 Pretty good single volume of Mexico highlights
I have been traveling to Mexico since studying Spanish in Cuernavaca in the mid-1980's. I just purchased this volume to have a more current guide for a trip I am making to Mexico and Guatemala this summer. I was particularly looking at Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, Palenque, and San Cristobal de las Casas. Things I really like about this guide:
1. Pretty good city maps which show bus stations, dining, lodging, banks and places of interest. Unfortunately, at my age I now find it easier to read maps with some type of magnifier, but they are helpful.
2. Not bad recommendations of things to see and do and helpful information about how to get to nearby places of interest.
3. Small tables of bus destinations from major cities giving approximate cost, travel time and some idea of the number of daily departures.
4. Occasional data on such things a local bus rutas for getting around a city -- particularly liked the ruta for getting to the Casino de la Selva bus station in Cuernavaca for picking up a direct bus to the Mexico city airport. I may use a taxi, but it is nice to know how to do it by the city bus.
The descriptions of places I have been look pretty well written and that gives me some confidence that the locations I have not yet visited are equally well-described.
My favorite places in Mexico include Guanajuato, Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Morelia, Patzcuaro, Palenque, San Cristobal de las Casas, Puebla, Guadalajara and environs and Oaxaca. The information for those areas looks solid.
I have many Mexico guidebooks and this one is perhaps the best I have used to date.
As always Lonely Planet managed to put together a terrific guide for the concious traveller!
I have not used it for travelling to México yet but the trip planning has been smooth and rewarding. From reading it after a short 5 days visit to Mexico City I would recommend to follow closely this Lonely Planet guide on Mexico to explore the vast universe of the vibrant megalopolis.
 A Good Buy -- But Know What You're Buying
The Lonely Planet books are famous -- and rightly so. This book has great maps and a lot of useful information. It also has some information about transporation schedules -- something that's often hard to pin down even when you're fluent in Spanish, as I am. The cultural information it contains is great and I enjoyed reading it.
Really serious explorers however, can never go wrong with Carl Franz's book: The People's Guide to Mexico (Peoples Guide to Mexico)
If you are a more conventional tourist, one who seeks a few of the comforts of home, you'll want a phrasebook that is not designed for the backpacking crowd. You might want a phrasebook with a more intuitive pronunciation guide, something you can read as though it were meant to be read in English, yet comes and is understood by Spanish speakers!
Sincerely,
Eric W. Vogt, Ph.D.
It's a Thick One
I bought this book to read up on whats new in Mexico... i think its a great book. You would be pretty lucky to find a travel book that covers "everything" you like to do and see while traveling. I found most of it to be pretty comical as if Bourdain had a hand in this book. This is one of the better travel books i own. Has everything in it so you can make some pretty good decisions about where your gonna stay, play, and eat. All the great stuff you expect from Lonely Planet in it. A+
Great!
My college son got this book before he went to Mexico for 5 months to study. He was very pleased with it. He said it is very complete and covers a great deal of information. It is a very worthwhile buy!
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