Don't spend the money!
Lonely Planet should be ashamed to put their name on this effort. Why did they even bother putting out a book on Colombia without more comprehensive information?
This book contains very little accomodation information for Barranquilla, Cartagena, and the "coffee country" of Colombia.
There are not enough accomodation details for major cities other than Bogota.
There doesn't seem to be too much updated here at all!
|
best of only bad choices
just got back from colombia. i brought the Bradt guide and my friend brough the lonely planet. the Bradt is horrendous. both are weak, but the LP is by far the better of the two.
the most important thing about a guide, in a place like colombia is safety. the LP recommendeds hotels in the area by the cathedral in medellin. no one happened to go there or check with the police, quite obviously, because it's one of the sketchiest neighborhoods i've ever seen, and I grew up in brooklyn! transexual hookers who rob people with knives on the blocks all around it. one simple check with the police and they will tell you it's a "critical zone."
It also mentions how safe a city it is. i really wonder how much research was done. the day we got there we saw and arrest, someone tried to get into my daypack while walking around, and then we were walking, in broad daylight, in the very crowded Parque San Antonio, and my friend and i were jumped by 5 guys with knives. they were going for my camera, though i thought i was beign kidnapped, and i was STABBED IN THE BACK! we talked to the police who said exactly where to go and where not to, and that Medellin is not nearly as safe as the guides lead you to believe.
the maps should list areas that are known to be dangerous. it's not always so easy to figure out a sketch neighborhood from a safe one.
my advice is to get the Lonely Planet, despite it's flaws. Be careful in the big cities, don't carry anything that looks expensive, and take cabs at night anywhere that looks sketchy. that said, Colombians in general are some of the nicest people i've ever met, and the country has a lot to offer. i have travelled 35 countries all over the world and grew up in nyc in tougher times. i had no problems in any of my previous travels, including brazil, mexico, guatemala, indonesia, or otherwise. i would just warn anyone going to colombia to be on your toes, and ask a lot of travelers where they stayed and where to avoid. things do happen there, and though it's a wonderful country, well worth a visit, don't walk around blind to the realities. just because the crime statistics have gone down in a given city doesn't meant that they have actually been recording all of them. for mine, no report was ever created.
|