Susan

Thank you Rex, Bob, Rebekah, and others who were so kind to respond to my previous inquiries. Although this is a Fodor's site, I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on the accuracy and usefulness of Rick Steve's Guide to Italy 2002. Has anyone followed his "Best Three Week Trip" itinerary? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

GGinSF

Rick Steves updates his books every year so they're usually pretty acurate (sometimes hotels may be a little more expensive than listed). I've used his books in Spain, Portugal & Paris and found them acurate and helpful.<BR>For my upcoming Italy trip his book is one of 3 I'm using: Fodors Italy, Frommer's $70/Day Italy, and Steves'. <BR><BR>Since I haven't gone yet I can't give you first hand experience with using this specific Italy guide on the road. However, when I saw his 3 week itinerary I thought "too many places". Using it as a framework looked good but I'd rank the areas and cut out the lower ranked ones. My preference is to see fewer towns but spend more time in them, rather than the whirlwind tour style. He also doesn't delve into Umbria much, which is an area I'm interested in. In fact, his book doesn't even mention Perugia, the capital, if I recall.

Wayne

Susan--<BR>As you probably know, Rick Steves writes his books in a carefree, informal style that lends an air of freshness to your explorations. He usually seems to stick to the lower cost accommodations, and his recommendations of sights to see and places to visit are usually good. The one thing I would warn about, and this is not news to seasoned travelers, is that any "new" or "out-of-the-way" or "undiscovered" place he describes, really isn't any of the above. Perhaps these places were that way before his books and TV programs, but not after he mentions them. In fact, there have been reports of some hoteliers who have been downright rude and unhospitable because they felt they didn't have to be nice now that they had been mentioned in one of his books. So I usually read his books for the information on places to see moreso than the hotels he recommends. If you want to do some really thorough reading on Italy before going there, I recommend you buy one or more of the Italy series of Cadogan guides, published in England. These are factual, detailed, accurate, and quite well written guides that surpass anything produced by the likes of Frommers, Fodors, or Steves. The Cadogan guides are published for various sections of Italy; for instance, one of the most popular is entitled "Tuscany, Umbria, and the Marches." Compliments to you for wanting to study ahead of time to make your trip more worthwhile.

gina

We followed much of Steves' itinerary in the summer of 2000. We learned to use his books for itineraries and tour info, and to stay in Karen Brown hotels. Really, it's tough to beat Rick Steves' knowledge but if you want to sleep at night, go a step up if you can.

Paige

I like his books but I think the amount of time he recommends for places is always too little, at least for me. If he says spend a day there, I usually like 2 or 3. Like someone above mentioned, his books have made some places way too popular. Although he usually recommends good restaurants, I tend to stay away because they'll probably be packed with Americans and sometimes by the 2nd year they're in his book, they aren't so great anymore.

Ronda

I used Rick's Italy guide for Varenna and Florence and found it quite helpful. If you want to stay in one of the hotels he lists though you have to start really early making reservations as they do get booked up. He always has helpful information on trains,and museums.

Lee

Susan, I'm going along with everyone else here, I would select that same book. We were in Rome in October and used the Eyewitness Guide to Rome and Steve's Guide to Italy 2001 (could have 2000, I don't recall now) and they were both very helpful. The Eyewitness Guide really helped at the Vatican, but Rick Steve's book made trip to Pompeii easier with some good backround on Naples, which is a stopover by train from Rome.

Tracey

I traveled to Italy in Nov 2000 and used his book as a guide. I picked the cities I wanted to visit, than used his book as a guide where to stay and eat. Since I was on a budget, this worked out great and I was never disappointed. I don't know about the 3 week trip, but I say follow your instincts. Read about the towns your going to visit. If it appeals to you than plan to stay a few days.

Leslie

My opinion is very consistent with other posters. I like to use Rick Steves' guides in combination with several other books. I think he gives excellent tips and really helps one to plan an itinerary and prioritize what should be seen in visiting a country for the first of second trip. For subsequent trips, you have to branch out to find new destinations within that country. I like his bias to balance urban and countryside experiences. I don't like to just go to big cities... but agree that his itineraries are very agressive. So I tend to use him in modified form by cutting out some of the destinations and spending a tad more time in each place.<BR><BR>I don't like the descriptions of his places to sleep as they all seem a bit spartan..two star places. For a tight budget, they are probably great. I prefer the Karen Brown guides for places with more character (3 to 4 stars).<BR><BR>Also, I agree that Umbria has much to offer and Rick overlooks this. I LOVED Assisi, for example. His approach is much more opinionated and not as comprehensive as say a Fodors or Frommer's guide, but then, that's why they are helpful with narrowing the planning.<BR><BR>I too, agree, that the Eyewitness Guides are VERY good once you decide where you are going. These are worth carrying with you during the trip, even as you tour certain museums. I like that they show photographs of practical things like what the taxis and road signs look like.<BR><BR>Finally, note that there is a Rick Steves website (www.ricksteves.com) and I like to look at the itineraries of his tours to get further ideas.

Barb

Rick's 2001 Italy book was my bible last Oct. I did his 3 week trip with a few minor changes and it was great. It was a whirlwind trip, but that's exactly what I wanted - an overview. Reading about the next town on the train was invaluable. He explains where everything is in the station and how to find your way from the station and all the travel information places. Because of that great trip I am returning in Oct. to just a few of my favorite places and plan on taking Steve along with me again.

