Brazil Country Guide

Posted In: Brazil

Ines Teresa says...

My husband and I spent 3 weeks traveling around Brazil.Macei

Posted on June 27, 2011

Freida Willers says...

Lonely Planet is usually the best travel guide out there.Unfortunately, there Brazilian version is full of errors.A friend of mine purchased LP for our trip to Brazil in May 2005 while I got Let's Go Brazil.Like another review stated, there are several errors in Sao Paolo alone.We were search for a Italian restaurant that is suppose to have the "best pizza in Brazil".When we got to the restaurant, we were told by the owner that the restaurant has never sold pizza.I was told by one travel agent/guide in Sao Paolo that the person that did the section on Sao Paolo was only there for 1-2 days and there was no way he could have accurately gotten all the information that he needed in that short time span.We also had a problem finding out hostel in Rio using the map in LP.For a book that was release in Jan. 2005, it is missing much information.I would purchase Let's Go just to have another reference guide book.

Posted on June 27, 2011

Daryl Sporich says...

After a mixed experience with LP's new edition for Morocco earlier this year, I hesitantly agreed to purchase another LP for my trip this summer to Brazil's northeast, specifically Salvador, Recife, and Sao Luiz. I was not disappointed.



LP continues to give budget travelers a good feel for the communities they enter, and in this case, has relatively accurate lodging and restaurant descriptions. While at times I wished for a fuller description of places other than their simply being another "quaint" and "small" fishing village, I never found myself cursing the book for leading me to a place I did not want to be in.



I would definitely recommend this guide, although its prices are already out of date due to currency fluctuations. A better option for future editions, I believe, would be for prices to be listed in the local currency, reals, rather than in dollars.

Posted on June 29, 2011

Serafina Bindas says...

As the title goes... I'm a brazilian and use to travel on my motorcycle. Both the brazilian Quatro Rodas Guide and Lonely Planet Guide tackles almost on the beach sites alone. Brazil is very very very bigger than its coast. If you, like me, would like to know the brazilian backlands, so you should delve onto personal accounts and fictional literature.



But talking about the beachs... Quatro Rodas is comphreensive and Lonely Planet is more objective. Quatro Rodas is alphabetical and Lonely Planet is geographical.



I would purchase Lonely Planet to choose the places to go and then search on the internet for hotels.

Posted on June 30, 2011

Micah Kinseth says...

I was sorely dissappointed with this Lonely Planet title. I look to LP books to take me off the beaten path, and away from over priced hotels and glitzy tourist traps. So if that's not you then, this book is great if you want to be a typical tourist and go to Rio and hang out in Bahia and go to Iguasu and spend horrendous amounts of money on your vacation. However, if you want to blend in and maybe even expatriate, then as the title said, this book is so completely out of touch with the Brazilian people, it's pathetic.



The prices are all in USD, which doesn't make sense, because everything is changing, especially the exchange rates. The coverage of Sao Paulo was pathetically small, maybe 30 pages for the second largest city in the world, hardly enough.



In short, if you are backpacker, leave this 400 page tome at home in favor of another, lighter and more appropriate book that you pick up in the region you are planning to hang about in.

Posted on July 1, 2011

Jay Mcnolty says...

We went to Rio using this book and were very disappointed. While the background information in the books is helpful, the book is very out of date, and often inaccurate. In particular:



1) Most of the restaurants recommended that we tried to go to were closed down. Those that we found were not as good as the review suggested.



2) Maps are small, hard to read, and often inaccurate, placing locations on the wrong block, or leaving off crucial information, such as there are buildings blocking routes through neighborhoods. This often caused us to have to backtrack quite a distance to get where we were going.



3) There was not much useful information about Ilhe Grande.

Posted on July 1, 2011

Carson Saling says...

Initially, I took three guides with me on my 5-week journey through Brazil: Footprint,Frommer's and Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet gets the nod.



No other guide except Footprints (see my review) comes close to the covering all of Brazil. Lonely Planetis the best guide to have if you are backpacking and/or thinking of crossing into other countries at remote border crossing.



Lonely Planet has EXCELLENT sections on Brazil's history, economy and culture. Lonely Planet segregates Brazil into five geographical areas and introduces each city or region by explaining the history and climate. KUDOS!The descriptions of the towns and cities are top rate. There are many maps, easy to use and well defined.



Sadly, unlike other L.P. guides, this guide has few sidebars or text boxes that give you interesting tidbits about the country.Lonely Planet gives you enough restaurant and accommodation recommendations, but most all have terse descriptions that leave you wishing for more, i.e.,"menu is low-key, most pizza and standard rice-beans-meat dishes."



Though this is the 2008 edition (I also reviewed the 2005 edition earlier), I found (too often) places that were recommended but were closed or had moved.Thus, the editors did not `due diligence' and send the writers of this edition back to the places that the 2005 guide raved about and lists.Rather, they just transferred them over. NOT GOOD. Beware.This was especially prevalent in Manaus.Best to call first before you spend the taxi money.



Speaking of money...If you are from the European Union, sing praises for the Euro.If you're from the USA, weep. The fall of the dollar's value is very evident in Brazil.Reality check: Rio, a decent hotel (not great a hotel, just decent) is at least $100 and up. A good, not great, meal is at least $20 to $30. I traveled during the "Low Season" and I found that I needed $100-$150 a day to travel at a 3-4 star level and eat OK (not including my airfares). You should add at least 20-30% in high season and at least 60% at Carnival.Backpackers can do it for less, but not near what the guide quotes. Be Aware - Be Prepared for money shock.



