Lonely Planet Vietnam

In defense of LP, who have produced decent guidebooks in the past, Vietnam may be changing at such a fast pace that as soon as it was published much of the information was already out of date. However, not all the mistakes can be blamed on a country in the throws of rapid changes and as such as easily dismissed.

Hopefully the next edition will have greatly improved and won't be written in such an amateurish way. However, I think I'll pass and try the Rough Guide or take my chances without a guidebook! What a novel idea...


Not the most accurate picture of Vietnam   February 11, 2002
Gerald Ford (The Jack n' the Box at the corner)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I spent this summer studying in Vietnam, and it became clear that the Vietnam in the LP is quite different than the real Vietnam I saw with my own eyes.

I think the book was intended for travelling businessmen who only plan on staying in Vietnam for a few days, and have plenty of money to spend for plush hotels. This is regrettable since there is so much more to Vietnam than tourist traps, tourist-oriented restaraunts, and hotels.

For example, in my first couple weeks in Hanoi, Vietnam, I followed the book's suggestions for restaraunts, only to realize they were severely overpriced, and not nearly as tasty (or exotic) as the more "local" restaraunts. Before long, I stopped going to the LP's preferred restaraunts altogether. Only when I stopped following the LP altogether did I really start to delve into Vietnamese culture, both the good and bad.

Also, the LP tends to whitewash the more unpleasant aspects of Vietnam, such as being harassed by people on the street, who are more than eager to rip you off, and the grueling poverty. If one really wants to appreciate Vietnam, these less pleasant factors have to be taken into account.

If you plan on just "visiting", but don't really plan on getting to know the culture, this book may be enough. However, to truly appreciate both the good and bad of Vietnam, I suggest avoiding this book, or at least not relying on it too much.


A Must Have Guidebook When In Vietnam!   August 12, 2001
Shogun Len (old bethpage, new york USA)
1 out of 6 found this review helpful

I recently spent about 3 weeks in Vietnam. It was a great trip and I highly recommend visiting Vietnam to anyone who enjoys travelling in Asia.

With that said, I feel that during a trip to Vietnam, the Lonely Planet book is absolutely one of the most important books to have, to read before you go, to look at while you are there, and to reflect back upon when you get home.

The book was great. It was so good, that I was constantly passing it up and down the bus to other people on the trip. Everyone used it, and to my surprize there were some people that had never used a Lonely Planet book. LP is the best, and they have never let me down. There Vietnam book is no exception.

If you are going to Vietnam, buy and use this book.

It is a great purchase.