Mexico

by Lonely Planet, Nancy Keller, John Noble

Describes Mexico's climate, geography, and history, looks at the tourist attractions in each region, and offers tips on transportation, hotels, restaurants, and shopping.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Guidebook

1096 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview; however, I wish it delved more into smaller destinations (i.e. La Paz), especially for the outdoorsy tourist who likes to eat and drink (ME).

[Gayle Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great guide to Mexico from North to South.

I would have like to seen more hotel and restaurant suggestions. Great overall guide that I bookmarked over and over.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flashy & Trashy.

[Vanessa Petsuch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big book chalk full of interesting facts, history, economy, places to see, places to eat, places to sleep, etc!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty informative and was what turned us on to the state of Michoacan in general and to Moralia in particular, for which I will always be grateful. There were some great food recommendations like La Inmaculada and Churros Rellenos. Hotel info was so-so, some of the places were definitely not as advertised especially when it came to connectivity. Also there were a few epicly bad sets of directions (the path to the waterfall ended at what looked like a place for dumping bodies and a number of maps just had arrows pointing off the side in the general direction of recommended sites. Also, this guide was responsible for our ill-fated foray to Cuyutlan and the worst hotel of all time (Hotel Fenix: please never, ever go there). But the guidebook was well-organized and pretty solid for covering so much ground. I guess I would say that it had higher highs and lower lows than the other guide. I would use Lonely Planet again but I would just be prepared to pull out of places as soon as they start going south.

[Pubudu Wariyapola · Rating 4 out of 5]

The guide is okay (used it to explore Mexico City, Tiotihuacan, Puebla, Oaxaca City, Monte Alban, Tiotitlan del Valle, and Benito Juarez). Good for the city and attractions. Not very useful for hotel/lodging information (online resources are more useful for that). Would recommend reading to plan your itinerary but do additional research on transportation and lodging.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I"m reading this throughout the semester either:
1) in the bathtub;
or
2) while wearing my new swimsuit.


And it's keeping me sane.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Lonely Planet's omnibus guide to Mexico, the whole enchilada, you might say. They've managed to do a very decent job of it. There are few photos, compared to other guides but there are dozens of maps and the ones I used were all of good quality. I've used it to plan trips to Hutulco and Zihuatanejo and in each case found it had covered off the major attractions well. For accommodations it focuses on boutique or small to mid sized family-run hotels, pretty much ignoring chains or big resorts (which it describes as "hulking"). Usually provides a good range of restaurants, in terms of cuisine and budget, but as these come and go quickly, you can count on a few being gone by the time you get there. Because it covers so much ground, the sections of the guide on history, culture, food are short, but still cover the basics. It has a casual and easy to follow style
Lonely Planet publishes smaller, regional guides that go into more details for specific destinations but if you're looking for an overview of the country in one package, I'd reccomend this one.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suelo utilizar las guías de Lonely Planet durante mis viajes no obstante ésta me ha decepcionado. Mi opinión se basa en la parte dedicada a la península de Yucatán, que ha sido la que he utilizado y podido contrastar personalmente.
Falta información precisa sobre los lugares menos típicos o desconocidos de la zona, cosa que en otras Lonely Planet se incide con mucho más detalle. Las descripciones son muy breves y en algunas ciudades falta mencionar algunos monumentos/lugares de interés. Lógicamente al ser Mexico un país tan grande es imposible abarcarlo todo pero aún así considero que se habla más sobre restaurantes y alojamiento que de los lugares a visitar como tal o las actividades que se pueden realizar, que es por lo que uno viaja al país.
Por otro lado, me gustaría destacar que algunos precios ya no coinciden con los de la guía. (Visita a Mexico en Feb.2019)

[Sepideh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well honestly I am very disappointed with this lonely planet! Mostly it contains just lists of where to sleep, or eat or drink. Hardly there is any historical information about cities or cultural descriptions. I have been always very happy with lonely planet books, but definitely not with this one! It is a pity that such a beautiful country is so poorly described in one the most famous travel guides!

[Anthony Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

28.02.24
A travel guide so comprehensive that it occasionally felt overwhelming, but still had the warmth of an old friend describing a holiday from long ago. Only downside is that it's left me feeling disappointed with a trip I haven't been on yet, as I won't be able to visit everywhere detailed in the book.

[Ron Birchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to use on kindle

not organized by region or state. Looking for things to do on sonora state or Puerto penasco. Never found it.

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very hard to obtain valuable information from. No maps or pictures. Far too many hotels/transportation places

[Marina Furmanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whirlwind history with lots of coverage of Mexico City. Read the 2018 version, which might be outdated post pandemic 2022.

[Ethan J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - this book really made me think about Mexico differently and really want to visit since it's so close.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful, I used it it this past October. Some of the info is outdated of course.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to Mexico soon and wanted to get familiar with the country and area. This book definitely helped me.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers the main areas for tourists. It is fine but was hoping for more about the historical towns and locations throughout each state.

[Tricia Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lonely planet travel guides are the best for a reason

[ChroniclesofTania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lack of pictures/maps of historical sites. This guide is more useful for those planning their own hotels stays and transport.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Lonely Planet provides great recommendations making travel a virtual no brainer. I was able to easily find clean hotels to stay in in Oaxaca city and Puerto Escondido, as well as websites to make reservations for bus trip from Mexico City to Oaxaca city and a combi ride from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido. The descriptions clearly described what I could expect when traveling. Yeah for Lonely Planet making budget travel so easy!!

[Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty informative in the places it covers but too biassed and too many places missing.
I don't think LP guides should include information on hotels and restaurants anymore, at least not for major cities and big towns where there are a lot of options and often those recommend by LP aren't the best.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what you expect from a Lonely Planet, which is great, but Mexico is such a big country that unfortunately a lot is left out. I am surprised that LP doesn't have more regional guides for Mexico. If they had had one for Central or Western Mexico that included Guadalajara, that would be ideal.

[Yesica · Rating 2 out of 5]

LP's books are generally my go-to travel guides. This one on Mexico was good, but not great for info on the state of Oaxaca. If your looking for a region specific book you are better off going with a "Moon Handbook."

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty bland, ugh.

[Pru Shady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful and full of some advice.

[Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never leave home without the Lonely Planet!!

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the BEST travel book of all time, but the maps and hotel listings were used heavily during our trip across Mexico. Definitely helpful.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, thorough guide. Lonely Planet always covers travel that is more reasonable and less "touristy," which I love!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems pretty comprehensive. The section on Baja and Los Cabos gave me several good ideas.