South Africa Guidebooks

by Richard E. Steel

Rough Guides' South Africa is by far the best guidebook on the country available today. It is as complete a guidebook as any traveler could ask for. Included is a 16-page full-color guide to the wildlife of Southern Africa. The writers provide detailed accounts of all practicalities, as well as in-depth historical background and more than 70 maps. A thorough accommodation guide including all prices and contact details is included in every section. Adequate warnings and advice are given about possible dangers in the country. The only drawbacks were the lack of a highlighted edge-tab (which would allow the reader to thumb to a particular section of the book more quickly) and the last 10 pages of the book that are plastered with advertisements. Other than these mild irritants, the guidebook is the best on the market. The well-organized layout of the guide makes it easy to follow. Toward the back of the book is a section that includes quotes from some South African writers as they discuss the country's history. The Rough Guide is also more up-to-date than any of its competition. This is definitely the guidebook to pack. $19.95 (ISBN 1-85828-460-0) www.roughguides.com

Let's Go South Africa is a good guidebook, coming from a company well known for its budget-friendly itineraries and up-to-date listings. I like the attitude behind the guide. The Let's Go writers hold the same view that we at SWT hold dear: we are not tourists but travelers. We create our own adventures and avoid the tourist traps at all costs. We seek, instead, insights from local culture. Large maps (lots of them) are an asset to this guidebook and the practical information can't be beat. The accommodation listings are fairly comprehensive for the larger towns and cities, but somewhat limited in smaller towns. The book is littered with advertisements, an annoying aspect. The editors did include a language guide at the back of the book, which is always valuable. Well organized and well laid out, Let's Go is easily navigated and straightforward. The somewhat cursory section on historical background could be expanded, but offers a good overview nonetheless. All in all, this guidebook is worthy of serious consideration, especially for the budget-minded. $19.99 (ISBN 0-312-24481-9) www.letsgo.com

Lonely Planet's Africa-the South was my bible for a month while traveling in South Africa. I found it to be a well-written and extremely well organized guidebook. It is probably the easiest book of all to use and read. The book's general information on all regions and concise historical overviews are invaluable if one is to discover the history behind today's South Africa. Lonely Planet does not allow advertising of any kind in its publications, a practice I found refreshing. The occasional insertion of color photographs provides eye candy, but also makes one wonder why the editors would choose to use these full-color pages for simple landscape shots. A much more sensible use of dynamic color would have been the book's 12-page wildlife section. Instead, readers are forced to make do with small black-and-white pictures of animals. The warnings about the dangers of travel in Johannesburg were fitting, which was not the case with some other guidebooks. The Lonely Planet staff has done a good job here. $25.95 (ISBN 0-86442-473-6) www.lonelyplanet.com

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