He's a sissy who struggles to get down a half pint of beer.

I don't see the difference between people following what's in Rick Steve's guidebook and what's in Fodors, or Frommers, or Lonely Planet, or whatever guidebook.

Some people do need the security of a guidebook, or a guide, when traveling outside their comfort zone. RS is no different from the other guidebooks or tour companies or private guides in providing a security blanket that many people need.

This has been going on ever since the concept of optional travel for pleasure began. It just so happens that RS caters to Americans.

It's certainly an improvement over the red-flag waving, whistle-blowing tour groups.

It is quite possible to admire some aspects of a person's work and roll one's eyes at others. It isn't necessarily a case of, "you are either with Rick or against him."

He's a great logistician, and a great organizer.

But that he is great with logistics doesn't make him great with logic, particularly of the political variety. You don't have to be a conservative to spot the flaw in a travel writer's suggestion that the actions of the 9-11 perpetrators should not be taken to heart, on account of the targets chosen being symbolic.

I actually don't like Rick Steves beacuse his Italy guide-book leaves out Piedmont, which insults me, and not that I would care except so many people treat his book like a bible and follow his reccomendations slavishly, which in my opinion has ruined some quite nice places (such as Cinque Terre) where backpackers are tripping around with a copy of RS, ticking off where they have been. BUT I saw the same in Bali, India, Thailand etc years ago with Lonely Planet, so more power to him, if he can make tons of money beacuse no-one wants to be adventurous and explore, so be it. Me I do like to read a good guide book before I go somewhere, but then leave it at home.

I'd like to pose an alternative "response" to what I've seen so far - namely that many of those offering advice or suggestions on this board are as arrogant as Rick Steves is, but in a different direction. Thus, some posters who ask questions about the best tour companies are derided for not traveling on their own, even though it may be best to acknowledge that different travelers have different needs. Some need to have their hands held, while others would rather die than do anything that others might do.

I say, to each his own. And in "my" case, I'll continue to seek information from many sources and then decide for myself what best suits my personality and my needs, as well as those of others travelling with me (e.g., my dear wife, my adventurous daughter, my somewhat needy sister). Sometimes that information will come from a Rick Steves book, at other times from advisors from Fodors, at still other times (many times?), whatever suits my tired feet and aching brain when I'm actually wherever I am traveling.

So much for my soapbox.

KC

RS will leave out areas because he hasn't personally visited them yet. Don't know if this is the case with the Piedmont, but some people would see it as a good thing that he doesn't try to play up what he hasn't actually experienced.

I don't own any of his guidebooks, but I have used them along with other guidebooks, websites, travel journals, etc. when planning trips. Like any other travel writer he has strengths and weaknesses and he caters to a particular audience. No different from the others.

I'm not going to "cut off my nose to spite my face" and not use a potentially useful travel info source just because I disagree with the author's politics. Nor will I rely exclusively on certain travel authors just because I agree with their politics. I like having my conceptions of the world challenged (well, maybe I don't exactly like it, but I find it a good thing in the long run).

If someone else's views make one uncomfortable or angry, it's sometimes because one knows that his views are a bit shaky and can't hold up to close examination.

I very recently saw a couple of middle aged Americans on a train desperately struggling to tie up their luggage to the luggage rack. They were obviously distressed at the difficulty of this. I offered to help and in the process asked them why they needed the luggage locked up. The response was that Rick Steve's said that there was a thief on every European train and that you should lock/tie up your luggage. We were in 1st class in a more or less empty carriage. These decent people were not enjoying their vacation as a result of his "travel advice".

Anyway, if Brian is correct and he struggles to get through a half then I would not believe anything he says.

Rufus, you made the same point I was going to: how are Rick's books any different from any other book: Let's Go, Lonely Planet, Fodor's, Frommer's, etc.? He just happens to sell more books, maybe, and he's a single face who makes for an easy target.

I don't see why he inspires such rancor. What's so bad about the message that European travel doesn't have to be for the rich? That travel opens one's horizons? That you can do it on your own and don't have to be fearful or nervous? That it's best to look for restaurants that only have locals? [Granted there is irony here, in that to find restaurants with lots of locals, you end up away from the ones he recommends!] European travel can be intimidating, especially for someone going solo or for a young person without much money. Rick's tips, as I said, helped me feel more confident in my traveling and he must help others too, or he wouldn't be so popular. His message IS to sample and try the local culture, and well, if some folks use his books as a safety net and don't, that's irony more than anything else.

His tips can be used without staying where he suggests or eating where he suggests. In fact, I've never done either of the latter. It's his travel philosophy that I like. That doesn't make me a lemming, which is a most vague term. Tuscany is very popular; is everyone who goes to Tuscany a lemming? ;-)

We always joke that Steve walks into his hotel of choice in his rumpled khakis and his backpack, then quickly exits out the back into a limo waiting to take him to his 5-star hotel.

We watch his show for the scenery. Although I'm sure that he must have some good advice, perhaps.
((c))

Oh, and Rick does NOT say there is a thief on every train so lock up your luggage. In fact Rick says, travel second class, so that couple really had him all wrong.

