Product Description

Tempt vertigo on the hills of San Francisco and rub elbows with a star in an LA boutique. Sample syrahs in the Wine Country, cruise cliff-hugging Hwy 1 or hike in the heat of Death Valley. Whether you're a city slicker, road tripper or adrenaline junky, grab this in-depth, cheeky guide and let our local authors steer you to the treasures of the Golden State.

PLOT YOUR ROUTE - 120 detailed maps and seven handy itineraries help you navigate and plan your adventure TAKE IT OUTSIDE - surfing Steamers Lane, climbing Half Dome, skiing Tahoe, diving San Diego: the scoop on the hottest California activities EAT YOUR HEART OUT - hundreds of restaurant reviews, from tasty taquerías to celebrity-chef bistros SLEEP EASY - the best places for California dreaming, from mountaintop campgrounds to oceanfront resorts CROSS THE BORDER - expanded Las Vegas chapter shows you how to hit the jackpot in flirty, fabulous Sin City, plus tips on heading south to Mexico

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #553867 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 752 pages

Review
…Lonely Planet, the intrepid traveler's bible...' --Los Angeles Times, April 2005

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Customer Reviews

From a Californian: don't buy it
I'm a Californian, and know several cities reviewed by this guide very well. While I love Lonely Planet guides, I cannot recommend this book after spending an hour looking through it one day at a Borders. (We were headed so San Francisco and I needed a good CA guidebook.)

I live in San Diego and so - as a test case - I graded the book on its coverage of San Diego. I gave it a "D" because every time I checked what it had to say about a location/restaurant I knew, this book got it wrong or missed the fine points. An example? One of the finest restaurants in La Jolla (or all of San Diego, for that matter) is George's at the Cove, but dinner entrees start at $30. Restaurant-savvy Sandiegans know this pricey restaurant has an upstairs open-air sister restaurant, Ocean Terrace Café, with a fabulous view of the bay - and offers a chance to sample a limited selection of George's entrees, at - relatively reasonable - prices ($14 to $20 for dinner entrée). LP Californian seemed to always miss helpful little tips like that, and Frommer's seemed to include many of them. Now maybe Lonely Planet California book has great coverage of all the other cities besides San Diego, who knows? If that's the case then my review is inaccurate. However, if their San Diego coverage is representative of the rest of the book, then I suggest don't buy it! We ended up buying Frommer's California 2006, which I'll give a lukewarm endorsement to because at least its coverage of CA cities I know was better than LP California. Of course, Frommer's guides are so dry and boring, lacking the character that LP guides sometimes have.

Helps you see the whole state
Most people can say they know San Francisco/Bay Area, Los Angeles/Orange County, or San Diego. These are the places people typically hit up when they plan a trip to CA. Having lived several years in SoCal, I found this book opened my eyes to all the state has to offer. It balances the sections on the large cities with other destinations and activities. You can easily stay with friends in LA or SFO and get a better tour of the town than the book can offer, but what about Death Valley or the Redwoods or PCH? This is where the book has been of great help to me.

A great guide, also for abroad tourists
This guide is a very well-written and inspiring guide to California - also for non-US tourists. It maintains a fine balance between background infomation and suggestions for sights, locations and places to stay and eat worth visisting.

I also fancy the small embedded maps including city maps. One obstacle, however, is that the maps, due to the thickness of the book, are somewhat difficult to use while driving. I would welcome more expandable maps.