Lonely Planet Argentina, Uruguay & Paraguay

The first 'reviewer' has it wrong--this edition of Lonely Planet's Argentina book is a remarkable improvement over the 3rd edition, which at times is convolutedly wordy beyond belief. The review sounds like it was written by the previous author. Be aware that some competetive guidebooks, such as those put out by Avalon (or Moon) pay their authors based on the royalty system. In other words, on how many books they sell. Avalon may be putting out their own Argentina guide soon. Your best advice: run through the books at a bookstore and decide for yourself which fits your needs best.

I used the guide in February 2003 to complete a trip in Argentina. The Lonely Planet guide was the best that I found, but none were up to par. I had Rough Guide to Argentina with me as well, and found it superior for the descriptions of points of interest. Lonely Planet, however, provided adequate descriptions and added travel information (75% correct) and local maps from time to time. Particularly unreliable were prices (of course, with the economic situation) and flight information. Pricing in any of the Arg. guides published for early 2003 is only good for comparison between like opportunities. Flights tended to be offered on different days or had been cancelled since publishing. The only notable information flaw I remember was in the El Bolson description, where they placed the cervezeria and associated campground on the opposite side of town. Everyone I met travelling to Uruguay or Paraguay had the Shoestring Guide to S.A. rather than this specialty guide, so I have no information on those sections of the book. All in all, the L.P. guide provided the best overall information, and I wouldn't have had as much time to enjoy my trip without it.

Used this guide for all three countries - Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The information for the latter two countries was the most detailed and reliable (maybe because things don't change there as fast as they do in B.A.). It was especially good for hotels/restaurants in Montevideo; the region around Igauzu Falls (including Foz de Iguacu and Ciudad del Este); and Bariloche. Travellers going exclusively to Buenos Aires might want to get a more cosmopolitan book (it is impossible to distinguish good hotels from bad, good cultural events, etc. using this book). The whole lonelyplanet shoestring/adventure "feel" doesn't mesh well with a city as culturally rich & refined as Buenos Aires.

Written for Lonely Planet, Bernhardson's book is, like most LP books, a thorough guide to a region of the world. Numerous places to stay and eat from a variety of price ranges are listed, and the LP tradition of offering extensive historical and cultural background along with dozens of activities appealing to all interests is maintained. This book, as is the case with most LP publications, has as its target audience the "respectful" traveler, who is seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the places he or she visits than the tourist who simply stays in four or five-star hotels and sees travel as one big shopping spree. Nevertheless, all audiences are well served by the enormous quantity of material present in Bernhardson's book, especially the parts dealing with rural/small-town Argentina and the Falklands/malvinas. Therein lies my sole complaint about the book. The section on The Falklands/Malvinas Islands is enormous, in comparison with the section on Buenos Aires. One would get the impression that the Falklands/Malvinas are the center of all Southern Cone activity, while Buenos Aires is at best a second-class city. The section on Buenos Aires is somewhat impoverished in comparison with write-ups on huge cities in other LP books; it seems one almost HAS to resort to buying the LP Buenos Aires book in compensation. The main scarcity is in the area of things to do in Bs. As.; Bernhardson does well in his list of hotels and restaurants, but really doesn't describe the city in any striking detail or provide a very adequate rundown of what there is to do there (unless all that is mentioned REALLY IS all there is to do in Bs. As., in which case I recant my criticism). Overall, the book is well researched and up to date. To reiterate, the only area in which the book appears unbalanced is in the wealth of information on the Falklands/Malvinas alongside the skimpy information on Buenos Aires. The section on Montevideo, on the other hand, was very informative and complete. I can't speak on the quality of the sections on paraguay and rural Uruguay, because I didn't make it to either place on my trip. Overall, this book is a fine example of the Lonely Planet tradition of top notch travel guides