Lonely Planet Chile & Easter Island (Travel Guide)

I was quite surprised at how skimpy the real, nuts-and-bolts information was. Very few towns were covered, and ONLY from a student-on-a-world-trip perspective. They covered youth hostels but rarely standard hotels. Very little on restaurants and they only discuss travel by bus. What about the other 82% of us who rent a car? If you ARE a college student going adventure-traveling on a shoestring, this will probably suffice. But Chile is an extraordinary country and it deserved better from Lonely Planet.

I agree with other reviewers who have complained about this guide's poor coverage. I usually use guidebooks to get a general sense of what I want to do on a trip and how to do it -- high level budget and logistics -- and then again on the ground for maps and to supplement online research. Outside of these purposes I do most of my trip planning online. I found this guide unhelpful even for my purposes. For example, I saw photos of Island Magdalena online and wanted to know if it was possible to get there independently and how much it costs. This island is a penguin colony, and it rates number 19 on the book's list of the top 20 things to do in Chile. You would think that number 19 status would mean it's covered in the guide, right? Nope. The island gets a 1-inch square text box -- maybe an eighth of a page-- and the guide provides no information on hours and logistics other than "consider taking a private tour operator" (and even for private tours the guide only lists one choice). Seriously? Also FYI, this guide DOES NOT COVER TREKKING. It mentions that trekking is possible, and if you want to know how to do it you need to buy a different guide book. I'm usually a fan of Lonely Planet and this one does not live up to the series standard.

Visited Patagonia, and even though this book wasn't focused solely on Patagonia, it had enough information to truly enhance our trip! (It also covered information on Argentina's Patagonia, which was also helpful, as we hadn't initially planned on going there, but decided to, after all.)The book recommended an excursion that is no longer in business, related to viewing penguins. Had we not checked first, it could have been a long 'detour', for nothing (which would have been upsetting, as it would have cost us 1/2 day to drive there and back, only to learn it was closed/no longer in business). Thankfully, we talked to people first, and checked the internet. That was a great reminder, to always check for the latest information, before venturing out.We are glad we purchased the book, and it was worth the 'extra weight', carrying it along!

We brought this along for our 2 week trip to southern Chile and we’re very pleased with it! It covers a ton of cities- Chile is massive- though I wished for a few more detailed descriptions. Dont get me wrong this is very thorough we just also spent a lot of time on trip advisor checking out restaurants and had to get another map along the way.

It gave me lots of information so I could better plan my upcoming trip to the area. There were events to attend, pmaces to visit, restaurants to try and so much more.

Good, but not as good as Lonely Planet used to be. Missing character and somewhat boring. Should have been a larger book so information is not crammed into a small space.

Well written and full of useful information. However, some key information was dated. A new edition is coming, but unfortunately it will be released after our trip.

Used it for my trip in Santiago, Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas and Punta Arenas. Unfortunately it does not include Puerto Chacabuco.

Very helpful with good information and maps. Latam airlines were extremely helpful when were in Santiago. If you can find their office (they have several) they can book you cheap flights.

Detailed and good suggestions for my tour of Chile

Contains a huge amount of information!

As ever a very useful guide

Its a lonely planet. I love them.