Marianna

Hi Susan,<BR>I live and work in Rome as a tour guide. I have met many people on my tours with Rick's guide books. Generally speaking the comments are that there is a lot of great information but that some of the maps are hard to read and follow (then again Rome is a hard to city in regards to maps) and that the accommodation is at the lower end.<BR>Most people have said that they would have preferred some suggestions of accommodation at a little more on the higher side.<BR>If you would like any help on where to stay or what to do please feel free to email me direct.<BR>Regards<BR>Marianna

Joe

Susan: Rick's travel guides are great for new travelers and/or people on a strict budget. We used one of Rick's books on our first trip to Europe many years ago. It was England and Rick made it painless. The kind of "step by step" itineraries he provides help take the apprehension out of first time travel. Beyond that, we still use his guides for every European trip, but now it is one of several guides we use on a given trip. I still like his evaluations on what to see/do and what to skip. But, tempered by other opinions, we add and delete at will. We would not have seen much of Umbria if we had followed his advise and we would have not seen Gubbio, Perugia or Orvieto (among our favorites) at all. We disagree with him on Lucca and Pisa.<BR>On the other hand, he got us to Cinque Terra for the first time years ago. We returned recently and were so happy that we went when he first wrote about it. He got us to Civita di Bagnoregio, the hard to find Etruscan Tomb near Orvieto, encouraged us to stay in and tour Naples and got us to Paestum some of which we probably would not have done without Rick. So, in my opinion, his Italy Guides are very worthwhile, but not as an only source of information. Like many others, we seldom use his Hotel or restaurant recommendations unless we are in an area where we have no other information. His three week itinerary, tempered by your personal preferences is very well laid out and enjoyable.

GAC

In addition to the guides previously mentioned, I also highly recommend the Rough Guides for Italy: 1) Italy; 2)Venice/Veneto; 3) Tuscany/Umbria; 4)Rome; 5) Sicily; and 6) Sardinia. They are particularly useful for the traveler relying on public transportation. Cadogan is also great.

curt

We have used Rick's books for several trips and in general find them to be quite useful. I like to see what he suggests and then modify it to fit our interests. We have used some of his suggested hotels and except for one in Milan in 1994 (which he has since dropped) we were always satisfied. His hotel descriptions in general are pretty close to what you see when you get there. We don't follow his book like a bible though. On our last trip through Belgium and France we had his books with us and did use some ideas, but the only hotel we used from his list was in Paris (the Leveque). All others I had prebooked via the web and email. The trip previous to France we did Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and again used a mix of his hotels and ones we booked ourselves (majority were the ones we did). Again, no complaints. Overall I think Rick's books are very useful and a good addition to anyone's planning library. In fact we are now in the planning process for a trip to Scotland and Ireland in September and I have already been reading Rick's books (as well as web research, Fodor's, Frommer's, etc.).

Heather

Susan, I've read his Italy guide and it does offer many good tips, as other posters mentioned. However, I believe that it absolutely must be used in tandem with other guidebooks/sources. Another key to planning and traveling (for me at least) is *how* a reader uses a guidebook rather than what guidebook a person chooses. Rick Steves' books/videos get knocked a lot for reasons beyond his control ... often Steves' readers put blinders on to anything other than what is written between the covers of one thin guidebook. Relying solely on one source for an itinerary or advice isn't the best idea. (For example, Steves claims that you can "do" Venice in a single day and that 2 nights in Rome is "more than enough".) However, you've obviously been doing a lot of digging on your own here and picking up good nuggets of wisdom.<BR><BR>I've only used one recommendation of his on lodging and it was the only subpar place in our trip.

Susan

Thank you, everyone. I so appreciate your responses and recommendations. In researching and preparing for my trip, I have read Fodor's, Frommer's, and National Geographic Traveler. I will be sure to purchase Karen Brown and Cardogan as well. I've already gotten immense pleasure out of reading about Italy--I can't wait to visit this May.<BR>Kindest regards,<BR>Susan

dean

i am not a big fan of Rick Steves. Many a time he shortchanges a place because it is well know and/or because it has an entrance fee. I feel he is too interested in saving a buck. <BR><BR>In addition, many of his off the beaten path suggestions are not off the beaten path. <BR><BR>I enjoy reading his book and watching his TV show, but i feel his writiing is shallow. I prefer to use the blue guide for detail info.

Amy

I use a combination of books like others do. I always start with Rick Steves to get a concise and entertaining read on the region. I always read the Cadogan guide fully for the best in-depth info, and great history. I find Eyewitness to be too heavy on the pictures, and their detail on a site or building, etc. has to be short enough to fill in the space between photos. But the photos are usually worthwhile if you like to see where you're going before you get there. For accomodations I usually use Frommers. For restaurants, I can speak from experience and say some of the best meals I had in Paris, Brugges and London came from Rick's books.

fairfax fielding

We just got back from Rome a week or so ago, and just after we got to the airport, my friend realized that she had left all of the books we had gotten, and planned to take, at home. When we got to our hotel in Rome, they had a copy of Rick Steve's Guide to Rome. It was a terrific help and gave us a lot of information about things to do, local customs, etc. In addition, it was very light in weight, compared to the Eyewitness guide.

Fred

Why not search the site for a complete review of Steve's work, done about two months ago. It was more balanced, andt both negatives and positives came out. Some posters offered funny, but true, information about his outfits and how he always sticks his head out of train windows just before tunnels. Some people have observed Steve's a great inducement for investing more money in your trips.