Hi everybody!
I'm travelling to Jordan, Israel and Egypt this summer.
I prefer LP guidebooks (I'm used to them for once) over
Let's Go ones. However, LP does not have the updates from
at least 1997 for the Middle East (I know that there are
some updates on LP site - but unfortunately not for
Jordan yet!!!), whereas Let's Go has a new guidebook out for
1999.
Are there any critical changes in prices and hostels and
stuff that would really affect me if I stick to LP? Or
should I take the Let's Go? Oh, I really really can't
decide...
Thanks for your thoughts, Em
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Don't know anything specific about the Middle East guides,
but I can say that, unless you like really irritating
student style writing, with cliched background info and
alarmist safety advice, go for LP every time; better a
slightly out-of-daye guidebook than one you'll want to throw
out the train window every time you look at it!
I'd toss both and get Rough Guide for Egypt. Let's Go is
trash, except for up to date hotel information. As for
prices, in many cases these are negotiable so a guidebook
isn't that much of a help.
had the same dilemma with SE/Asia, hated myself for it.
Better to have out of date than total nonsense.
Cant say about Rough, though I just got the one your
thinking about, like the size of it but will probably rip
out other non-used sections. Honestly like LP because it
has relatively decent info, but most importantly, half-way
decent maps- big plus.
jon
I have the Let's Go Israel/Egypt/Jordan book (it was a
birthday gift), and I can tell you that its info is pretty
sparse. The background info on sites is really brief, some
towns or sites get just a short paragraph when they deserve
several pages, it's missing maps for a lot of important
places, and their maps generally suck anyway. And they skip
lots of places, for example the Israel section doesn't have
Hebron or any of the Gaza Strip, and the Egypt section skips
most of Middle Egypt because it's supposedly dangerous. The
Jordan section is really short. I do like the way Let's Go
lists accomodations, and they have up-to-date prices, so
maybe buy the LPs but take a look through the Let's Go at
the bookstore or library just to take note of how much
prices have changed.
Recently got back from Jordan and Israel with friends, we
had both the LP and Rough Guide for both countries, and the
Rough Guide was far, far better. Not just because, in the
case of the Jordan book, it was a newer edition; overall the
depth and quality of the writing, background info, including
politics & history, the maps, the organization of the
information - everything was far superior in the RG. And I
used to absolutely swear by Lonely Planet. No more.
Let's Go isn't remotely in the league of either LP or RG.
There was one year the Let's Go kiddies actually forgot to
include the pyramids of Giza entirely!