BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi again,

I doesn't look like this topic has been covered for awhile, so I'm wondering which guidebooks people have found to be most helpful/accurate/intriguing for Bali. I have Lonely Planet, although it looks like they just came out with an update. Is it worth buying the newer one?

I usually love Rough Guides, but their last Bali book was published in 2005.

I'm obviously not going to go strictly by guidebooks, but I do enjoy having a couple on hand for review.

What do you all think?

In Bali I used LP and found it completely acceptable.

I like The Natural Guide to Bali by Anne Gouyon. It's aimed at everyone who would like to do as little damage as possible to the Bali we have all come to love. It also rewards entreprises which take pro-active steps towards more environmentally sound ways of running their operations. I love the book!

I too am a great fan of 'the natural guide to Bali', though if i would like to explain Bali to maybe a person who hasn't been before I find the DK 'Bali and Lombok' guide very useful as well.

I have read all 3 books and while each offer their own type of quality, the Rough Guide is the superior book. It was initially written by someone who really took the time to travel the whole of Bali and really got into the culture. Updates since then are the usual good standard.

Use the book for background info, airport arrival, nuts & bolts, framework for each area, but make sure you have your own adventure. Best bet is to get your own transport, car or scooter.

Thanks for the insight, everyone! I just tracked down an out of print version of the Natural Guide and will keep my eye out for Rough Guide.

I like to cross reference. And since I'll be staying in one place, I don't have to worry about carting them around with me everywhere.

Cheers!