- Paperback: 880 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 2nd Revised edition edition (Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0864426623
- ISBN-13: 978-0864426628
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,444,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
As usual the guidebook standard is set by Lonely Planet
-- Outside
Review
For sheer global reach and dogged research, attention must be paid to Lonely Planet...' --Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2003
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
This chapter describes the more general aspects of Southern Africa. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
This chapter describes the more general aspects of Southern Africa. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I recently went travelling in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana and took this book with me as well as a book for South Africa, which was an older edition.
I actually found that a common talking point for many travellers when I was down there was how useless the Southern Africa guide was. This book is essentially cobbled together out of other Lonely planet books so some of the information is very much out of date, especially in Zimbabwe. I even met one couple who said that they went to an establishment mentioned in this guide, and learned that lonely planet had not in fact visited for ten years. Even the reviews of Accommodation etc. were hit and miss, not to mention the prices. And I have had some very bad experiences with the maps (especially in Vic Falls!), so make sure if you are driving you also buy a road atlas for finding your place to stay.
Although it must be admitted that Africa is constantly changing when it comes to small business, I would highly recommend taking what is said in the book with a pinch of salt. However, when it comes down to places to see, etc. the guide is very handy. Just remember that what is written prices, accommodation and places to eat, etc. must not be taken as gospel - if you are after such detail you are much better off buying guides for individual countries and always double checking on the internet.
I know that it doesn't seem that useful suggesting that you buy all these individual country guides and atlases, and it would be wonderful if this book was as good as you want it to be, but the fact remains that you cannot place that much faith in a book that seeks to sum up such a huge and diverse area such as Southern Africa in such a small publication, unless it is going to be updated every year.
That said people have had good experiences with this guide so by all means buy it if it works for where you're off to and use it as a means of searching for inspiration - But I just didn't think it compares with the quality European guides, for example.
Best of luck to anyone about to embark on an African adventure - it really is an amazing place.
P.S. GO TO ZIMBABWE.
I actually found that a common talking point for many travellers when I was down there was how useless the Southern Africa guide was. This book is essentially cobbled together out of other Lonely planet books so some of the information is very much out of date, especially in Zimbabwe. I even met one couple who said that they went to an establishment mentioned in this guide, and learned that lonely planet had not in fact visited for ten years. Even the reviews of Accommodation etc. were hit and miss, not to mention the prices. And I have had some very bad experiences with the maps (especially in Vic Falls!), so make sure if you are driving you also buy a road atlas for finding your place to stay.
Although it must be admitted that Africa is constantly changing when it comes to small business, I would highly recommend taking what is said in the book with a pinch of salt. However, when it comes down to places to see, etc. the guide is very handy. Just remember that what is written prices, accommodation and places to eat, etc. must not be taken as gospel - if you are after such detail you are much better off buying guides for individual countries and always double checking on the internet.
I know that it doesn't seem that useful suggesting that you buy all these individual country guides and atlases, and it would be wonderful if this book was as good as you want it to be, but the fact remains that you cannot place that much faith in a book that seeks to sum up such a huge and diverse area such as Southern Africa in such a small publication, unless it is going to be updated every year.
That said people have had good experiences with this guide so by all means buy it if it works for where you're off to and use it as a means of searching for inspiration - But I just didn't think it compares with the quality European guides, for example.
Best of luck to anyone about to embark on an African adventure - it really is an amazing place.
P.S. GO TO ZIMBABWE.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
this is better than other lonely planets as far as it can for the region the info is up to date pretty accurate and the maps and accommodation very handy as always. I went to Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa solo and found this very useful. I believe that the Namibia section has received a good overhaul of some very thorough research (lacking in other books). But keep your ears open and check the internet too.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawai and Mozambique are covered in 812 pages which means you can carry this book around with you as you travel without feeling like you are carrying around several bricks in your backpack!
This book was invaluable not only in the planning stages of my journey but also whilst I was on the go.... when I was lost and discovered that I was not in Zimbabwe but in Zambia... I simply turned to a different section of the book and all was well!
Of course, a guide book supporting 8 countries is not going to necessarily have as much information per place as a book that is referencing just the one country. However, I found the book was crammed with wealthy knowledge and the information was considered and pertinent.
Thoroughly recommend this as a guide book if you intend to visit more than one of these countries within one trip.
This book was invaluable not only in the planning stages of my journey but also whilst I was on the go.... when I was lost and discovered that I was not in Zimbabwe but in Zambia... I simply turned to a different section of the book and all was well!
Of course, a guide book supporting 8 countries is not going to necessarily have as much information per place as a book that is referencing just the one country. However, I found the book was crammed with wealthy knowledge and the information was considered and pertinent.
Thoroughly recommend this as a guide book if you intend to visit more than one of these countries within one trip.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Life-saver!
This book is truly great. The information on inter-country travelling is superb - not given in as much detail in any other book I've found. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2005
Not as good as other Lonely Planets
I found the book useful for getting me places to stay and eat etc but lacked detail on the people, places and countries themselves. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2004
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
