Time for Lonely Planet to Change Their Name

nice commentary

mike

Hi, Hobo traveler, I wanted to start by thanking you for this sight (which is a true inspiration as I am a future hobo traveler myself.) and this article in particular.

You seem to suggest that lonely planet has changed through the years and give the "cheapsakates getting the bus (goa-goa) as an example. Do you feel the whole guide book series has changed? Or just the current Dominican guide? I know you mentioned rough guide etc. is there one you'd suggest?

Gadget from has written 831 comments

Not all countries are the same. There are different writers.
As best I can tell all the guidebooks are targeting flashpackers.

I believe the number of books sold would double in Haiti.
If the guide included 2 hotels per city under 10-15 dollars.

Tourism evolves, first the backpackers come.
They tell their parents, andy they come and turn backpacker places into tourist traps. hehehe

I just spent 17 days in West Africa (Senegal, Mali, Ghana,Togo, Benin, Nigeria) and I must say that Lonely Planet Guide was WAY OFF at least 70 of the time. That being said, A guide book like this is a must, BUT should be UP-DATED at least annualy.

agree wholeheartedly with you andy.

maybe a little proof reading expertise would help.

geoff

ash from has written 49 comments

When the internet is easily available almost everywhere, backpackers will not buy a guidebook. All you need to enjoy yourself is a good map, a chat with some friendly local or unjaded expat, and the internet. I have never found a better price in a guidebook than I have found online, and for certain, the online price is never the best price. And this applies equally to when I travelled for a longer period and for when I spend 3 nights in switzerland or prague.

You're right on, as usual. My all time favourite thing about Lonely Planet now is that you can download chapters as PDF. I don't need to buy the whole country guide, just the chapter for where I'm going. These I can print off before I go, or load onto my cell phone, or take a copy on my USB pen drive. Or all 3. The City chapters from country guides are great, and the books that are sold about just one city are always, always, always a pile of ****. I have realised, not one city in the world has enough interesting things to do to fill a whole 200 page book. These city guides turn the most inane experience into a must-see-must-experience.

I'm sick of guidebooks. Ash's sources of information in rough order of usefulness:

people you know/ trust who have been to where you're going AND share your outlook/ approach to travel.
hobotraveler.com (in my case, I trust Andy, you fall into the above.)
wikipedia.org
google.com
The information that several guidebooks have in common.
friendly expat/ non-native hostel employee (in developing world)
friendly local (more useful in developed world where they may not need or want your money)
one single guidebook.
a fellow backpacker you meet in the place/ in previous destination.
some TV show/ newspaper article/ magazine article.
a travel agent.

Asiabill from has written 253 comments

It's the first time I heard the term "flashpackers" but I really like it and will continue to use it now. My wife and I have noticed the change in budget travelers over the last 5 to 10 years and what kind of service and accommodations they expect. We've noticed that some consider any hotel rates as high as U$47 / night but cheaper than the accommodation in their own countries of origin as cheap??? Go figure!!! I usually think of them as people with "Champayne Tastes and Beer budgets" but "flashpacker" is a much better and shorter description.

Since 98 I have noticed the changing perspective and focus of Lonely Planet Published travel guides with biased, but subtle attitudes expressed in the Philippines guidebook with only half the content that their Indonesia and Thailand editions contained. Now I'm a bit surprised that such a DIRECT name calling vocabulary word as "cheapskate" got past their editing department. And like you said already about Haiti's economic status in the world of nations ranking so low how can the LP author include ONLY U$50 hotel rooms????? Maybe ten years ago they started including the various levels of accommodations with low, middle and higher budget hotel and resort rooms. Seems like a drastic departure from the roots of their company which was launched by the success of their first travel guide, "S.E. Asia on a Shoestring" Edition in the late 70s.

flashpackers are here to stay....the backpacker is a traditionally budget conscious traveller but thats not to say there are variants that swim within the wider waters of backpacking.

Lonely Planet is too far commercialised to really represent the style of travel you crave, one just needs to check out there website and the prices they throw around on that to realise that the budget roots have long gone
fair play to you hobo traveler for keeping it real, knowing your roots and sticking to them

Amen to grassroots travel...

www.whatsabackpacker.blogpost.com

Lonely planet have completely lost there way. It USED to be pitched towards travellers on a budget, mostly backpackers. I remember reading a few years ago that Maureen and Tony Wheeler acknowledged that when they travelled by air they were in business or first class. That really says it all. The company exists as a virtual monopoly for travel guides. How this can be good for the traveller I do not know.