Lonely Planet South India

Lonely planet has always been my favorite travel book. If you're a backpacker or like traveling on the go, this book will get you far.

This product was a tremendous help when I was trying to plan my trips in South India. It does a great job of not only giving maps and historical information of a particular area, but it also recommnends restaurants and hotel accomodations, which is always extremely helpful when you find yourself in an unknown place as a foreignor! I would definitlely recommend this book for both first time travelers and the travel veterans.

The guidebook does not include all the options or highlights of places but it has sufficient information for your first or second time visit. Very useful opening times and price guidelines! ...In fact I found myself returning to South India many times after the first review of this book. Even though these are always business trips I try to get the most out of them spending weekends in the more or less touristic places. Thanks to LP I've even guided some Indians around Chennai and Mumbai! Try out bird sanctuaries or Gingee Forts for example - you'll be surprised by the fact there are places in India charming though not overcrowded (and not located in Himalaya). The book does a pretty good job in this field. After a while you'll need to search for some more info on the web or in local resources however LP always provides with good ideas and directions for exploring.

I ventured to South India, Bombay and Goa, last January, and this book never left my side. As a first-time visitor to the country, I was nervous at first, but the information found in this book helped me to prepare adequately for the trip and navigate my way through this often confusing (but always amazing) country. The guide caters to travelers on a variety of budgets, and offers tips for escaping the white-washed tourist trail to really get a taste of local culture. I would recommend ordering a copy a couple months before leaving- there is much to peruse in the book and region, and it will help you to plan out what you want to see, what you need to pack, and how to get by when the culture shock is hitting hard.

You can never go wrong with lonely planet. The Wheelers have made life so much easier for travellers the world over. Even though I live in South India I have bought this book and use it like a reference. It gives me ideas for what to do over weekends. South India is probably wrongly named as it also includes states of India which are not considered to be 'south' of the country (e.g. Maharashtra and Goa). Nonetheless an absolute must for anyone living / travelling to 'south' India.In some places the info is dated (the edition is of October'01) and needs to be updated.