Lonely Planet is my first choice, but I have it on good authority (Amazon.com) that Footprint Brazil 2009 will be out this December.IF you are going to Carnival 2009 then get Footprint over Lonely Planet, it does a much better job of guiding you through this huge event. Also, Ihighly recommend Culture Shock! Brazil 2007 for anyone wanting to know more about the ethos and customs of the diverse, colorful country. Happy travels.

Posted on July 1, 2011

Lakiesha Pisha says...

After trying to use Lonely Planet with my first Brazilian stop, Sao Paulo, I would definitely NOT recommend this travel guide.I read criticism of the prior edition on Amazon but assumed that Lonely Planet would have corrected the errors in this updated edition.I assumed wrong.Errors on the map still persist. The first day I wasted a good amount of time looking for accommodations that were incorrectly indicated.Once I did find them, I found that Lonely Planet was way off with the price information.Granted the Real has increased recently, but the prices were more than 3 times higher than Lonely Planet's estimate, so the information is plain wrong, not because of currency fluctuations.Another day I wasted time trying to find a bookstore that wasn't even close to the map's dot. Assuming the stated address was correct, I was told to take a cab from the spot where the map indicated it should be because it was so far away.

I was able to look at a Let's Go Brazil at my hostel and I would probably recommend that book.Even with the earlier publication date, the information seemed to be more up to date.Rough Guide's information on the internet also looks useful. The poor quality and apparent laziness I found in the Sao Paulo section is really pathetic and Lonely Planet should be ashamed of publishing such errors.I want my money back.

Posted on July 2, 2011

Merrill Corid says...

I have been doing Brazil vacations for decades (literally) and have seen every guidebook in the English language.For some reason - perhaps because Brazil is such a big country with a limited English-language guidebook market - publishers have never found it worthwhile to invest money and time into producing a truly first rate guidebook.This latest edition of Lonely Planet is no exception.I cannot endorse ANY of the English language guidebooks out there today as a one stop guidebook(although each has a few redeeming qualities).



So what is a would-be Brazil traveller to do?Do what I have been doing for the last ten years: supplement your English language guidebook with a first rate, up-to-date guidebook from the Quatro Rodas series published in Brazil by Abril publishing.In other words, get an English language guidebook for background information (I prefer the footprint book, but LP is adequate for a broad overview of the country).Then, with a limited reading knowledge of portuguese (how much do you really need to know to be able to look up hotel names, street addresses, and phone numbers, right?) your trip will be made a lot simpler if you get the Quatro Rodas guides.The Quatro Rodas series is constantly being updated, and in my experience provides the widest, most complete, accurate, and thorough coverage of hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, directions, and logistics of any guidebook.And best of all, the Quatro Rodas guides are specialized: on a budget, get "Viajar bem e barato" (requires a bit of portuguese reading ability); visiting specific states, get the state guides for your destinations; doing driving, get their road atlas; and best of all, going to the beach, the get the Brazil beachcomber's bible, the "Guia Praias" (truly one of the most amazing guides in the world!).



So where do you get these books? In any airport book store / news stand.Trust me, your life as a Brazil tourist will be made a lot easier if you learn to use the Quatro Rodas books.

Posted on July 2, 2011

Thurman Kletschka says...

I took three guides with me on my 5 week journey through Brazil(Sept/Oct 2007): L.P., Footprint, Frommer's.Lonely Planet would have been my first choice, BUT, it's dated.Its publication date of 2005 means that the research was done 2003-2004.Many things have change in four years.The prices in this guide have doubled and some restaurants and hotels that are listed have closed and/or the quality of some has seriously declined. But first, the positive.



No other guide except Footprint (see my review) comes close to the covering all of Brazil.However, LP is the best guide to have if you are backpacking and thinking of crossing into other countries at remote border crossing.



Lonely Planet has excellent sections on Brazil's history, economy and culture. L.P. segregates Brazil into five geographical areas and introduces each city or region by explaining the history and climate. Kudos!The descriptions of the towns and cities are top rate. There are many maps, easy to use and well defined.



Sadly, in this guide, unlike other L.P. guides, there are few sidebars or text boxes that give you interesting tidbits about the country. Also, if you are looking for a guide to help you with Carnival, L.P.'ssection is bit anemic (best is Frommer's, see my review).There are many restaurant and accommodation recommendations, but all have terse descriptions that leave you wishing for more.



MONEY:If you are from the European Union, sing praises for the Euro.If you're from the USA, weep. The fall of the dollar's value is very evident in Brazil.Reality check: Rio, a decent hotel (not great a hotel, just decent) is at least $100 and up. A good, not great, meal is at least $20 to $30. I traveled during the "Low Season" and I found that I needed $100-$150 a day to travel at a 3-4 star level and eat OK (not including my airfares). You should add at least 20-30% in high season and at least 60% at Carnival.Backpackers can do it for less, but not near what the guide quotes.



Lonely Planet would have been my first choice if not for the dated coverage.If a new edition comes out, buy it! Still,Lonely Planet is a great backup text to have. My first choice for guides is Frommer's (see my review).I also highly recommend Culture Shock! Brazil 2007 (see my review) for anyone wanting to know more about the ethos and customs of the diverse, colorful country. Happy travels.

Posted on July 8, 2011