When comparing Tripadvisor vs Lonely Planet, the Slant community recommends Tripadvisor for most people. In the question“What are the best sites for discovering attractions in your travel destination?” Tripadvisor is ranked 1st while Lonely Planet is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Tripadvisor is:
Tripadvisor lists tour options for many of the available attractions. Many of the individual tours have lots of recent reviews so you can get a better idea of what the experience will be like.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro High quantity of reviews
Tripadvisor lists tour options for many of the available attractions. Many of the individual tours have lots of recent reviews so you can get a better idea of what the experience will be like.
Pro Good for food/restaurants
Tripadvisor will usually have the not-to-miss restaurants, even if they can end up being touristy. A good yelp equivalent in non-US countries.
Pro Detailed overview of each destination
Lonely Planet provides plenty of information about the area
It tells you about attractions and restaurants, provides a map, and links you to articles about the area. Under "Survival Guide", you can find information about transportation, the currency, and costs.
Cons
Con Not usually easy to compare
Con Reviews can be outdated
Con Lack of trust in reviews
There is a lot of incentive for companies to post fake reviews in order to increase their ranking/visibility. Tripadvisor does very little to catch the false reviews, so it's hard to know what's authentic and what isn't.
Con Lots of sponsored content
Sponsored content such as sightseeing tours and hotels can clutter up the content users are actually searching for.
Con Limited exploration features
You can only explore destinations by continent. There are some interest categories that you can also check out, but they don't have a focus on specific destinations.