Fodor's South America, 6th Edition

Let's face it, we're talking about a guide for the whole continent of South America. In the unlikely event that you plan to do all the countries, this guide book will give you a little bit of everything. If you plan to do only a few countries, you're better off getting specialty guides for those areas alone.

Fodor's "South America" is a comprehensive guide to all 10 countries of that continent, which concentrates on cities and major attractions, in 653 pages. It is arranged logically and uniformly, with an index and table of contents that make it easy to locate information.The yellow-tabbed pages upfront contain smart travel tips for South America in general, and the book is then divided alphabetically by country, with sections dedicated to 2-7 of each country's major cities and regions. Although it is a good guide for large cities and major tourist sites, it deals with outlying areas with a broad brush, if at all.Each city or region's section contains extensive listings under the headings of Top Attractions, Lodging, Dining, Museums, Nightlife, Shopping (including flea markets), Outdoor Activities, Day Trips, and those wonderful City Walks that Fodor's designs. Following all of those headings is the "A to Z" section for each city, where one can quickly find information on how to get to hotels from the airport, bus station or port; how to get around within the city; locations and hours for banks, post offices, etc.; tour operators and where to find tourist information.Listings are of the type that would interest those who enjoy accommodations that are cream of the crop in their price categories, good dining, the arts, and shopping, with cost not being the first consideration.On the down side, as with any comprehensive guide to a vast area, details are not as extensive as they would be if the entire book were dedicated to one country. However, if you plan to cruise or fly to several South American capital cities and only want to stuff one guidebook in your bag, this is a good bet.On the other hand, if you dream of off-the-beaten-track places and your budget calls for you to eat, sleep, and travel on a shoestring, or if you're looking for student hangouts and hostels, you should keep looking.

I love the Fodor travel guides but the information in your 3rd edition of Fodor's South America is really out of date. I've been trying to plan a trip based on your suggestions but few of the phone numbers work.I'm sure that once I'm there, your suggestions are still very valid - it's just difficult to use it for planning purposes.Ian Lien Singapore

One of the best guidebooks I have purchased. I have traveled to 25 countries on 6 continents, and have always found Fodor's to be of superior quality. This one did not disappoint. The recommendations for hotels and restaurants were, if anything, understated. Organization was clear and precise. Although it was necessarily broader and less deep in its information (it is, after all, trying to cover an entire continent), the information was always of the best quality and accuracy. Everywhere I went (6 countries in 3 weeks), I always carried the guide for the specific location and this Fodor's. In all but one case, it provided better information, and always information that was not available in the other book. The maps could have been better, both in quality and location, but otherwise it was a nearly perfect guidebook. It gave a decent view of the culture of the area, as well as the basic how-to and where-to. Strongly recommended.