel sections!), and it's not available directly from Lonely Planet, either. Which leads me to believe that any copy you managed to find would probably not be up to date, especially as the current editions of India and South India are very, very new (published in October of this year). Amazon also doesn't show it, even if you search 'Lonely Planet North India', which strongly implies it's out of print.

I've skimmed the South India guide, and from what I can tell it's pretty much the same info from the general India book, with a little more background stuff and ever so slightly more detailed. It's also a slimmer volume, which is probably nice if you're ONLY planning on seeing the south. I can only assume that the North India guide is/was similar in scope. Even if you managed to get your hands on a relatively recent edition, I doubt it would offer much more than what you already have on hand in the India guide.

I'm also facing the dilemma of whether to bring along the Rough Guide or the Lonely Planet (someone gave me a copy at Christmas). Lonely Planet is more up to date, but Rough Guide gives much better background info for major sites and to be honest I don't plan to rely on guidebooks much for hotel and restaurant recommendations. I should just weigh them and see which is slightly lighter!

[machadinha]

When I was checking their site a while ago, it did say in the small print that the information in both the general guide and the regional ones is the same. So I guess the advantage is you have less to carry around. If the North-Indian is similar in size, maybe it's in a bigger print?

If you have a choice, going with a recent edition is obviously preferred, although the general info doesn't tend to change all that much. Choice of publishers is more of a personal thing, indeed. Since I've grown familar with LP and its layout, I tend to stick to that, as it makes it easy to come to grips with its general set-up and quickly find your way through the book. But that is, again, personal, and a matter of usage. I ended up with a Footprint guide on a recent different trip which I also liked, for different reasons. It's less specific on hotels and restaurants, which I likewise don't tend to be so big on anyway, it's mostly background information I'm looking for. Which I find LP OK for though.

As always, to each their own! Some people just rip out the parts of the book they think they'll be using btw, also a solution. You'll often run into them asking to take a peek at the parts they didn't bring

[Atypicas]

Ah, it does seem to be out of print. The edition on Amazon is a 2001 edition. I saw a version at an outdoor store, but I didn't look up the edition. Well that takes off one more choice off my mind

As for RG vs LP, well, the RG is significantly lighter (I have both in front of me), has 1480 pages versus 1230 and even one centimetre less in thickness, but that comes with the pages being less sturdy. Looking at how the pages are attached together, the RG seems more solid. For content, the LP seems to have more hard information, particularly for those on a budget, but the Rough Guide is much more inspiring.

It's probably better not to rely too much on guidebooks for accommodation... Now I'm not sure which to bring (if not both), again :. I guess it doesn't really matter, in the end.

[lagom]

Hello!

I want to buy the Footprint India 2009 Guide which will be released in end of august. As I won't start to travel immediately after my arrival in India (I will do some voluntary work during the first 3 months) I'm not really in a hurry to make up my travel route.

Can I buy the Footprint india in India? I will live in Dehra Dun. Are they much cheaper there or does it not differ?

Thanks!

regards from Switzerland!

Lagom

[PeakXV]

Although not being a real loyal guidebook user, my question would be if price is at all an issue then why not order a good used 2007 or 2008 version online before you go ..... there can't be that much of a drastic content change, at least nothing that one couldn't do some quick mental conversions/extrapolations for, in a year or two one would think.

[Mickey S]

In my experience, new guidebooks are about the same price in India as you'd pay in a bookstore at home - i.e. full cover price, and significantly more expensive than on Amazon. In many of the tourist-oriented places such as Shimla and Mcleodganj there are second-hand bookstores where you can pick up copies quite cheaply (travellers often sell their guidebooks before leaving India).

As Peak says, it's not always necessary to have the very latest edition. Even the 2009 edition will have been researched during 2008, and many things will have changed since then. I generally buy cheap, used copies of previous editions on Amazon, which provide me with 98% of the information I need. And, because the book was so cheap, I remove just the chapters I need and take them with me rather than the entire book.

[edwardseco]

Mickey's experience parallel's mine. However, I figure that information is the most valuable thing you carry in travels so (especially so in contrast to the cost of air travel)..

[machadinha]

Very true, Ed; on the cost of a journey, I'll generally gladly shell out the few bucks extra to have some decent information on me.

Depends what you're after no doubt; hotels I don't care so much about (and they tend to be much the same and I mostly sleep there anyway, although a pleasant one will surely up your mood), but a guidebook can point you in the right direction here, & listed restaurants I'd rather skip altogether, but some background material about what I'm looking at and so on, as well as some general practical stuff, I find much enhances my trip.

To answer the OP, whether to buy here or there I can't tell you. Like the others, I doubt if the latest editions would be essentially much cheaper. Depending on my mood and level of organizedness and finances indeed, I'd probably decide to pick one up at home. Enhances the pre-departure fun too, what with daydreaming about all the places you're gonna miss and whatnot (and, of course, finalizing what you do intend to visit).

I'll have described before how I found going on a trip elsewhere without any guidebook or anything quite liberating, so... Nothing intentional btw, quite the contrary, I just didn't get around to it. This was in a place where I'd been before and could easily relate to, language-wise too, I should add.

(As an afterthought, people seem to sometimes think people who answer the most here have the most experience. Maybe we're just the ones to suck in such information the most instead, and like to share it. Meaning you can do it yourselves. Really. There's nothing special as such about it. You can read a guidebook or scour the web just like we all can.)

[costaguana]

Dehradun has two good English bookstores which will both stock the standard variety of India travel guides at prices comparable to the West (not sure about Footprint, but if not, then something comparable). Finding a second-hand guide book won't be as easy, as they tend to be fairly hot commodities, although (as mentioned above) your best bet would be to check out a used book store in a tourist hot spot.

[lagom]

Thank you for all the replies. I think I will order this new Footprint, just to start with. Then, when I'm travelling I still can buy others secondhand, or exchange it or whatever...

[YukonMarty]

Does anyone know if the NEW Bangladesh guidebook (LP) is available in India yet? Can seem to locate it around here (northern Canada) and I don't have time to order it as I leave for India soon.

[edwardseco]

It is in the US. So why haven't they sent me my complimentary copy.?

[zoltan]

To the best of my knowledge, it's still being released. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

If you have the old book, use that as a guide for general things. If there are any specific questions you have about the place, pls. e-mail (or PM) me.

I'm here for another few days and have a load of updates on things that are doubtless not going to be in the book plus some travel suggestions.

I'll post a full set of updates on this forum for those who are traveling to B/desh, but this won't be done until I get home and get my mind around a lot of things.

Cheers
Zoltan

[lovish]

Go for the Times books they are they best guides according yo me......