The Rough Guide to Chile (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

We used the Rough Guide to Chile for planning (and executing) a 2 month journey through this amazing country, including to Easter Island. Without the rough Guide to Chile, we would have never seen the incredible places we did, eaten at the great restaurant, or slept in the best beds. This guide is a must companion for a trip to Chile.

The background and history provided is thorough. Using the simple maps you can quickly identify the general location of sights, but as mentioned by another reviewer, the maps are by no means thorough. That said, this is a guide book. It acts a a guide. Before travelling anywhere you should have a high quality map, and that is not something I expect from any book.

The tips in the Rough Guide to Chile are worth following. We went out of our way to discover little villages in the middle of mountains or deep in forests, never to be disappointed. The people were fantastic, the food was great, and the accommodation was of a very good standard.

Take note of some of the food tips in the book. No-one should go to Chile without eating Pachanga, a Baros Jarpa, a Baros Lucos, or a Completo. I wish we could take our book and go right on back.

Don't leave this on the shelf if you are heading to Chile!

A useful guide with very dodgey maps (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is could be a very useful guide BUT we found both the accommodation infos and the maps EXTREMELY UNRELIABLE. Hostels are likely to either no longer exist or to differ strongly from the descriptions provided. If the guide says that a hostel is "not so nice", read that as a clear "stay away, this place is a dump". You can spare yourself some horrid nights that way. Just ask other people where they stayed and write it down in a notebook. We found the city maps simply abysmal. Entire blocks and streets were missing from the map of Osorno, which led to an hour long trek across town, whereas the map showed that our accommodation was just two blocks away from the Plaza da Armas. Having said that, RG is definitely better than LG, which seems to consist of nothing but lists of hostels.

Love it or hate it?? (3/4 people found this helpful)

Almost every section started on a down note. Are such opinions necessary?? I think it is great that guide books impart cultural/historical etc information as well as the practical information - I enjoy ready up on all aspects of a country! And I totally agree that guide books should give both the favourable and less favourable aspects of a country - but at first reading, the book would nearly put you off going to Chile at all! I am sure if I delve into the book it is a very practical and efficient read, but already my perspective is tainted with their views and opinions. I have to say, I much prefer the more objective presentation method of other well known travel books - after all, that is why I am visiting the country, to find out for myself. I have no doubt the information is valid but I was more than a bit disappointed at the tone of the book in general...

I gave the book 4 stars because I'm pretty sure it does it's job i.e. providing information on Chile. But I took 1 star away due to it's tone as I perceived it.

Comments after 3 weeks in Chile (13/14 people found this helpful)

I spent 3 weeks traveling in Chile with this book, and found it to be informative and interesting. I particularly liked the background information on the country and culture, which provided enough reading material for the long bus journeys and waits at airports. I had not planned my trip in advance, and this book enabled me to see a full 3 weeks worth of fantastic natural scenery from Patagonia to the Northen most Altiplano in Chile. My travelling companion had the Loney Planet guide to Chile, so a comparison might be useful. I prefered the Rough Guide for the background information to all the regions we visited, and for accommodation listings (although both books covered much the same in the accommodation info). We never failed to find somewhere to stay arrive on spec, and often late in the evening. Where the Lonely Planet guide scored over the Rough Guide was in the maps. The Rough Guide was not a good in the detail and clarity of it's mapping, hence is doesn't score a full 5 stars. But overall this is the book I would go for if you are trying to pick between them.

very useful (3/3 people found this helpful)

having spent a couple of months travelling through chile, i got to know my rough guide well, and had chance to compare to many of the other guide books out there, there are speciality books which cover other areas better and in more detail, some only available in chile. but of the mainstream guides this is definately the best. the cultural information is where the rough guides stand out, in fact a couple of our favorite places in Chile didnt even warrant a mention in one of the better known guide book series. the section on accomodation was the most lacking although occasionaly useful, as none of the guide books seem to have discovered the backpackers hostels which cover chile. but aside from this if you want a guide to chile, this is one of the best.

The Rough Guide to Chile (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Melissa Graham, Andrew Benson

Reader Reviews:

Your Best Guide to Chile (0/0 people found this helpful)

A useful guide with very dodgey maps (0/0 people found this helpful)

Love it or hate it?? (3/4 people found this helpful)

Comments after 3 weeks in Chile (13/14 people found this helpful)

very useful (3/3 people found this helpful)

Similar Products

Categories