The best guidebook?

carter says on May 24, 2005, 15:55:

depending on what you're going to see The Lonely planet really only covers the cities and is a waste of money.

I think the Footprint won hands down on the survey we had on this site a few months back.

Id say Footprint.

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bhill says on May 24, 2005, 18:45:

It's in Spanish...
The best guidebook I've found is:

Viajemos por COLOMBIA

Which I wish I could have known about and purchased before my
first trip there, but it seems pretty obscure. It is just over
400 pages, with photos and a few history notes on the various
places. It also has advertisments, which is how I imagine the
publisher makes his money.

The publisher info is:
Cosmoguias Ltda.
Calle 70 No. 30-28
Bogota
TEL: 6300130, 5414692, 2319647
email: cosmoguias at hotmail.com

-Brian

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ColombiaBoard says on May 24, 2005, 20:29:

Check this site Check www.saexplorers.org. They sell a very complete guidebook about Colombia, it's just 6 dollars and they email it to you, it's very good.

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gorgonabob says on May 24, 2005, 20:33:

the lonely planet is a joke the latest lonely planet book is a joke... its only good for those who want to stick to the gringo trail. if thats you then it will do fine.. if you actually want to see the country go to an antique book shop, because the best book is the lonely planet of ten plus years ago.

with the latest lonely planet you can wipe out about 90% of the country because it covers barely 10% of colombia.

the footprints quite good. seems to cover most of the country..its only a year or two old as well.

youd be better off going to see german in the platypus in bogota... he knows his stuff... or post a comment on here..

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b bruce says on May 24, 2005, 21:40:

The Lonely Planet Guides I purchased both the original (thick) Lonely Planet guide for Colombia and the (thin) less interesting Lonely Planet guide. The purpose of the second (thin) guide was to exclude most of the dangerouse areas of Colombia which I found to be pretty lame. When people say to me "Aren't you afraid to be kidnapped or murdered when you go to Colombia? It is such a dangerous place" I always respond "When was the last time you were in downtown Detroit, or Newark, New Jersy?" Do not let fear prevent you from seeing the world! Just take the time to research where you are headed. Learn a little bit about the language, about the people and their way of life. Treat them with respect. Travel smart and you will have a wonderful time! Viva Colombia!

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fosth says on May 25, 2005, 00:39:

Waste of Money Before my first trip to Colombia i bought the new Skinny LP guide and didn't bother with the footprint (Think it was the shinny cover and photos!!). Once i was there and realised what the situation in Colombia was like i realised i'd made a big mistake.
The information for regions out of the main tourist areas is pretty much non existant. The footprint covers everywhere including areas your government wouldn't want you to go!!
The Footprint South America guide has more information on Colombia than the LP dedicated guide.

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sqwerl says on May 25, 2005, 12:05:

damn't I JUST bought the lonely planet guide.Sounds like I made a mistake!I was thinking about asking on here first, but was too lazy.

I saw poorbuthappy.com referenced in it too!

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Miguel says on May 26, 2005, 09:00:

A mi me gusta "Auto Guia/Turistica de Colombia". Decent maps, driving distances, y mucho que tiene que ver de todos los departamentos en colombia.

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Lomax says on May 30, 2005, 14:56:

Footprint - for sure! I have bought both the Footprint Colombia and the LonelyPlanet Colombia - the latter mainly due to the fact that it was very recently out at that stage. Must say, the Footprint may have been published in 2001 - it is factually the best! Good options, good lists, good overview, covers every spot that is worth to see. No doubt, footprint rules for Colombia. (I do not have shares or are affiliated to Footprint Publishers, just for the avoidance of doubt).

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