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23 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 Best of the Chile guides Mar 13, 2002
When planning my trip to Chile, I bought about every Chile guide I could find, and I have about 8 or 10 of them. While none of them had "everything" this one was definately the best of them. The city maps were useful as they are in all Lonely Planet books anad its practical information helped decide where to go and how to get around. I think it gave me the most useful information of all the other guidebooks. I planned my entire trip to Chile and Easter Island from guidebooks and phone calls without any tour agency. I think I did find a couple things out of date as others did, but that is, as said another reviewer, common to all guidebooks as they are researched over a period of time, then edited & compiled, then finally released. I recommend getting this book if you plan to visit Chile and also another book for another point of view and other details. The book is not perfect, but it is probably the best out there on the subject.
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 a great guide Jun 12, 2001
While shopping for a guidebook for my first visit to Chile, this book (the previous edition of it) looked like the most comprehensive guidebook available. It was extremely helpful for both choosing what places to visit and how to visit them. As some other reviewers noted, there were some weaknesses and omissions and some information was out of date, but the current edition of the book is likely to be more up-to-date. Anyway, if you need your whole trip laid out for you, you are probably better off joining a tour group. I found the Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes was a good complement to this book. I certainly wish all the information had been available in a single book, but given the amount of detail in both the Chile and Patagonian Andes books, I don't begrudge Lonely Planet too much.
19 of 22 found the following review helpful:
Essential but inadequate Jan 05, 2001
By Academic Operative Wannabe
I was really stunned by the number of things that were not in this book. But for a number of things, like finding good places to eat and sleep, this was far and away, the best book that I used in Chile (I also had Openroad and Footprints).Example things that were left out: almost anything on Torres del Paine. No mention of the W. No mention of a glorious day hike in Puerto Natales. Little mention of logistics for getting around to various parks. It seems to me that this is an essential book to have, but I don't think that it will do as the only one. And I don't have a good recommendation for the other one
20 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 Okay, but don't use this as your only guide book Mar 20, 2000
By Angie
I just got back from Chile this week and use this book. It had some good info but I would not use this as your only guide book. I found three problems with this book. 1. Not many opinions. I don't want to be told that a place is "worth a try" I want to be told why it is worth a try...i.e. good selection, great steak, clean rooms etc. 2. It is out of date. It was published in May 97 and things have changed like prices, additions to national parks and attractions. I went to two hotels that were no longer in business. 3. Covered a lot of things and did not really go into depth on the major attractions like Torres del Paine National Park. It did not talk about all the trails, or hotels available or plus and minuses of them. The book is okay but there must be better ones out there that are more up to date. At the beginning he had a suggested itinerary but it was too general. I would like to have been told straight up from the beginning that Torres del Paine is the most popular and spectacular attraction and to center my trip around it.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 A rather weak LP guide Sep 27, 2005
By Oliver C. Esch
Some Lonely Planet guides become a traveler's "bible". Unfortunately not this one. I lived a whole year in Chile and during this time traveled extensively from north to south. The book is alright if you are just looking for a short overview and some basic info. However, the book falls sadly short of providing really detailed info on accomodation (especially budget and mid-range) or restaurants and in general too often only scratches the surface, leaves out less known but equally interesting places. In a nutshell - the LP is good for some practical info but shouldn't be the traveler's only source of information. I would recommend to buy either the "Chile Experience Travel Guide" (English) or the annually updated, excellent "Turistel" guides (Spanish), both by Turiscom. You can get them in any bookstore in Santiago or other Chilean cities. Chile is a wonderful country to explore and definitely deserves a better guide book.
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