Customer Reviews
Good value for money, but not without flaws - By: Joanna, 20 Nov 2008 
I'm a fan of Lonely Planet guidebooks because, when it comes to the backpacker/individual traveller guides, I think they're the best you can get. They do have a lot of practical info & most of the stuff is accurate & helpful. However, I found that you have to approach them with some, say, pinch of salt. In the case of this guide, the I found the prices for accomodation + occassionally sights quite inaccurate (i.e. almost always higher) - I went to Indiain September 2008. Another thing I found slightly irritating was the language. The vocabulary was much more high-brow and, frankly, showy & exalted (too many superlatives, too many adjectives, etc.), thanin the other guides I've used (Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia); my friends found it difficult to use because of this. I could also question the value of eg. some of the eateries recommendedin Mumbai & Mysore. However, despite those flaws, I'd still recommend it - only don't treat it as a Bible & follow everything it says, use your mind.
Don't leave home without it! - By: S. Chavda, 28 Feb 2006 
I'd bought my flight tickets, travel insurance & the all important Visa for entering India. Next on the list was the guide book. It was a choice of this one or the Rough Guide.
Both were published around the same time, & I've used both before for different countries, so I'm happy with their layout & content. However, choosing the right guide this time seemed far more difficult.
Both contained detailed information about the places I plan to visit. However, I found some bits were presentin one book, but not the other, & vice-versa. In the end I decided to go for both books. I'm travellingin South India for 3 months, so I thought it would be worth the luxury of having two guides.
Having read both now, I can confirm that both are indeed excellent & each would provide an excellent insight into an amazing country.
Just to prove my point however, here is one example of an item (that I think is critical) that differin books.
Apart from a small section dedicated to 'Todas', the Rough Guide doesn't really mention trekkingin Ooty, which is one of the highlights of the region. Lonely Planet dedicates just under half a page to this essential activity.
Anyway, I don't expect both books to be the same, & here is a summary of the strengths of each book, I hope this might help you decide which book to buy:
Lonely Planet.
Travelling around by train.
Essential information.
Maps.
Rough Guide.
At a glance section on Highlights of South India.
History of India & its regions.
Food & drink.
Allin all, I don't think you'd go wrong with either guide & wish you a safe a pleasant journey through this magical country.
Lonely Planet south india - By: , 04 Nov 2004 
I actually used this book to tarvel around Tamil Nadu for one month. It was very usful including all details about resaonable hotel & transportation, however many prices such as hotel price has been changed lots & I find out this is annoying.
Hope they can update about that but other than that it is good guide book to find out South India
Accurate and Dependable - By: B. Kangesan, 22 May 2004 From the restaurants to the hotels & places to see described,this book is the ideal guide to this region.We relied on it completely when we werein Tamil Nadu & it was wonderful.Made our holiday very worthwhile & relieved a lot of the stress of finding a place to stay or somewhere to eat.It also describes the region & its historical atractions well.
True to life! - By: , 29 Jan 2002 South India has never been more beautiful & Lonely Planet does full justice to this sun kissed land. As always outstanding research by Lonely Planet - the recommendations for the ethnic restaurants "udipi" cuisine are real gems. Each & every one of them I tried for Thirvananthapuram were finger licking good. Bus fares have changed since book was published but the increase of 2 US cents won't change your plans to follow the recommended itineraries. We had a thrilling time touring South India following Lonely Planet's guide page by page.
