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| Argentina (Country Guide) | 
 enlarge | Author: Danny Palmerlee
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $16.14
You Save: $9.85 (38%)
Buy New/Used from $16.14
Avg. Customer Rating:  (16 reviews)
Sales Rank: 9364
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 6
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 668
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.2
ISBN: 1741047021
Dewey Decimal Number: 918.2047
EAN: 9781741047028
ASIN: 1741047021
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Practically useless! October 13, 2006
7 out of 17 found this review helpful
So we're in BA last week with this guide, and we're trying to go to some of the restaurants this book recommends. But the book is so OUT OF DATE that the restaurants have CLOSED DOWN. I don't know how this book is for the less traveled parts of Argentina, but for Buenos Aires, it is USELESS.
 1 US$ is how much? September 24, 2006
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
While the LP guides has a lot to say for them, both the latest and the previous guide book to Argentina+Uruguay+Paraguay share one serious flaw with all other LP guide books - all the prices are in US$, and all the countries in South America they have their own currency.
Well, can't you just calculate prices in local currence from US$?
Wot's de currency rate?
In early 2000 1 US$ was 1.00 AR$
In mid 2001 1 US$ was 4.40 AR$
Today it's 3.02 AR$
Note that both of the latter dates are later than the Argentine/Uruguay currency disaster.
As for hotels and restaurants, all the major ones in SA have a web page - use that and not the PL guide book.
So in this respect an otherwise excellent guide book is No Go!
 The value of this guide is found when you leave Buenos Aires. April 9, 2006
35 out of 38 found this review helpful
Lonely Planet has broken down Argentina into nine geographical areas and the guide is at its best outside of Buenos Aires. The guide excels at providing you with insight into the culture, history and uniqueness of the wonderful countryside of Argentina. But, in Buenos Aires it falls short.
In three years much has changed in Buenos Aires' hotel prices. Though Lonely Planet has a published date of 2005, the prices the guide quotes for accommodations go back to 2003/2004. For example, the Howard Johnson's Hotel in Microcentro, is quoted in the guide as $51 a night; now (3-2006) the price now is $113. The Hotel NH Jousten is quoted at $129, now it is $210. Everything, except for the dorm rooms at youth hostels, has doubled, or even tripled, in price..
Also, Buenos Aires is a place to die for when it comes to great restaurants. Sadly, this guides misses many of the best. For example, of the thirty or more restaurants on the Puerto Madero waterfront, Lonely Planet lists only three, and two of these were sub-par. Also, though restaurants prices have not tripled in three years, they are about 30 to 40 % higher than quoted in the guide. The guide does not give what time the restaurants open; so take care, especially on weekends, or you can show up and find the doors locked.
Maps, and their quality, are very important. A map should tell you where to eat, sleep, what to visit, and do so quickly. Lonely Planet makes this difficult; these maps are cumbersome to use and hard to read.
Wherethis guide shines is its coverage of the rest of Argentina. The recommended accommodations and restaurants are very good and the prices quoted are reliable. Lonely Planet is one of the few guides that will give you the population and altitude (in meters) of major cities and towns. Kudos! You will find the descriptions of the towns and cites are top rate, and of course, all the "must see" sights are listed and explained. Each region has a good historical sketch and many great tips.
This guide goes head-to-head with Rough Guide, and between the two, I would take Rough Guide. However, if you are skipping Buenos Aires and going to explore the countryside, then consider Lonely Planet. Best yet, take both guides.
 Probably the best guide to Argentina March 8, 2006
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
I recently visited Argentina for work andtook both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. I usually take a couple of guide books on trips to compare different team's notes and hopefully gain extra coverage and added perspective.
Both books were published relatively recently in 2005. I left my older 2004 Footprint guide at home though it's very informative. Inevitably with Argentina's high inflation, prices listed are obviously quickly outdated. It's a fact of life there and obvious to the visitor but also referred to in the texts of both books as if that were necessary. Every guide books suffers this same problem but of course this is especially so for a country in economical turmoil. That's hardly the fault of the books! Some of the reviews that whine about the obvious are so tedious! It takes a few days to recalculate the general shift in prices and apply that loosely across the board.
I think the experience is a fascinating one for people visiting from countries with stable economies (that of course themselves have suffered from high inflation at one time or another). To compound the silliness of many of the reviewers, they're mostly converting hard western currency (US$ and Euros) which not only insulates them to a large extent from the disastrous effects of inflation (loss of spending power) but has created some incredible bargains for them because of it.
Also none of these new guide books state anywhere on their covers or in the Amazon listing that they cover any country other than Argentina! So it's incredible to read some of the stupid complaints criticising Lonely Planet or Amazon!
Focusing on the other essentials of a guide book (besides price - always a loose guide to comparative values and not specific up to the minute quotes!), the recommendations in the Lonely Planet were very good. I agree with the comment someone else made about local recommendations - these were listed in LP on several occasions and quickly encouraged me to trust the book.
Maps, political, historical and general narrative were all relatively easy to read and by comaprrison with local maps and other guide books, very good. I'd recommend the Lonely Planet as a good reliable travelling companion along with an ounce of good sense!
Good Book February 23, 2006
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have been read this book for my next travel and I think that I found the things that can help me to know about the prices and places in Argentina.
But if you like to know about the other countries (Uruguay, Paraguay..etc) I think this is not enough help (there are few things about bordering citys of Argentina, but they are so small parts).
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