I'm a travel agent and travel junky with visits to more than 50 foreign countries. Lonely Planet is my guidebook of choice. Several others were used in the past but were found lacking in comparison. Maps of regions and cities are very helpful, and usually easy to use to find desired locations. Lodging options are broken into different budget catagories to fit the needs of most readers. A small section of foreign words and phrases are helpful for very basic communication. I recall a visit to Beijing. On the morning of my departure, the taxi driver spoke no English and I had no knowledge of Chinese. I opened the guidebook to language section and pointed to the English, Chinese and anglicized Chinese for the word airport. The driver nodded, smiled , and off we went to the airport. All Lonely Planet books have a section of facts for the visitor containing brief but important information such as the need for visas & passports, money, ATMs, Internet availability, banks, time zone, etc. One very helpful section describes highlights, tailored trips, roads less traveled, and possible itineraries for a variety of lengths of stays. These help the reader to ensure not to miss an area's high points. Boxed text messages appear throughout the book containing little facts, points of interest, or stories. Without a doubt, Lonely Planet is the best guidebook on the market today.