Lonely Planet South India & Kerala (Travel Guide) Paperback – 12 Nov. 2024

Informative up to date information, carry it everywhere

I don’t objection in principle to the new format of Lonely Planet. I found their Chile guide really useful indeed. In the age of the internet we certainly don’t need endless hotel and restaurant recommendations because I can use Google, trip advisor and myriads of other sites. However I do resent the missing out of things. There was no real account of the metro in Pune or of the water metro in Kochi. In the section on Kannur, there was one paragraph on Kozhikode which is a much more interesting place. Benaulim in Goa, my personal fave beach wasn’t mentioned. Some things were good - I visited Bijapur and Mangalore because of the guide and there were good places. The section on Gokarna missed out crucial things like the railway station is kilometres from either the beach or town (both a serious rickshaw ride apart).I survived 6 weeks in India because it was my 14th trip since 1974 but the book was not what it could be.

This appears to be a product of the change in Lonely Planets philosophy. If you want a guide book that covers culture, history, arts, food , language etc etc of a particular area then this book is not for you.If you want a guide book that covers minority surfing and other subjects then this is your book.However one plain and simple fact destroys this book. In Tiruchapulli, right in the middle of Tamil Nadu is the Hindu temple of Srirangam. It is probably the largest functional temple in the world and covers 155 acres. AND YET THIS BOOK DOES NOT EVEN MENTION IT. That is like a guide book to London not even mentioning Buckingham Palace.This is either a major blunder from the editors, which is a good reason to avoid the book, or it indicates a new editorial direction, which is a good reason to avoid the book.