I use a variety of different travel sites to find my information. I often find that sites specific to that area are the most helpful - either one done by that country, or by a person who specializes in that country. Lonely Planet is not that. The nice thing about Lonely Planet and the reason I have found it useful is that basically every place you could visit in the world is covered by them. They just give an overview of the area (often a little bland) but it gives you some keywords and ideas to get started. I have also found the forums to be a helpful place to post questions, as there are a lot of people reading them every day. For instance, when I had a question about which side of the boat to be on for my cruise to Alaska, I was able to search and quickly find an answer in their forums. I find it to be a good jumping off point, and then I move to more specific websites. I would recommend the site.

SharonSaver

Palm Bay, FL

I love lonely planet books and I don't buy them (I borrowed them from a library instead) because travel information is so time sensitive so I don't want to waste money on it. So with this site I thought, 'great I could get the same as the book'. Well of course there is no free lunch in this world, the online version contain very little information and to be honest you'd better off google for information. There isn't information that you can't find online. I understand that they have to survive too - no one will give you freebies - however they have already got sponsors all around their site. Also the site is very much an agent for various travel services, such as hotel booking service, travel insurance, or advertising their travel guides. I won't recommend anyone wasting time browsing through there - if you are not intending to buy their book through their site. Ease of Use You have to click many times to see some real information about destinations. Features Too much like a travel portal where you can buy their guide, book hotel or buy travel insurance - so if you are looking for information, go somewhere else. Customer Service Haven't dealt with them so I can't comment on it.

CPHCPH

USA

Lonely Planet is a detailed website with information on travelling to virtually every location on earth. Lonely Planet has very good travel books that are often updated and that information has made its way to this very comprehensive site. It has more information on unusual locations than probably any other website. You can pick any country or city and find out about hotels and things to do. You can also use the Thorn Tree Forum for information from other site users. If you are travelling to New Zealand, Chile, or Katmandu---this is your site. Ease of Use The site is attractively laid out and easy to use. Just pick a region, a country and then a city to find detailed travel information. Features I really love reading the postings in the Thorn Tree forum. The forum is named after a famous cafe in Kenya where travelers have posted messages for decades. (I've been there in person and it was fun to read the paper messages.) Today, the "electronic" Thorn Tree forum has answers to very specific travel questions in just about any location on earth.

PatriciaA

USA

I was introducted to Lonely Planet when I was planning our honeymood trip to Rome. I had been to Europe but not Rome and had a general idea of some of the things that I wanted to do and see but was open to suggestions and exploring more then what was already on our list (Vatican tour and a day trip to Assisi). I like the way that the categories are broken down into: Highlights; places; things to do; hotels; need to know; tips and articles and image gallery. This makes it easy to navigate the site and learn a great deal about your particular area of interest. It provides a great deal of information at your finger tips to get your travel plans moving. It also provides information on nearby sites and cities that you can take a bus trip/tour in order to visit. It was through this site that I discovered the Museo Borghese which was a quick walk from our hotel and housed incredible works of art. You can purchase guides from the site which may be convenient to tag along, but it is just as easy to put your information into a document or print pages and save the money for your trip. The image gallery is fun to look and gets you excited for your trip (or gets you day dreaming about your potential future trips). Overall, the site is informative and a great resource to learn more about your destinations.

Jenjlg

USA

LonelyPlanet.com is a really awesome site to me. Taking trips and travel - to me is like a candy store that I love to browse and research through. Lonely planet really has a lot to offer the travel enthusiast. The images on the site spark brand new thoughts and ideas of what you could do, where you could go and what you should do when you get there. There is such wonder in the site. The places this site features are quite vast. They don't seem to be limited to any single region or attempt to sway you in any particular direction. It extends the ability to discover the world - through pictures, information, articles and all sorts of other useful stuff including shopping. You can shop, browse through places, articles, compare flights, find a hotel and a bunch more. I can honestly say that I absolutely love this site. I am a travel enthusiast and attempt to explore the world every chance I get. For someone like me, this is a really good site to start and finish at!

Estella1

USA

I have never purchased a Lonely Planet guidebook but a friend recommended the site to me to do research for an upcoming vacation. I tried it out and was really rather impressed. The site isn't the easiest to navigate at first, but you get used to it fairly quickly, and once you do it's quite informative. The photographs are gorgeous and well worth the visit to the site alone. They have stunning shots of major cities around the world. Rather than mostly providing reviews, the site provides articles about the beaches and venues of distinction for each destination as well as guides to everything you could possibly want to do there from restaurants to hotels. I have yet to visit the forums but they are supposed to be quite valuable and the friend who recommended the site to me said she found them very helpful. This is a great starting point when doing the initial research for a trip. It provides you with all sorts of information and lots of ideas to go from when customizing your own trip.

capers01

Vernon Rockville, CT

Traveling? Put LonelyPlanet.com on your list of travel websites to check out. I've been using their travel books for years and they've helped me plan quite a few vacations. The website is a wonderful accompaniment. I've now used it to help plan a girls trip to Argentina, a weekend getaway at the Jersey Shore, and many more trips. Unlike TripAdvisor which is mostly reviews, LonelyPlanet.com has content and actual articles. The articles are a great starting point for me when I'm researching a new destination. They usually get me interested in a particular place and then I get excited to learn more or go. For example, when looking at Tahiti Lonely Planet has a thorough online guide of activities to do, restaurants, hotels, but then has articles talking about the culture, the art, and the beaches. The content is a great starting off point and definitely gives me ideas of what to research. There's also a forum on here where you can ask other travelers questions. I have found that even searching other answers helps me in planning my trips. It's amazing how many other people have had the same questions as me before. They do plug, and offer for sale, their travel books a lot on the website. That's fine with me because I do like their travel guides. Plenty of content is still free.

ladydanaj

Marlton, NJ

I have a few Lonely Planet guides at home, but I haven't used the website until last year. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful photos attached to each article. Sure they bought them from an agency, but they picked really good ones. They obviously know that a picture is worth a 1000 words. I like their Need To Know section that has precious information for your trip: money, safety, visas and even tips to stay on a budget. For every destination, you have a list of best places to stay, with photos, descriptions, prices and even the option to book through the Lonely Planet website. The website also allows you to request a quote for travel insurance or to book flights and tours. So you have pretty much everything you need for your travel needs. I definitely didn't expect that when I first checked it out. I thought it would have just a few travel articles and photos. Features Book hotels, flights, tours. Request a quote for travel insurance.

roxanatheodora

Marietta, GA