Best guidebook?

mumblyjoe22

Hi,
I'm new to the board, and leaving on my first trip to India (for six months) in four weeks. I'm not an inexperienced traveler, but I do like having a guidebook for places I've never been before. I was wondering about other travelers experiences with different guidebooks. I've used Lonely Planet for China and Europe, and the results have been mixed. I find LP too be a little too popular for it's own good, although generally pretty good in terms of hotel/restaurant listings.

Anyway, I was wondering if there are other guidebooks that can match (or exceed) LP's accuracy, that maybe aren't so popular and help keep me off the broken trail a bit.

Any suggestions appreciated.

jhon

Check out 'The Rough Guide to India' distributed by Penquin, i have found it invaluable at times.jhon.

Aussie 5

Hi. I'm just about to visit India as a first-timer next month. In my other overseas trip I've found a good combination:
a) The Lonely Planet - for detailed travel and accommodation information; AND
b) DK Eyewitness Travel Guide - for great pictures and getting a 'feel' for the place.

I bought both for India and intend to take them with me - heavy but I expect that they will help tremendously during my three week stay. Should help me keep my sanity and save me heaps!

*jyoti*

I have Rough Guide to India, and I like it a lot. Haven't been yet, but I figure most tourists seem to have LP, so if I'm missing anything, I'll just borrow theirs for a bit. It's very well written, an interesting read, and not as negative as LP (which I had for a bit and took back). It doesn't have quite as much hotel info as LP, I think, but it has 10 or so listed for differing price ranges for each place it refers to.

mgal

This is exactly what I did. The DK book was so nice (and heavy) I ended up ripping out the maps from Lonely Planet and leaving it in my room. Next time I think I will just photocopy them before I leave

Mark

thirdreel

Guidebooks are just books. Lonely Planet is not perfect, but it's fine. Whatever guidebook you take, always ask other travelers and locals what they recommend, and don't assume anything's good just because the guidebook says so.

AnnaD

Ditto

Rough Guide's been terrific which ever continent I'm on ... I'm not keen on the way LP simply lists places without enough comments/traveller's insights ... I like DK as well but you need to use it in conjunction with either RG or PL so it's heavy as someone else pointed out!

Besides, the accomodation listing for non-backpackers is better in RG- but they do list quite a few of the best hostels, and budgest places (I believe LP gives a larger selection of cheaper places so that'll come handy if you are infact cutting costs to the minimum)

Happy travels

kongkona

since u r here for long..u might want to try the "Outlook Weekend Break " series...published by the Outlook Magazine India...if u are for trekking..pick up the "trekking holidays in India"...Its a bit more detailed since they have the weeekend break series from most of the major cities..But the y give a better description of the places and soem of the new hotels which might have been missed out by LP..
also its written by an all indian team of travellers..
Btw,from my personal experience i feel LP is better suited for North India than South India..Maybe becoz North India was the traditional travel circuit for foreigners...:-)

Sama

I just noticed on amazon that new Rough Guides to India are coming out next month

__________________
My India, 2005-2008
BE THE REVOLUTION

mumblyjoe22

Yeah, I believe all the major guides (LP, Rough, Footprints, etc..) print new editions at roughly the same time, so they're all pretty much up to date.

*jyoti*

NOOOO!!! That means mine's outdated already, and I haven't even gotten there yet. Grrr ...

semidetatched

Based on the 'less people use it therefore it's better' philosophy, and opinions on this here forum, I'll be taking the new Rough Guide - I have it on pre-order from Foyles in London. Support your independent bookseller!

kiwi_razz

even when you buy the brand new one, then already its outdated.

I bought the new LP South India a few weeks ago (ie a few days after release), and noticed a few glaring errors. I can't remember exactly what they all were now, but at the very least the exchange rate was wrong, since the rupee seems to have strengthened by 5% in the last 6 months. Yes, that means India is now 5% more expensive for foreigners.