Product Description: Plan the African adventure of a lifetime with Lonely Planet's best-selling guide to East Africa; expanded coverage, from the foothills of Kilimanjaro to the volcanoes of eastern Congo; the best and most unusual places to stay from Zanzibar beach resorts to luxury tented safaris; insightful coverage of the peoples of the region; colour wildlife guide and up-to-the-minute information on gorilla trekking and safaris for all budgets; 120 easy-to-use maps. Covers: Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania
Get A Glimpse of wonderous wildlife with our 16-page color animal-spotting guide and dedicated Safaris and Mountain Gorillas chapters.
Go Your Own Way with our coverage of Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Get Active - detailed information on activities airborne, on-ground or underwater.
Get The Bacground - in-depth discussion of East Africa's poignant history, cultures and environment.
Hit The Road - detailed transport information and 120 user-friendly maps shows you where to go.
Amazon.com Review: From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.
Considered the Bible of East African travel, this LP guide offers useful critiques of places to eat and stay--from camping and cooking your own grub to offerings in high-end hotels; advises you on how to choose an organized safari or plan your own; provides national park essentials; offers details on Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya treks; and will get you interacting with the locals by way of its helpful Swahili language section. With useful background on the region's diverse people, cultures, and politics, the book also contains an excellent 32-page color wildlife guide with creatures ranging from bongos to baboons. --Kathryn True
Just ok, a bit out of date I'm planning a trip to Tanzania, and though this book has some useful information, much of it is out of date. A couple of the websites recommended for safaris are obsolete. That, along with the fact that they mention how to take care of film for your camera (in the 2007 edition of this book), makes me question the freshness of any of the information. Things I would have like more information on: - Tips on how to get a good airfare from the USA - Voltages used (so I know what type of plug to bring for my digital camera) - More detailed information on how to book safaris and/or mountain treks.
I'm glad I bought it because I didn't know anything before I started reading it, but this book could have been significantly better.
Very disappointed and Not recommended I got this book right after it was published in 2006 before my 2 month volunteer mission to do HIV work in East Africa. My previous experiences was that the Lonely Planet was always the way to go and this was a COMPLETE disappointment. It didn't seem like they had done any updating at all despite that it was a new edition. I spent most of my time in Rwanda but also a bit in Tanzania. Everything on the maps was wrong, embassies had long moved locations, restaurants & shops had closed and inaccurate, and became more of a burden than a help.
STRONGLY recommend AGAINST this guide. The Rwanda, 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide by Philip Briggs seemed much better....and at the time I had the older version.
See The Real Africa We have relied on this book on two trips to Kenya and Zanzibar. It provides great tips on places that are off the well-beaten tourist sites and provide the traveller with a taste of the real Africa. Some of our best dining experiences in Africa were at the small local resteraunts identified in the Lonely Planet guide that we never would have known about. If you just want to look at wild game from your safari van and hang out with other tourists at game lodges, you don't need this book. However, if you want to experience the real Africa and have a meaningful cultural experience that will change your life, but this book!
Useful for Kampala, Uganda We traveled to Uganda and Tanzania. We got the guide for Tanzania, but couldn't find one for Uganda. It was pretty useful and I liked their suggestions for evening activities in Kampala. I thought the book could have used some pictures (don't recall there being any, except maps). It's particularly nice to read on the long flights from the US to Africa as a build up to your trip. I usually believe in getting my information online, but it was very convenient to have this with us. Well researched and handy.
Used for traveling through Kenya during October 2006 Though we originally planned to travel through the entire East African region, we ended up travelling in Kenya only. Although Lonely Planet have a more detailed book for Kenya alone, we found this book informative enough to provide us with all the necessary information. Schedules and prices were pretty up to date except for park fees that have been recently updated in Kenya.
It was easy to find the needed information and having a separate section for Safaris was certainly helpful.
The mountaineering sections were a bit short (they have a special book for that), and more detailed information could have been helpful, especially in mount Kenya.
Other than that, it's probably the best option at the moment if you travel through the region, as this edition has been issued last June.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
