Rating: 
Summary: You don't need this book to be a traveler
Review: Being a travel snob, this book's premise appealled to me--travel like a local, not some poor tourist shmuck. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to the promise.I traveled to Chile with three books--the Rough Guide, the Lonely Planet Guide, and this one. I found the first to be the most useful of the lot--it's information was up-to-date and accurate, and it gave detailed information on the entire country, not just those bits that can be reached by bus and appeal to the back-packer. The Lonely Planet was thorough, but poorly organized; the accommodation listings were extensive, but no recommendations or detailed descriptions were given. This guide book was not useful, except perhaps as a door stop. It is very heavy, but does not contain much information. Rather, it is printed on heavy stock, and in big letters--this may be nice in a coffee table book, but not in something you have to lug around while traveling. I will give it credit for having good information on hotels in the few towns it covered, but it did not justify the purchase price and the weight. I left it behind in Chile. I wouldn't buy it(or any other book in this series) again, nor would I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: You don't need this book to be a traveler
Review: Being a travel snob, this book's premise appealled to me--travel like a local, not some poor tourist shmuck. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to the promise. I traveled to Chile with three books--the Rough Guide, the Lonely Planet Guide, and this one. I found the first to be the most useful of the lot--it's information was up-to-date and accurate, and it gave detailed information on the entire country, not just those bits that can be reached by bus and appeal to the back-packer. The Lonely Planet was thorough, but poorly organized; the accommodation listings were extensive, but no recommendations or detailed descriptions were given. This guide book was not useful, except perhaps as a door stop. It is very heavy, but does not contain much information. Rather, it is printed on heavy stock, and in big letters--this may be nice in a coffee table book, but not in something you have to lug around while traveling. I will give it credit for having good information on hotels in the few towns it covered, but it did not justify the purchase price and the weight. I left it behind in Chile. I wouldn't buy it(or any other book in this series) again, nor would I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: high quality writing style...very thorough!
Review: Finally a book that gives the traveler a non-touristy guide to Chile...will carry with me religously when I visit the country.
Rating:
Summary: Best Practical Travel Book for Chile
Review: For an August trip to Chile (skiing season), I bought this and a half dozen other travelogues, guide books, etc. Hands-down, this proved to be the most practical and useful, especially for our group (we went on a whim, no real advance planning, and felt our way through). They had particularly good advice about accomodations, especially some off the beaten path, in all ranges -- from hostels to deluxe ranches. I'm going back in a few months and this will definitely be in my knapsack (along with my edition of "501 Spanish Verbs") the entire way.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite "the" Guide
Review: Having just returned from Chile with this book as my primary reference guide, I found myself continually borrowing other guidebooks. Simply put, it contains too little information. I also found some of the authors' opinons a bit stronger than what I care to have when travelling an unfamiliar country. The two standards, Footprints and Lonely Planet, remain for me the best guides to South American travel. I regretted carrying this one along enough to have donated it to a hostal in Punta Arenas. Admittedly, the guide takes a fun approach, and has interesting and readable content. However, because it lacks the depth of more veteran sources, I recommend this guide only as a supplemental reference.
Rating:
Summary: Culture AND Comfort
Review: I bought a number of books for my trip to Chile and found this one to be the most helpful by far. I only had a few weeks and I needed some good input on how to spend my travel time. I appreciated this guide because it gave opinions and recommendations. I think the authors and I have the same expectations for travel -- we seek out interesting places but also good food and comfortable (not necessarily fancy) lodgings. I'm definitely an indepedent traveler who likes to seek out new experiences. This guide led me perfectly along the way.
Rating:
Summary: Culture AND Comfort
Review: I bought a number of books for my trip to Chile and found this one to be the most helpful by far. I only had a few weeks and I needed some good input on how to spend my travel time. I appreciated this guide because it gave opinions and recommendations. I think the authors and I have the same expectations for travel -- we seek out interesting places but also good food and comfortable (not necessarily fancy) lodgings. I'm definitely an indepedent traveler who likes to seek out new experiences. This guide led me perfectly along the way.
Rating:
Summary: Best Practical Travel Book for Chile
Review: I just got back from Chile and I must say, I don't know what to think about this book. For example: it was the only guide book that I took with me into the Torres del Paine. And that was the right choice. On the other hand, it doesn't offer enough information about basic things, like cheap places to stay. For example, in Punta Arenas, the things in my price range aren't even mentioned in this book. They only start above it. but it does have some helpful insight about planning and seeing things in Chile. If you get this, it should certainly be along with other things like LP and Footprints. Then it can be a really good auxillary resource.
Rating: 
Summary: Addresses an odd audience
Review: I just got back from Chile and I must say, I don't know what to think about this book. For example: it was the only guide book that I took with me into the Torres del Paine. And that was the right choice. On the other hand, it doesn't offer enough information about basic things, like cheap places to stay. For example, in Punta Arenas, the things in my price range aren't even mentioned in this book. They only start above it. but it does have some helpful insight about planning and seeing things in Chile. If you get this, it should certainly be along with other things like LP and Footprints. Then it can be a really good auxillary resource.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Guidebook
Review: I just got back from two weeks in Chile. I had several guidebooks and found this one to be the best by far. I only had two weeks so I really needed help in narrowing down my options. This book does a great job of that. They offer opinions, which I like. I appreciate the fact that the book is geared towards "the midrange traveler." I have moved up from flea-bag cheap hotels and tasteless, cheap food, but don't like personality-less expensive hotels and restaurants. I am right in the middle and this book offers the best reviews of this category. They really did a good job of offering suggestions for what to do with limited time. I needed that kind of info and they delivered perfectly. Highly recommended!
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