- ISBN13: 9781741048278
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Lonely Planet knows Colombia. Whether you want to strill the cobbled streets of colonial Cartagena, bask on a dazzling Caribbean beach, sample some of the world’s finest java on a coffee plantation or show off your salsa moves at a packed Cali nightclub, our 5th edition takes you there.
Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advi… More >>
I happily utilized this concise and well written Lonely Plant Guide this summer (July 2009)traveling 20 days throughout the land of the emerald forests. It helped me find some terrific hotels and the information was quite reliable. Que siguen con el buen trabajo
Rating: 4 / 5
This book was very hit or miss – some sections were obviously well done – others included locations or sites that were closed or no longer around – just a sign that certain of the researchers were less than highly motivated.
Rating: 4 / 5
I went to Colombia last week (Cartagena and the Caribbean Coast) and found this book to be totally lacking. I have a love/hate relationship with Lonely Planet, but this was the first time that one of their guides completely let me down. As someone else noted, a couple of days is plenty to see Cartagena. Also, for an edition that is less than a year old, I found the price listings for hotels and hostels wildly inaccurate. Hotels listed for $40000 COP would really be $80000 COP. The section on Playa Blanca mentioned the beach as good for snorkeling due to a reef right off the beach. Absolutely untrue, visibility was zero in most parts and when it wasn’t there was nothing to see. Moon or Rough Guide next trip for me.
Rating: 1 / 5
After waiting patiently for the new edition for LP’s Colombia to come out, I feel horribly ripped off. Locals actually laughed out loud at some of the “statements of fact” in the book and the places to stay that were recommended were hideous, nightmare, fratboy parties full of Americans and Israelis. I thought I’d give LP a chance again after many years because of the timing of my trip. (Brand new edition, trip 3 weeks later). I feel like this was not updated at all. There are several instances of unclear direction and explanations (such as the Colombian street address system) and incorrect travel time estimates (Cartagena to Bogota 7-8 hours by bus??? It’s more like 20-23 you jerks).
One of the people that I stayed with in Colombia laughed when I pulled the new LP Colombia out. He said that there had been a scandal because one of the main contributors hadn’t even BEEN in Colombia. I’m not sure if this true, but it certainly seems possible given the crap information and general lack of insight provided by the book.
The book also completely blows off two major cities that were slammed by earthquakes, Armenia and Pereira. It basically tells you that they’re not worth visiting and not to bother. The main reasoning for this is that they were impacted by earthquakes almost a decade ago. I met a couple in Cartagena who told me they had a wonderful time in those cities, so it made me wonder. I decided to go to both and was amazed at how off and dismissive the Lonely Planet guide was. Did the writers just not want to travel to these cities? What the hell??? It made me also wonder what Lonely Planet’s saying about New Orleans? I wonder if it’s just dismissing it in whole because of Katrina 4 short years ago???
Do what you want, but if I had a chance to do it all over, I would save the 20 odd dollars and NOT BUY THIS BOOK! Tourist leaflets and the internet were much clearer and more informative.
Never again, Lonely Planet!
Rating: 1 / 5
I bought several copies of this guide for use on a business trip to Colombia. While the guide has a fair amount of information for Bogota, it does not have very much for other cities, especially those the writers deem “unworthy,” such as Barranquilla. I found Barranquilla to be a wholly different city than the one described in this Lonely Planet. Also, after using this guide, it became patently clear to me that the writers do not and have not lived in Colombia. Everything was written from a visitor standpoint, instead of a local standpoint. I wish that the Moon Guides had a Colombia book, because that’s what I would have used instead.
Rating: 2 / 5