Moon Peru (Moon Handbooks) (ISBN 1566919835)

actually used in Peru before reviewing:
I ACTUALLY USED THIS GUIDEBOOK IN PERU BEFORE WRITING THIS REVIEW! Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and my experience using the book. (I found that much information in the book was also opinion.) I went to Peru at the end of April (25-May 2). At the end of April, the weather was absolutely perfect and prices were still cheaper because high season had not fully started. I do recommend the Moon Peru guidebook, although it is certainly not the best that I have used. As most guidebooks, it lacked some valuable information, but overall it is a good guidebook. On such a short trip, I did not agree with the authors' opinions most of the time, especially concerning which place to begin and how much time to spend there. Both were important to me since my time was limited. But, my own fault; live and learn. I am a flight attendant; I travel a lot. My trip was short, but here are MY RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH THE BOOK CONTRADICTED OR DID NOT STRESS ENOUGH: #1 Always book multiple flights through the SAME airline even if using different carriers. Airlines are only responsible for getting you TO a destination, not WHEN. If you book together then the airline will make sure that you get to your FINAL destination, not just the first stop. This will be very important if there are weather or mechanical delays. #2 ALL prices are negotiable! Here's a good tip: You can pay with American Dollars. Do not change all of your money. Especially in Lima, many Peruvians will quote the price in American Dollars, leaving you to figure out the exchange rate yourself. (If the Peruvian figures it for you, it will not be the best rate for you.) Paying with Dollars lets you know exactly how much you are paying for something and easier for you to negotiate! #3 One price is given to American tourists and a different one to locals. Ask the locals how much something should cost then offer to pay that amount to the taxi, vendor, etc. If you speak Spanish you can definitely get the best deal. The Airport Information Desk in Cuzco quoted us $20 for a taxi, so did the taxi drivers. We paid $5 after asking the locals. #4 We followed the book's suggestion of starting in Pisac and ending in Cuzco. We adjusted well to the altitude, but after arriving in Cuzco, I understood why people make it a base then travel around. Cuzco has a lot of information, tours, and rental equipment available. Use your own judgment, not the book's. However, I would stay in Pisac again. It was a nice town with good ruins and fabulous stars at night. #5 Ollantaytambo's ruins are definitely worth seeing. The book suggests staying there which we did. In my opinion, take a day trip there from Cuzco, see the ruins and then return that night to Cuzco. #6 Aguas Calientes is the base town of Machu Picchu. Spend TWO days here. (We only spent one as recommended by the guidebook, and it was not enough time for me.) Plus, YOUR TICKET TO MACHU PICCHU IS GOOD FOR TWO DAYS, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!! Splurge for a guide one of the days. Also, take your student Id card if you have one. Almost all of the tickets are half price with it. They don't check your age and it's a big savings with the card. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu. We climbed Hyuana Picchu that morning. It was worth all the hard effort, and it is hard. You will be scared if you are afraid of heights. Then we climbed down to The Temple of the Moon. It was even harder than Hyuana Picchu, but that could have been because we did it together. I don't really recommend seeing the Temple, but if you want to do it, do the climbs on separate days. Then we returned to tour Machu Picchu. We were so worn out, but we still had a 4 hour train ride to Cuzco that night. We stayed at Gringo Bills which was fabulous, but pricey for Peru. Two days there is worth it. I do not recommend a day trip from Cuzco. I really liked the town, and if you stay, you can enjoy the sun rise, the hot springs, climb Hyuana Picchu, and get the most from your two day ticket. I found that my opinion differed from the book's, but I didn't know until after I was in the middle of my trip. I would use the book again for most general information though. Go, and do not be scared. The trip was wonderful, we interacted with locals, and they were nice.

Not a great choice.:
I recently returned from a month of independent travel in Peru using the Moon Handbook:Peru as my major guide. Thank goodness I also consulted a number of other books because this book has numerous errors and bits of misinformation. I'm not talking about prices which I understand will change but of items the writers should have known about. For example, do not trust their information on the Cusco Tourist Ticket but research it elsewhere. Using the Handbook misinformation cost me money! Another example, after stating that Hotel Paracas was totally destroyed in the tragic 2007 earthquake, the following page contains a recommendation to have a meal there. In the same section, Museo Julio C. Telio receives its own subheading as a place worth visiting but the Museo was also destroyed in the earthquake. And on it goes. This book is reasonably well written but the history, geography, cultural information, etc. contains little that is not available in any of well-regarded guides. I found better quality and better prices when I did not use the recommendations for lodging and food. Peru is wonderful, a totally diverse and beautiful country with charming and hospitable people. Visit by all means, just examine other guide books carefully before purchasing the Moon Handbook.

Went with a winner:
After reading reviews of the Peru books I went with Moon and was not disappointed. We had only one week to visit (summer 2008), and focused on Cusco and Machu Picchu. Used this for everything from hotels to place to eat - and had a great vacation!

Simply Outstanding:
I have an upcoming trip to Peru, Chile, and Argentina. For this trip, though, I ended up purchasing guidebooks from three different publishers - - Moon, Rough Guidebooks and my regular Fodor's, respectively, for the aforementioned countries. The Moon Handbook to Peru was OUTSTANDING. I am not a backpacker type of traveler, and if/when I am taking a vacation to a new country, it's because I intend to do it in style. That said, I am not looking to go broke on one trip. This means that I want ALL my options laid out in front of me. I want to eat cheap with the locals, I want to eat at THE best restaurant in a certain city, I want to know if catching my own fish and renting a cabin with a kitchen is the best experience. This means that if in a certain town, all the accomodations are basically all mediocre, I want to go to the one with the nicest staff or proximity to transportation or a safe neighborhood. Also, while I would take the word of a friend more seriously - I really do value the opinion given to me by my guidebooks as far as which places are popular but really not worth the time, which places are unknown but should not be missed. Moon gave all that and then some to me. I perused Amazon reviews to pick and choose which reviews I'd buy for each country, and spent a considerable amount of time reading through each individual review. While the reviews for Chile were way off - Peru's assessment was RIGHT ON - Moon Handbook to Peru IS the best book. Hopefully, this review helps someone else out there when they are planning their trip to this amazing country. In the meantime, I now have to order Moon's Handbook to Chile. Rough Guidebooks was a complete waste of money!

Not a superbe guide:
This book was rated as very good by Amazon's customers, and I bought it for a travel in Peru last November. In general, it is not bad, but as not a very good description of the places to visit, and should tell author's opinion of the best places to visit in each city or place. On the other hand, it mentioned the earthquake of August 2007, but indicates a Hacienda near Pisco as a must. In fact, this place was destroyed that day and still not rebuilt. A fair good guide, but I think that not so good, and I would have prefered to buy Lonely Planet.