---
product_id: 616319194
title: "Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide)"
price: "R609"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/616319194-lonely-planet-sri-lanka-travel-guide
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide)

**Price:** R609
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide)
- **How much does it cost?** R609 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/616319194-lonely-planet-sri-lanka-travel-guide)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide) [Mayhew, Bradley, Francis, Joseph Richard, Paska, Marisa Megan, Perera, Demi, Rathnayake, Zinara, Cader, Fathima, Karunatilaka, Shehan] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide)

Review: Yakin - Good
Review: Poor quality guidebook - I used to find Lonely Planet guidebooks to be informative and worth the money, but not this one. This is a relatively poor edition, which lacks detail / useful information, and which is quite superficial / surface-level. I lived in Sri Lanka for almost 25 years, speak one of the local languages (Sinhala) fluently, and wanted to revisit the country after like 15 years, and I bought this guide to update myself about the country and to help me plan my 5-week long stay. In addition to the very sparse information and practicalities about the country, There are also a bunch of mistakes in this guide, which shows that this book was not edited or fact-checked properly. Under the languages section, for instance, the guide tries to teach the reader how to pronounce local words. But some of these pronunciations are inaccurate. The Sinhala phrase it provides for "I'm lost" actually translates to "I'm dead" in Sinhala. It is clear this section wasn't checked by a native / fluent speaker of the language. This is a common problem when white westerners do not appropriately collaborate with local people to produce these types of books, but think they can write guides to these countries and become "experts" about the country within a limited period of time. It also advertises the Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka as a "contributing writer," but this is a reference to a mere 3-page entry that discusses in a limited fashion contemporary Sri Lankan writing in English. Lonely Planet guidebooks used to be very good, but their quality has really fallen over the last 7-8 years in general. Part of the issue seems to be that their writers are doing poor research and don't seem to really know what they are talking about. Some of them seem to be quite clueless and not really have traveled enough in the country they are writing about to merit contributing to these types of guides. Lonely Planet should start investing in better researchers and writers who are actually part of these local communities if they want to sustain their publications.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #75,774 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Sri Lanka Travel Guides #3 in Indian Travel Guides #18 in General Asia Travel Books |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (156) |
| Dimensions  | 5.13 x 0.63 x 7.75 inches |
| Edition  | 16th |
| ISBN-10  | 1838691804 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1838691806 |
| Item Weight  | 14.7 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 320 pages |
| Publication date  | November 19, 2024 |
| Publisher  | Lonely Planet |

## Images

![Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/4177o3zH5BL.jpg)
![Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide) - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DnwcOSJhL.jpg)
![Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide) - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Sps7f52DL.jpg)
![Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide) - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510jyOOLRqL.jpg)
![Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide) - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51aFvGCAWKL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yakin
*by S***T on September 30, 2025*

Good

### ⭐ Poor quality guidebook
*by D***J on December 4, 2025*

I used to find Lonely Planet guidebooks to be informative and worth the money, but not this one. This is a relatively poor edition, which lacks detail / useful information, and which is quite superficial / surface-level. I lived in Sri Lanka for almost 25 years, speak one of the local languages (Sinhala) fluently, and wanted to revisit the country after like 15 years, and I bought this guide to update myself about the country and to help me plan my 5-week long stay. In addition to the very sparse information and practicalities about the country, There are also a bunch of mistakes in this guide, which shows that this book was not edited or fact-checked properly. Under the languages section, for instance, the guide tries to teach the reader how to pronounce local words. But some of these pronunciations are inaccurate. The Sinhala phrase it provides for "I'm lost" actually translates to "I'm dead" in Sinhala. It is clear this section wasn't checked by a native / fluent speaker of the language. This is a common problem when white westerners do not appropriately collaborate with local people to produce these types of books, but think they can write guides to these countries and become "experts" about the country within a limited period of time. It also advertises the Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka as a "contributing writer," but this is a reference to a mere 3-page entry that discusses in a limited fashion contemporary Sri Lankan writing in English. Lonely Planet guidebooks used to be very good, but their quality has really fallen over the last 7-8 years in general. Part of the issue seems to be that their writers are doing poor research and don't seem to really know what they are talking about. Some of them seem to be quite clueless and not really have traveled enough in the country they are writing about to merit contributing to these types of guides. Lonely Planet should start investing in better researchers and writers who are actually part of these local communities if they want to sustain their publications.

### ⭐⭐ New format is not helpful
*by K***N on January 18, 2025*

I have Lonely Planet guides from my travels (Morocco, Madagascar, Bali and Lombok) and ordered the 2021 Sri Lanka Guide, it’s formatted and laid out as the others. The new 2024 Sri Lanka Guide format and contents are much different and really not helpful at all. I agree with the other reviewers of this new edition that they’ve lost the practical tips, user friendly layout, and important information. Indeed, if this is Lonely Planet’s new style, I don’t know that I’ll be purchasing new guidebooks from them. The 2021 Sri Lanka version is much much better even if it’s dated.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (Travel Guide)
- The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka: Travel Guide with eBook (Rough Guides Main Series)
- Sri Lanka National Map 803: Map

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/616319194-lonely-planet-sri-lanka-travel-guide](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/616319194-lonely-planet-sri-lanka-travel-guide)

---

*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-02-02*