For reasons that I won't go into, I don't believe that Rick Steves hates America. I do believe, however, that he attempts to appeal to those who have a knee-jerk negative reaction to most things American.

He relentlessly tries to promote Europe by "devaluing" America. Steves is inspired by Europe and disappointed by America.

He celebrates European culture at the slightest pretense, whereas American culture is worthy of little more than a baseline with which to admire European greatness.

Steves arguments are all style and no substance. For example, if that nice man from Switzerland said that Americans are self-centered, then it simply must be true.

The message is clear, Rick Steves' Europe is good, contemporary America is bad. Read the article and decide for yourself (jpm kindly provided the URL).

If Rick Steves were willing to examine the souls of his fellow Americans as generously as he is of Europeans, he might not be so quick to separate the world into Americans and everyone else.

I believe I recall that RS said to <b> assume</b> that there is a thief on every train. I honestly find that kind of ridiculous and didn't pay any attention to it, but I read it in one of his books a few years ago and distinctly remember it.

He does say to travel 2nd class, but he also states that a Eurail pass will get your into 1st class as he usually recommends rail passes.

Tracy

Wow. To get back to the first post, I guess many of you on the forum really ARE against Rick Steves.

You know, I rather like the guy. I take some advice from his books, some advice from other books, and some advice from sites like this one. I don't agree with him on everything, but then again, I don't agree with everyone who posts here, either. So I guess it's even.

My personal preference is probably to spend a few more bucks on food and hotel than he'd suggest, but it's my money, and not his that I'm spending, so no big deal there. He's a bit more politically liberal than I am, it seems, but come to think of it my wife is more liberal than I am, too, so I guess I'm used to that.

I do find useful tips in his books, and I enjoy his commentary at times. I usually look at things a bit more in-depth than him, so his book isn't the only one I have available when I'm out and about, but it does rather amuse me to think that some of you would think I'm a loser if you saw me standing with his book underneath, say, the Eiffel Tower, as though I'm some sort of simpleton for even having it visible. That anybody would jump to that conclusion says more about them than it does about me, so what the heck.

For all of those of you who seem to hate the guy so much, I'd recommend maybe a nice cocktail to help you relax. After all, it's only travel we're talking about.

I'm against Rick Steves because:
#1 he is a really bad dresser.
#2 In all his years of traveling he has never bothered to learn a foreign language and seems proud of it.
#3 I think I'm smarter than he is.

That said, I would recommend his books, website, and TV programs for 1st time or timid American travelers wanting to make a trip to Europe because he has a very encouraging way about him.

Don't know that I hate the guy, I've never met him, read his books or watched his programme. I just thought his advice was curious. And they seemed very sure that Rick Steves had said every train had a thief. (I was tempted to tell them that he was right and I was it. If I had yelled &quot;stick'em up&quot; I think they would have soiled themselves).

But the cocktail is a splendid idea.

The travel snobs who hate Rick really make me laugh.

Personally, I couldn't disagree more with Rick politically, and I'm not enamored with his hotel and restaurant reccommendations, but his books have some outstanding practical information, particularly for first time travelers or first time travelers to a particular country.

The basic fallacy in the primary travel snob gripe against Rick is that if only these poor beknighted souls who clutch their RS guidebook as they explore Rue Cler would foresake his advice, travel would be so much better for these simple souls. The fact is, without a guidebook like Rick's, a lot of folks would simply resort to package tours (which are fine if you enjoy having someone else do the logistics--a lot of people do) rather than trying to travel independently. In between a package tour and a trip planned solely on your own reading of guidebooks, there is a niche for trips planned with the assistance of Rick's very detailed itineraries.

Intelligence is highly overrated. Not that it's a bad thing to have, but it is only one of the many useful tools that people can use to help get through life. Too many intelligent people become lazy because things came to them easiliy early in life, and so put down people who are more successful than they are as being less intelligent--not realizing that persistence and hard work will often yield more success in life (by many different measures) than intelligence alone.

Now people who combine intelligence, persistence, and hard work really have something going.

Let RS be -- he caters to a particular crowd, which most Fodorites are not (or we wouldn't be obsessively discussing travel on this board!). He caters to those who like to be led (the sheep) and that's fine. Some people need that. We don't.

I enjoy watching his shows to see the places and scenery. His vanilla manner annoys me slightly, but then sometimes Samantha Brown's giddiness and Rudy Max's arrogance does, as well. That doesn't mean the places they are visiting aren't spectacular, and feeding my need for a fix :P

No one pleases everyone.

&quot;He relentlessly tries to promote Europe by &quot;devaluing&quot; America. Steves is inspired by Europe and disappointed by America.&quot;

Yet like so many who are prone to this type of behavior, Steves still LIVES in America, the country he denigrates.

I want to burn the money belt I just purchased on rick steves.

Many in the developing world see in these clouds the vengeful ghosts of victims of American imperialism.

Who asked him for his opinion? Yes - there is freedom of speech, he can post whatever he likes. but he is making money off Americans, and still choosing to live here. If we are all such awful imperialists I'm sure the Sami peoples of Sweden would love to welcome him with a hot plate of reindeer and full health coverage.