 
Footprint Backpacker Peru Bolivia & Ecuador (Footprint Backpackers' Latin America : Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador)
Average Rating: 2.0 Total Reviews: 3
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 On: 2006-08-11
The first 10 pages are great to read in the book store. The rest of the book is not that great. I only bought this book because I was going to Peru and Bolivia for 3 weeks (just returned) and didnt want to carry around two books. For that purpose it was fine and there isnt a recently published alternative. If you are traveling for longer I would recommend buying separate country books as you travel and discarding them as you leave a country. Or consider the slightly larger South American Handbook. Often the two books read verbatim but the larger guide had more information on Peru and Bolivia even though it also included the other SA countries. This book has glossy pages and pretty pictures. These are nice features while browsing in the bookstore but just mean extra weight while traveling.
On: 2006-08-10
The first 10 pages are great to read in the book store. The rest of the book is not that great. I only bought this book because I was going to Peru and Bolivia for 3 weeks (just returned) and didnt want to carry around two books. For that purpose it was fine and there isnt a recently published alternative. If you are traveling for longer I would recommend buying separate country books as you travel and discarding them as you leave a country. Or consider the slightly larger South American Handbook. Often the two books read verbatim but the larger guide had more information on Peru and Bolivia even though it also included the other SA countries. This book has glossy pages and pretty pictures. These are nice features while browsing in the bookstore but just mean extra weight while traveling.
 On: 2006-05-10
Id had a quick flip through the first few pages at a bookstore, and since I was only visiting those 3 countries, I bought it for its convenient size/weight. Oh and at the time it seemed pretty informative and thorough.
Unfortunately on the first day of my trip when I arrived in La Paz, I quickly discovered otherwise. First I couldnt find ANY information on the valley of the moon, save for a barely-there mention at the end of some paragraph on Tihuanaco.
Then there were hardly any cafe/restaurant listings and its always nice to know wheres good to go for some specific types of food (and the previous reviewer said there werent too many hostal listings either. good thing we had our accom. sorted out beforehand).
It would also have been a lot more helpful if there was more background information on destinations and historial buildings. And a lot less annoying if they placed the map of Old Quito next to Old city guide, instead of having to flip back and forth between pages.
To top it off, a Peruvian guide whos had 7yrs of tour experience in Bolivia/Peru pointed out that a lot of the books prices were pretty outdated for a 2005 publication.
Overall, I have to say it was a poorly planned/written handbook.
Met quite a few people with "Footprint South America", and they said its probably the most complete and up-to-date guide out there. Had a look at LPs "South America on a Shoestring" along the way, and even though its supposedly only OK, it was definitely more informative than "Footprint Peru, Bolivia & Ecuador". Get those books if you dont mind the bulkiness!
 On: 2005-08-29
Although this book is supposedly specifically for Backpackers, it is printed in large type on heavy, glossy paper with lots of big color photos, all of which just add bulk. The venerable South American Handbook, also from Footprint, weighs not much more and covers the whole continent. This new book is also short on info ... only 8 accomodations listings in La Paz, vs. about 50 in the SA Handbook. And there is no listing at all for Iquitos, one of Perus largest cities, or Cajamarca, one of the historically most significant. I have used the SAH extensively, and thought this new book would be at least as informative for the three countries covered .... what a disappointment. Cannot recommend it.
On: 2005-08-28
Although this book is supposedly specifically for Backpackers, it is printed in large type on heavy, glossy paper with lots of big color photos, all of which just add bulk. The venerable South American Handbook, also from Footprint, weighs not much more and covers the whole continent. This new book is also short on info ... only 8 accomodations listings in La Paz, vs. about 50 in the SA Handbook. And there is no listing at all for Iquitos, one of Perus largest cities, or Cajamarca, one of the historically most significant. I have used the SAH extensively, and thought this new book would be at least as informative for the three countries covered .... what a disappointment. Cannot recommend it.
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