Lonely Planet Reviews 330

Used to be my go to guides for all travels. Easy to read, easy to find the information needed.

Sadly the new format is just so bad that the guide books are completely useless.
So very disappointed.

Private Touring the Northern Territory with NT Top Adventures

Exploring Australia’s Northern Territory is one of the most extraordinary travel experiences on the planet. From ancient Aboriginal rock art to dramatic escarpments and wetlands filled with wildlife, the region offers a sense of wilderness that is increasingly rare. While many travellers visit on large group tours, a growing number are discovering the benefits of exploring the Top End through private guiding.

One of the operators specialising in this personalised approach is NT Top Adventures, a boutique tour company founded by Italian guide Mattia Morelli. Based in Darwin, the company focuses on bespoke private journeys through iconic destinations such as Kakadu National Park, Litchfield National Park and the remote landscapes of the Northern Territory.

Unlike large coach tours, private tours allow travellers to move at their own pace and spend more time in the places that matter most. A typical Kakadu itinerary might include sunrise wildlife watching at wetlands, guided walks to ancient rock art galleries, and scenic lookouts across vast sandstone escarpments. With a private guide, travellers can also visit lesser-known locations far from the busiest tourist routes.

NT Top Adventures has built a reputation for delivering highly personalised experiences. Tours are available in English, Italian, French and Spanish, and are designed for travellers seeking a deeper connection with Australia’s landscapes, wildlife and Indigenous culture.

The company also places a strong emphasis on sustainability and responsible travel. Many itineraries include small-group wildlife experiences and visits to national parks managed by Parks Australia, ensuring travellers experience these fragile environments with care and respect.

For travellers looking to experience the Northern Territory beyond the typical group itinerary, private touring offers a more flexible and immersive alternative. With vast distances, dramatic landscapes and remarkable wildlife encounters, exploring the Top End with a knowledgeable local guide can transform a good trip into an unforgettable journey.

More information about private tours in the Northern Territory can be found at NT Top Adventures website. It is a very easy booking process.

The new format Caribbean Islands book has no information on where to stay if you actually care about money. No dangers and annoyance section sadly absent as Haiti is one of the included countries that "You'll fall in love with". Just another boring travel guide that you don't need if you can get online. Dreadful.

I share the frustration of so many reviewers about Lonely Planet guides. They are useless compared to the old format.
I have solved the problem by buying excellent (like new) pre 2018 volumes on ebay for around £3-4.

Unfortunately there is a lot of information missing, incorrect information, and a new layout which just does not work and is more confusing than helpful. Incredibly disappointing, considering I have purchased Lonley Planet for many years.

I recently also used the Mexico City Pocket Book at the start of the year, and here too the information was not complete.

Lonely Planet used to be the best guide book you could get. Not sure what has happened to them.

DO NOT subscribe to their email newsletter, they make it impossible to unsubscribe

Have I been scammed?

I bought a book as a Christmas present the 7th of January. The website said that the cutoff day for Christmas deliveries was the 15th of December for the UK. It’s not 31/12/25 and I still haven’t received it nor the refund I requested.

I sent an email to the customer service team and it says that they will be off until the 5th of January.

I believe I might have been scammed?

Do not use the shop! Terrible site doesn't show which column is the shipping address, or billing.

Someone random gets a free book.

Email them and say they don't update orders.

Pathetic. Go elsewhere

Living and working in Laos, we are genuinely shocked that for the second edition in a row this guide completely ignores one of the region’s top-rated highlights: Don Daeng Island.
A one-boat ride from Champasak and consistently praised on Google and TripAdvisor (best attraction right after Vat Phu Unesco Heritage site). Award winning homestays, cycling trails,pristine sand beach, yoga retreats, birdwatching... yet once again, it doesn’t appear at all.

Meanwhile, this edition still lists long-closed guesthouses and outdated info.
It feels less like on-the-ground research and more like something assembled behind a screen with AI. Travellers relying only on this book will simply miss key parts of Southern Laos.

We had already provided feedback several times before this new edition, they simply ignored it.
Cannot recommend.

Lonely planet guidebooks used to be good, but no longer. I regret my recent purchase of the guidebook to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This book is next to worthless. Same goes for the latest lonely planet guidebook to Australia, another purchase I regret. Little to no practical guidance. So sad that the quality is now in the toilet

Useful travel guides and inspiration, through some online content is outdated.

Great travel guides, but the mobile app needs improvements.

Before your holiday, the fun usualy already starts with getting a lonely planet. But after my trip to Greece that feeling will have to be reserved for a different guide. With the new format there is no way of knowing where the nice restaurants, cafe's or sleeping places are. The internet doesn't provide for unbiased trust worty reviews. The lonely plantet now will tell you that Napflio is a nice town and the former capital of Greece. But for this information i can use wikipedia. It's for them a cheap way to make a "travel book" they don't have to travel there anymore.

The new format looks nice, and it will probably get you more exited about a country compared to the old format. But this also brings me to the negative; the purpose of the new guide is completely different. This guide is fun 'before' the trip, but not while you are actually traveling. They cut so much information, it is crazy. You better as well leave them at home. I always enjoyed the Lonely Planets, but I won't be buying the new format. Hopefully they come with 2 versions. 1 for at home and 1 for on the road!

The new guides are horrible, very bad. When you read a new guide of LP now is like reading a book of Jane Austen but with pictures, this is not a travel guide. I recomend all of you buy the DK guides. They are so much better.

The books arrived 5 days after ordering and no tax added.

For the last 2 weeks, I haven't been able to access the contents of the articles published on lonelyplanet.com I have tried everything however it just keeps on taking me to the menu options as to kinda forcing me to buy their products!! it's ridiculous!! if its a technical upgrade i need to read the articles, it's not mentioned. customer support on email just had a flat response of "looking into it." Pathetic response on the website!

Just finished traveling across Asia. Every Lonely Planet book we had was so pretentious as if they were being sponsored to write well about the country. Came back to Denmark and wanted to see what they wrote about home ... exactly the same. What happened to this publisher to make it become so bad?!

We’ve collected so many LP books over the years and have a proud collection on our bookshelf which are testament to our wonderful travels and memories. The last few I’ve bought however are a sad excuse. I’ve just had a Colombia version delivered - ordered an old one and was sent and fobbed off with a new one which is about 1cm thick or thin to be precise! It’s going back and my days of adding to our collection and loyalty to Lonely Planet are over!