No before I begin I am not trying to start an argument I want peoples opinions.........I hope this is ok..........ok here goes.......I am going to be buying a guide on Tasmania and all the book shops near me don't seem to have the Rough Guide one so I can't compare them.

What guides (not just on Tasmania but any) do you prefer and why?

apologies again if you think this thread is causing an argument

They're different. Rough Guides are great for getting a better feel and context of a place- so ideal for pre-departure reading, whereas LP are useful to have in the bottom of your rucksack for on the move information.

If you want a guide to research where you're moving to I'd go for Rough Guide over LP every time

Also do an internet search to find other forums and web pages devoted specifically to Australia etc.

Well I usually look to see if there is a Luxe Guide but then that's because their recommendations suit my idea of a holiday. They're as far away as you can get from a Rough Guide. I also have a shelf full of Lonely Planets and a few Insight Guides - I buy the short version of the latter to carry around as they usually have good maps.

I think they all have limited use and are specific to the kind of trip you are taking - do you want to know about 5* hotels of backpackers, where to get a $100 bottle of wine or a cheap breakfast, for instance.

If you're looking with a view to researching a place to live, I'd think none of them is particularly suitable.

I always go for rough guides and I have always found them extremely useful. I have borrowed a couple of Lonely Planet guides but find Rough Guides more user friendly and relevant. I think it is a personal choice really depending on what sort of traveller you are.

I tend to go for whichever one was published the most recently. Some countries the Lonely Planet books are better, some the rough guides. I can only assume because they have different writers.

That's a very good point; I was looking for one the other week and the most recent in Borders was a 2006 update. Fine if you want background info; useless if you want to know about hotels, restaurants, nightlife and so on.

Lonely Planet for Tassie is excellent. Haven't used the Roguh Guides, but the Tassie Lonely Planet is my bible whenever I go down there and I've been round the whole island with it. As a result I tend to go for Lonely Planets whenever I travel somewhere new.
Have a look on ebay and you can usually pick up both though fairly cheap, then you have the best of both worlds.

I prefer the Lonely Planets, good information about a place but I generally ignore their sanctimonious ramblings and the food/accommodation sections.

Having backpacked extensively, I've found the Lonely Planet guides best for that purpose.

That isn't to say that the Rough Guides are no good. Far from it. Both types of book are actually very good but I find the LP books better for the backpacker that's travelling through a place briefly (a few days/weeks/months).

Another very good resource for travellers (the sort of people that are using Rough Guides and Lonely Planet books) is the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree travellers discussion forum. I spent many an hour on that forum for a year leading up to our backpacking tour. It's to travelling what BE is to immigration.

- CDM

Recent years have preferred Rough Guide as a rule but always try and check out Lonely Planet,Footprint and what ever else is available.
You need to get a feel of how each guide presents it's material and which works for you.

No guarantees, but given that Lonely Planet is an Aussie company you would hope they would do a good job on Tasmania

Wrong....founded by an Englishman and now owned mostly by the BBC.

G

Sure, he is well known here BTW. My point was obviously that they started it in Australia decades ago, based it in Australia, as a long term Australian company, so it would be a bit sad if they did a crap job on Australia.

I stopped using Lonely Planet guides a few years back because I thought that the quality had gone downhill a bit. I prefer just factual stuff such as what is in each town - whether it's worth the trip, maps etc.

I read the Peru book and it was so badly written - almost like a lecture of what the author liked, didn't like etc. Also there was too much written on being ethical (even to the point of not taking a leak on historical monuments) - all very fine and dandy but when you have to carry around the book in a backpack you don't want extra weight from that. Didn't really bother looking at LP guides for other places after that.

The rough guide seems more objective and lets the reader make up their own mind on where to go.