V!VA PERU - A Review

 From the folks that brought you V!VA List Latin America, and who also run the information packed website www.vivatravelguides.com, comes the most complete guidebook on Peru ever published: V!VA PERU.

      V!VA Travel Guides Peru is "Written for travelers by travelers, (it) is the most up-to-date guidebook available for Peru, period. Hundreds of days of on-the-road research by a team of Peru experts in addition to daily reports from travelers like you have yielded the most trustworthy guidebook on Peru to date." (from their website)

    I can honestly say that anyone going to Peru needs this book. Heck, anyone even remotely interested in Peru could use this book. But beware, reading it will definitely make you want to start planning your trip. It's that good!

    The first thing I noticed about V!VA PERU was the size. It's 468 pages, and I'm talking small print, with dozens of detailed black and white city and region maps. This isn't the glossy, full color, fluffy guidebook you'll find elsewhere. V!VA PERU is so packed with info it could be a text, but so engagingly written you can read it as a novel. I picked up this daunting tome with trepidation, wary that I might bog down somewhere within the nine geographic regions Peru is divided into. I needn't have worried. By the time I was finished with the 70+ pages of introductory material I was hooked!

    The Introduction is broken down into over 50 sections, with up to a page of  explanatory text each. Topics like Climate, Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Economy, Politics, all are succinctly presented so that everything you'd need to know is right there. Who needs a visa and where to get them, departure tax, rate of exchange, how to travel to and within the country, where the best birding, surfing, hiking, shopping and adventure tours can be found -- literally every question (and some you'd never think of) answered. There's more information in the Introduction then in most guide books!

    From the Introduction you can jump to the region you want to visit, or, if you don't yet know, read about all nine to decide. There are chapters on the capital city of Lima; the mostly desert Southern Coast; the UNESCO World Heritage site of Arequipa; the less touristy Southern Andes; Cosco – the home of Machu Picchu, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World; Lake Titiccaca – the largest freshwater lake in South America; the hiking, trekking and mountain climbing region of the Central Andes; the sunny surfing paradise of the North Coast; and the largely untouched and biologically diverse Amazon Basin. Each is divided into subchapters describing available activities and historic sites and tours, with lodgings and restaurants divided into price ranges and reviewed.

    Reading V!VA PERU I learned of the best time to visit Machu Picchu, which month the world famous Inca trail is closed, what each class of train service provides, how early to book bus trips, the cheapest and most convenient means of travel in each district, and how to make the most of my visit - safely. Plus, all the tour operators and their services are described in a "What to expect" and 'What to ask for" manner, with prices and full contact info. That's worth the price of the book alone!

    In addition, there is a 20 page index to help you zero in on your exact needs, and a thoughtful list of what to pack and what not to pack for your visit. The authors thought of everything you need to know to thoroughly enjoy your visit.
 
    Once you've read V!VA PERU you won't encounter the unexpected on your trip to Peru. It's as if you had a trusted friend or family member guiding you through your journey, insuring the best possible experience for you -- the well-read traveler. 

V!VA PERU - $21.99 ($14.50 on their web site!)
ISBN 0979126436
5.5x8.5 468 pages Paperback
b&w maps and photos
www.vivatravelguides.com