Product Description

South Africa is the most popular kid on the block in Africa and it's easy to see why. The southern end of Africa teems with adventure: hike, bike and fly amid craggy peaks and open plains, catch a tantalising glimpse of streakily painted zebras in the savanna, encounter the vibrant cultures of San, Khoikhoi, Zulu and Xhosa. And when you're ready for the high life, tour the vineyards or live it up in cities bursting with food, wine and culture.

TICKLE YOUR TASTEBUDS - take our insider tips for the best restaurants, wineries, cafés and bars

UNRAVEL THE PAST - in-depth coverage of the region's eventful history

GET ACTIVE - handpicked listings so you know where to surf, dive, horse ride, sail, bike, hike and fly

BE THE EXPERT - know your impala from your steenbok with our wildlife special section

TRAVEL SAFELY - we keep you worded up on the scams, health issues and no-go areas

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65630 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 680 pages

Review
Nobody covers the world like Lonely Planet.' --New York Post, May 2004

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

They're getting there...
I used the 3rd edition of this guide on my first trip to South Africa in 1999. Back then, this guide would recommend places to stay in the most dangerous streets of Jo'burg, and guarantee the readers that the area was even safe to walk around at night. A taxi driver in Jo'burg told us he was appalled at their reccommendations on where to stay and where to go out, saying they were simply too dangerous, especially for white backpackers. The guide also had an aggressive attitude towards any predominantly white bars or clubs dismissing them as "artificial"... as if the only option was to go out in Shebeens.

Racial issues apart, they seem to be reversing this trend, and have been doing constant progress. This edition recommends mostly well-located places and acknowledges that some areas are just too dangerous to stay in. Otherwise neglected entertainment areas are being put into this guide too.

But the issue is that this guide is mostly useful in planning your trip, by telling how to get from one city to another, and what are the costs like, etc. It is also more useful in smaller towns than the larger ones. The fact is that there isn't a 100% reliable guide to South Africa, but this update is about as good as it can get.

Great travel guide
I bought this exact lonely planet guide for a friend a year ago and now I need it myself, it's great! It's very practical, it allows you to be prepared, it's easy to read and it makes travel so much easier. (I'm hooked; each time I travel I get the lonely planet guide for where I'm travelling to first).

Lonely Planet scores again!
Just like the rest of the Lonely Planet tour guide books - it's awesome! Everything is the same in this book as the others, except it's about South Africa. So, if you liked their other tour guide books, as I do very much, you'll like this one too. Check it out!