Product Description

Includes everything about budget travel through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama; accurate air bus and ferry routes and schedules; the best spots for scuba diving, wildlife watching, jungle trekking and language study; and a Spanish language guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #797796 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 808 pages

About the Author
LONELY PLANET books are sold in more than 200 countries.

Customer Reviews

Use with Caution
Although a solid guide overall, I would recommend that travellers to this region of the world consider the Footprint guide and/or the Let's Go. LP looked to me to be up-to-date, but sadly this was certainly not the case when I hit C.A. last summer (especially in Costa Rica). Busing and transportation information were generally accurate. Costs though were often way off the mark. After looking through the Let's Go guide at the end of my trip, I noted that their prices were much more up-to-date. Don't be fooled into thinking that the LP online updates for this book are helpful.

Also, the LP book lacks serious detail about hotels. Their wording is scant and weak, and I often found myself wondering why they couldn't just get to the point. The Footprint guide is considerably better in this area, as their writers seem to be not as afraid to say what they really think of these places (i.e. they will tell you if a hotel has a reputation for petty theft - LP won't bother).

Overall this book has some good points, but I would recommend that you take another book along with it as a backup (or use this one as a backup). I should point out that this is a great book for someone with a very limited amount of time in each major place, as their agendas are solid. Also, I highly recommend their Latin America Phrasebook. Easy to use and it got me out of a few jams.

Better Take Two Books
The Lonely Planet Shoestring Guides are great for backpackers: cheap hotels, restaurants, bus schedules, etc. This book was no exception. The information included was generally very up-to-date and thorough. That said, the LP writers must have been directed to gild the lily whenever possible. More than once I decided to visit a place that LP gushed about only to find myself in either a backwater or a noisy charmless city playing cards until the next day's buses rolled out.

Halfway through my trip I found a used copy of Fodor's UpClose Central America Guide (used to be the Berkeley Guide, remember those?) and bought it. The UpClose Guide, while incomplete, provided much more honest commentary on the places I wanted to visit. The book is no longer in print but you might be able to dig up a used copy somewhere.

I'd still recommend the Shoestring Guide: you need to know where to catch your bus!