Books : Spain (Lonely Planet Country Guide)

Rating: - An excellent addition to the Lonely Planet list
The Lonely Planet guidebooks are deservedly the default choice for many travellers. This lastest edition (2007) of the Lonely Planet guide to Spain goes a long way to answering those critics who say that European countries have sometimes been Lonely Planet's Achille's heel. This is an excellent guidebook to Spain, both for those who just want to visit the well-known highlights as well as for those who enjoy getting off the beaten track. The language is informal, perhaps a reflection of the publisher's target audience and the overall feel is unstuffy.

The book is organised into regional chapters, with Madrid and Barcelona being given their own. The first hundred pages or so are dedicated to themes such as history, culture architecture, the outdoors, and so on, a valuable tool for the uninitiated to get to grips with this complex country.

There are nice touches for readers who enjoy exploring cities and towns beyond the usual sightseeing draws. For example, there are suggested walking tours for places like Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, Valencia, and others. Additionally, there are numerous attractions described that go beyond the usual tourist draws. For example, the descriptions of the less well-known museums and gardens of Madrid are valuable to those who enjoy exploring. The city maps are very clear, given the difficulties of mapping labyrithine old quarters. The maps of Barcelona are especially good.

Spain is an especially rewarding country for those who prefer to escape from the tourist trail and this book has much to offer in that regard. There are substantial sections on less-visited towns and areas. For example, there are several pages devoted to the interior of Galicia, an area often ignored. Extremadura, a region that is often bypassed, is particularly well covered. Throughout the book, there are numerous references, with dates, to the many local fiestas for which Spain is justifiably famous.

The sections on public transport between cities and towns are very helpful. Spain has a bewildering number of bus companies and Lonely Planet very wisely gives the name of the bus company that operates a particular service, together with frequency and fares. Train fares and frequency are also detailed.

The eating and sleeping recommendations are reliable although more would be welcome in some cities: I can't help but think that some will be crowded out with bearers of the guide. Then again, some readers might think that's a plus when it comes to meeting kindred spirits. I especially welcome the parking facilities logo for hotels where it's available.

I find the relentless use of black print on white a little difficult for finding my way around the book and for finding the wood amongst the trees. However, that is a minor quibble with what is a valuable resource for any potential visitor to Spain.

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Rating: - Good practical guide
A good comprehensive country guide, though a little bulky to be ideal for taking away. I would recommend combining it with smaller regional guidebooks if space is an issue or you need more detail. However, for planning a general trip to Spain or deciding where to go, this is ideal.

There is a wealth of practical information on everything you might need to know, and I found it well geared up to independent travellers. Of course, prices and other information won't always be accurate as these things change faster than books can be researched and published, but a quick check of the internet will establish any significant changes.

The guide covers all of mainland Spain, plus the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza etc.) and the tiny nation of Andorra. There is plenty of information on sights, hotels, transport, eating, activities and all the other travel essentials, plus general background information. The maps are generally good and cover plenty of areas, but there are relatively few colour pictures. The language guide at the back is quite useful.

For independent travellers, this is one of the best guidebooks because of its coverage of practicalities such as public transport and good maps.

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Rating: - Great 2005 edition
The bad reviews given here are old hat. The new edition is easy to use with very clear maps and it does cover places way off the beaten track as well as those familiar to us all. If you need more detail for a particular area then lonely planet do publish more in depth area books such as 'Catalonia and the Costa Brava' for example.

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Rating: - Superficial
DO NOT buy it if you don't want to sleep on a bench in the park.
I visited Spain in August, 2003 -the spanish holyday-month where every little hostel seems to be fully booked I experienced that the book mainly is concerned around big tourist attractions and cities. When travelling around to small villages there is basically no information, obvioulsy as a result of what has interested the authors. But more seriously, there is a great lack of info about places to stay incl. telephone numbers which is a big problem as the tourist offices most of the time seems to be closed at this time of the year.

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Rating: - Needs Updating
Couple of problems with this book. First, it needs seriously updating. Especially for prices. One hostal owner laughed when he saw I had this book and advised me that the spot with all the bars and nightlife had been demolished two years ago! This was in Zaragoza. He reckoned on Let's Go being much better for Spain. Also, everyone seems to have the Lonely Planet, which means everything is going round the sometimes limited (e.g. Granada) supply of the same hostals.

Also, some of the maps are dodgy, although to be fair mapping places like Toledo must be a bit of a nightmare and I didn't see any other good maps from the tourist board either.

No other probs to report.