Me and travel buddy each had one or the other so we were in a unique position to scrutinize and compare both on a daily basis for each and every sight. We spent lots of time in each country so this is not a shot in the dark. I cannot comment on the big continent guide but for the country by country guide's, here goes :
Ecuador - TIE. Both are good.
Peru - Footprint . The LP is good but the Footprint is a step up.
Bolivia - LP. The LP is good but the Footprint is plain bad. Dissapointing 'cos the Footprint Peru was so good.
Argentina - Footprint. The LP is plain bad and the Footprint is fantastic. I would say Footprint Argentina its the best guidebook of all the SAmerican country guides.
Chile - LP. The LP is good but the Footprint is atrocious. Footprint Chile is my vote of the worst SAmerican country guide.
As you can tell, its really up to the authors as opposed to the brand. Hope this helps people choose.
Peru - Footprint . The LP is good but the Footprint is a step up.
Bolivia - LP. The LP is good but the Footprint is plain bad. Dissapointing 'cos the Footprint Peru was so good.
Argentina - Footprint. The LP is plain bad and the Footprint is fantastic. I would say Footprint Argentina its the best guidebook of all the SAmerican country guides.
Did the same, we both had one each and i agree with the above, espacialy LP being far superior in bolivia, it is always good to have one of each though
Footprint served me well in Argentina and in Chile. I don't have LP. Send them your comments!
i havent been there (yet) but my Footprint on Brazil looks about twice as thick as the LP brazil section. I took a glimpse at the Rio section in the LP and it is indeed scarse in comparison. Anyone agree/disagre with this?
LP-Bolivia IS a step up from the previous LP edition. LP-Argenitna was revised August 2005, so there is hope yet!
Kinda said this before but the Lonely Planet Country guides tend to be the best at geting you up to speed quickly ...
i think that the lets go guides are great as well. none of them have good maps. i like the recomendations in lets go the best so if you are going to a country where there is one you should definately get one....but they are limited.
Peru: LP is adequate but Let's Go is better.
LP has very detailed information on places like Cuzco or Machupicchu. It also solves most commonly asked questions on the main gringo trail.
Some things I didn't like in LP Peru:
- in the Huaraz area, information about hiking has been reduced to a point where the guidebook is not useful at all. They obviously want to sell their separate hiking guide. However, it would be fair to at least include brief descriptions of the 3-4 most popular hikes in the main guidebook, so people who don't have specialist interests can avoid buying and lugging around a separate book.
- information in LP about less-travelled routes, like Moyobamba-Tarapoto or the Cajamarca-Huamachuco circuit, is bare-bones and missing important details. For example, Let's Go gives details on how to visit Markahuamachuco ruins, or bus times on that circuit, which LP doesn't.
- LP-approved hotels, restaurants and tour operators, specifically in Cajamarca, Huaraz, Trujillo, have a tendency to be slightly overpriced. The best value places I've stayed/eaten were often not in the book.
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