Lonely Planet Brazil 5/E

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.

I've been consistently impressed by the Lonely Planet series. These books allow you to navigate a new country and culture like a pro, and find all the hidden spots that a tour guide probably wouldn't take you to. Worth every penny!

As always, Lonely Planet provides thorough advice on the country, on do's and dont's. Don't go to Brazil without it ! This guide is particularly admirable for covering such a vast territory in a single book, and for offering, on top of usual information for visitors, a great deal of historical, social and political data which is interesting and easy-to-read for anyone. Indeed, at university I remember some people studied Latin American politics just by reading the politics section at the beginning of these LP guides.

- (From Planeta Journal) The fourth edition of this classic is a comprehensive guide to traveling in Brazil. It has a terrific section on the Pantanal and provides helpful instructions on choosing an ecotourism company (page 132). Interesting sidebars tell the origins of guarana and explain how Brazilians give directions. The book includes in-depth notes on ecology and national parks in addition to extensive coverage of places to stay and eat for all budgets.

I just spent one month in the Rio area and Sao Paulo with my wife. We took both the Insight Guide to Brazil and Rio, and this book. I never used the Insight Guide books, they were awful. They only had pretty pictures. On the other hand, the Lonely Planet book ruled! The book gives detailed info on how to do things everywhere in Rio, and even has great sections on the pequena cidades in the interior. For example, we went to Teresopolis (north of rio) and the info on Teresopolis was very helpful. I would especially recommend going hang-gliding or para-gliding on Sao Conrado in Rio. The Lonely Planet guide explains how to do it. I did it, and it was better than any dream I've ever had, though terrifying at takeoff!The insight on places to eat, and places to stay, is the MOST helpful. If you're very wealthy, you don't care--you'll just stay at one of the best places and eat at the two or three most famous places. But if you're constrained by a budget, this book clearly indicates how to maximize your dollar. If you're going to Brazil for an adventure, and not just to sit on Copacabana and go to the Sugerloaf, this book is a must.