Lonely Planet Cuba (Travel Guide) Paperback – October 1, 2013

It is hard to write a guide to Cuba as things change daily if not more often. This guide was fairly useful in providing good background information for the areas I visited (Havana, Matanzas and Pinar del Rio). However, a number of items were missing. I could not find important sites I visited (for example, the Grand Synagogue in Havana, some popular paladars in Havana, hand-made book workshop and old pharmacy museum in Matanzas, Orchid Gardens in Pinar del Rio) I found the table of contents and index useless - I would look things up, they would not be listed, but then carefully pouring over the book, I would occasionally find the item I was searching. Also, the restaurant reviews were not on target. Many glowing reviews were not backed up by reality (and in Cuba, you have to have low expectations for food, but still, the reviews should be more honest). I also suspect many hotel reviews are not on target. Our hotel got a good review which it deserved, but we visited another hotel that the book gave a decent review to and found out it was cockroach infested and moldy from flooding. So, I would caution, be careful to double check hotel and food reviews on Trip Advisor.

My brother travels regularly to Cuba as part of his job and has gotten to know the island fairly well. I gave him this book after I received it in exchange for my honest opinion to get his thoughts. I read through it and as someone who hopes to visit Cuba in the near future when my brother is there found it to be helpful in giving me ideas about things - for example, I really like the tips on when to travel to certain areas and the "why" behind those recommendations. But when my brother looked it over, he noted that some things were already out of date and a bit of misinformation here or there with the "places to go". He felt that most of the restaurant reviews were a bit overstated and enthusiastic, but perhaps that is because he really has gotten to know many of the locals and mostly avoids the touristy areas now. I can appreciate that it is hard to keep a printed copy of something current particularly in a country where things change (isn't that every country?!?!) - but I will take this with me for a general guideline in January to see how it pans out.

I was really hoping this book would give me up-to-date and relevant information for my upcoming visit to Cuba. However, after comparing information with information that is readily available on the internet (even on Tripadvisor), I found some of the information severely outdated or plain wrong. It does not make this book completely worthless though as I still found some good information that I can apply and use. I used a highlighter and earmarked the pages that I found useful for my upcoming trip.I am rating this book 3 stars (average) based on the outdated information. While I received a free sample of this book for my review, I would only recommend this book as a basic travel guide for the discerning traveler. I would recommend following up any leads in this book with an internet search to make sure the information is still relevant and accurate.

I really enjoyed the informationand as someone who hasn't beento or planned to Visit Cuba, theguide made it very appealing andthe picturues are interesting and ilike that also has a plan when youtraveling with kids.... I do like thatthey provide you a map of Cubathat seems to be pretty up to date& lots of colorful pictures of placesyou must see while visiting. Cubais always changing and someof the places they have listed onhere as an attraction or a place togo see is no longer there so just beadvised like any travel guide... Ireceive this book for free in exchangeof my honest and unbiased review..

The only problem I have with the electronic version of the book is the navigation. Finding things that I swore I just read a few seconds ago was not easy. (At least not as easy as just flipping a few pages backward.) The maps were also difficult to use on a Kindle having to jump between the description of a sight and the map and pinch-zooming in and out to find the sight. I guess that's the trade-off for portability.

I LOVE this book. This is a book for traveling to Cuba. It provides walking tours, places to visit, restaurants, things to do. This is the book you want to take with you when you're meandering around Cuba. 100% recommend this book. I think learning about Cuba is great but how much good is that going to do you when you're trying to find a place to eat IN Cuba?! Not much. This book right here is what I had in mind when I think of a book about Cuba not related to background history and stuff. I received this book for free but the reviews are my own.

I am very well traveled and tend to purchased Lonely Planet guides, if available, for each trip. The book on Iran was terrific. This one however, is not so great. Its layout of things to see in towns are without a context is of limited use. Expand the history and culture section which in located in the back of the book and place it in front. I've always enjoyed LP's edgy reviews but find them missing here.

We liked the book. I mean, it won't provide you with the adventurous spirit you need to properly explore Cuba, but it's a great tool to aid you in your journey. It can give you ideas, but it can't provide you with an hour-by-hour agenda of what you should do to have a good time. Meet other travelers, ask locals, and try random things in conjunction with using this book to maximize your fun time in Cuba.

Lonely Planet is always a great way to start planning your trip before you actually leave your flat, however this time although it says this edition is from October 2013 all prices (and I mean ALL, from a mojito at La Bodeguita del Medio to the daily rates for Casa Particulares and all the restaurants indicated) are quite wrong/outdated, sometimes around 30% less than the actual price (Nov 2013), which makes you plan your budget in a very wrong way!

i know this is the old edition, but if you want a cheap version for an upcoming trip, this still does the business - i returned from 10 days in cuba just this week, and the majority of the information was spot on! but if you go to vinales avoid cueva palenque, it's a 100m entrance to a tourist coach assembly point. also, if someone offers to take you somewhere, they probably expect you to pay for their involvement as well - we went to a club with a guy, and we had a great time, but we had to keep him in liquor. a small price, but know before you go. also, finding non-prostitues in cuban clubs is harder than a needle in a haystack.

Well... What alot of misinformation this book contains, 2 months of back packing & stayed in some appalling accommodation which came recommended by Lonely Planet also ate in some awful restaurants again recommended by Lonely Planet. In fact so much misinformation that the book was a total farce, we dumped it somewhere in the south after an eating recommendation which ended with food poisoning. Will never buy another L.P. guide, I don't think the writer had ever left his desk.

This is a useful and informative book for those travelling to Cuba. The section on Havana has some interesting ideas for walking tours and a handy map. There is lots of information on hotels, bars and restaurants all over the island. The one thing to bear in mind is that Lonely Planet hate anything touristy, so you could also check other sources (e.g. tripadvisor) before you go. Overall this is a useful guide.

good for generic information - but you can get this online too elsewhere. I was hoping to use the walking guides in havana but the streets were not marked properly (or gave no street names as at!) so we ended up getting lost all the time, this was not very helpful for our trip to Havana, Cayo Coco and Varadero. wish we bought something else.