South America on a Shoestring

Lonely Planet: On a Shoestring

by Lonely Planet, Regis St. Louis, Sandra Bao

#1 best-selling guide to South America

Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to skip, what hidden discoveries await you, and how to optimize your budget for an extended continental trip. Drift between river towns in the Amazon, shake it in Rio de Janeiro or hustle for traditional crafts in Ecuador all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of South America and begin your journey now!

Inside Lonely Planet's South America on a Shoestring Travel Guide:

Color maps and images throughout

Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices

Budget-oriented recommendations with honest reviews - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, lifestyle, arts, religion, outdoor activities, cuisine, sports, environment, politics

Over 170 maps

Covers Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela and more
The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less traveled.

Looking for just a few of the destinations included in this guide? Check out Lonely Planet Argentina, Brazil or Chile & Easter Island, our most comprehensive guides that cover South America's top sights and offbeat experiences. Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, Regis St Louis, Sandra Bao, Celeste Brash, Gregor Clark, Alex Egerton, Brian Kluepfel, Tom Masters, Carolyn McCarthy, Kevin Raub, Paul Smith, Phillip Tang, Lucas Vidgen

About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveler community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travelers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves.

*Best-selling guide to South America. Source: Nielsen BookScan. Australia, UK and USA.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Guidebook, The Americas, Adventure

1104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I should put this one on it's own shelf. I'm reading it but not as one reads a book for entertainment. I'm reading it in bits and pieces jumping forward and back through different countries. I may never read every part of it. This was a gift from my wonderful fiancée in preparation for our eventual trip around South America.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

[2010.10.17] 3.5 stars. Helpful in planning our Fall 2010 South America trip (7.5 weeks). Especially useful for the countries that don't have more recent country guides yet, e.g. Brazil (current LP edition was from 2008). However, I felt a bit disappointed by the accuracy of the information for Brazil -- it was still better than LP Brazil 2008, but, it could have been even better. I hope the information will be even more updated for their Brazil 2010 country guide that will be released at the end of this year. Since most of the countries we were traveling to (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina) each had their respective country guidebooks updated for 2010, we borrowed the book from the library and only found a need to actually buy the Brazil section of this book (in e-book pdf). The latest version of LP Ecuador was 2009 and didn't differ much from the information in the Ecuador section.

[Shane]

So far, I cannot tear myself away from this dense collection of details about traveling in South America. I am planning a 40th birthday adventure there and this is coming in very useful in dreaming and planning for that trip. Lonely Planet guides always include the best details on just the sorts of alternative things I am interested in--gay/lesbian travel, vegetarian eats, off-the-beaten path gems, concise histories, etc. I am sure to get a lot of use out of this one for years to come.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeaahhhhhahahsahh

[Liliana Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used it for planning my trip through South America and during the trip itself. It’s a great source of information, there’s also a bit of context regarding each country and mentions regarding where or not is safe for a woman traveling solo and passing through a specific spot. However, I complemented the information by searching online in different blogs and using YouTube to get an accurate portrait or just confirmation on what I planned to do.

The way they planned the trip passing through different countries is a bit intriguing, since they assume you’ll start in the southern summer so the way people from around the world usually do. So the plan is traveling starting in Brazil, going down and then up. The way in which the cities are presented sometimes is confusing but anyway, the book is a great guide that allows you to plan however you want to. Latin America is gorgeous and there’s plenty to see.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guide is essential for anyone planning to visit S America regardless of the purpose of the visit - business or pleasure. Don’t let the title mislead you as it has valuable information on all 13 countries there. Not all hyperlinks worked in the book worked, however.

[Laurie Byro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly there are better books, you cannot travel on a shoestring unless you are in your 20's. Mostly Lonely planet is right on, this was not useful to me.

[Vikram · Rating 2 out of 5]

I miss the old physical lonely planets.

I had the Kindle version and the maps kinda sucked. The hotel reviews and restaurant reviews are out of date compared to trip advisor and the hostelbookers type websites. However it is good for planning where to go.

Don't be fooled but - many cities like Colonial Del Sacremento can be missed.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joani and I used this book to plan our trip to South America for a summer while I was in grad school. We still have the book -- its rather nostalgic of such an amazing adventure.

[Kim Lanza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lonely Planet never disappoints (although more frequent update editions would be nice). My next adventure has been decided.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful on my trip through 5 countries in South America :)
Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia

[Hannah]

I'm ready; take me there. (rating will come after the book has proved itself useful in practice.)