Which Rick Steves book should I buy?
 

I'll be travelling all over Europe for six weeks... which one of these books should I buy?

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/ca...p;parent_id=10

Backdoor. But it only covers selected areas that he goes to with his tours, so read the table of contents or check your local library, it's a popular book and likely to be there.

If you're honing in on a special area, get the book for that area, it will pay for itself in a heartbeat if his commonsense and little-to-no-frills travel style suits you.

He's not for everybody - if spending 200 Euros a night is your budget, with air conditioning and heated towels and a concierge that carries your bags upstairs, then it's not for you.

WK

Oh no, I'm a budget traveller...

I think it's very difficult for anyone to tell someone else which travel book to buy. They can suggest books that THEY use or have enjoyed or have worked for them. I suggest you get thee to a book store and hopefully they will have a coffee bar, get a cup of coffee or tea if you prefer, go to the travel section and browse the books. That's what I did and I must say it was a VERY enjoyable couple of afternoons. There were also other people in the section that made suggestions for me and others just to chat with. If you want Rick Steves only, then get the books that pertain to the areas and/or countried you will be visiting. Have a good trip.

"All over" Europe? What are the specifics of your itinerary? Many of Rick Steves's books cover large areas such as his Best of Eastern Europe book, which covers several countries and many towns/cities.

I would probably get the one or two of his books that cover the most of your intended destinations and try to cover the rest of the areas from the library with whichever travel books (Steves or otherwise) you can find.

Andrew

It's not the same for everyone, but my preference is to focus on one country (if it's large, say Spain) or a couple countries if you can get around them quickly enough (BENELUX, for example.) While a good overview of Europe will help you narrow your focus, I think you will benefit from paring down your itinerary as you won't likely be seeing all of the continent in one trip: It's tough to get from Dublin to Athens to Lisbon to Helsinki, you know? Any guidebook you choose will teach you more than you know now, and as someone else advised, once you've decided which countries specifically to hone in on, THEN get more guidebooks.
I have a DK Eyewitness Guide to Europe, a Frommers Europe By Rail (which has been helpful for using the train to get around), several Rick Steves, some Lonely Planets, Frommers, Fodora, etc. - there's so much info it's overwhelming! Is there such a thing as having too many books?
You are on the right path with Rick Steves. I did especially well by Rick in Portugal and Spain and have his Europe 101, several phrasebooks, one of his pieces of luggage (well, not HIS piece of luggage, but one I ordered from his website;) )and I like to look at his "grafitti board." I also have used my local library not just for books but to rent the Rick Steves DVDs of the areas in which I will soon be travelling. His DVDs are also available - as are Globetrekkers - on Netflix, if you happen to subscribe. You have already found one of the best resources you could hope for: This board! There are so many enthusiastic posters, especially on the Europe forum.
I disagree that Rick's s choices are only 200 euro a night hotels, but if you are a bargain traveler, Lonely Planet and Globetrekker are geared toward saving money.
Bottom line: Get an overview of the continent, narrow your focus, then maybe get more specific guidebooks. 101 or Backdoor is a good place to start.
Have an awesome trip!

"All over" meaning Western Europe.

I'd get the "Best of Europe" to take with me. Then, take it to Kinko's or Staples and have it spiral bound (in plastic). Get some stick-on tabs to make it easier to find the city you are currently in. Remove pages for any areas you are not going to and add post-it notes for your notes from this board and your other reading. I also use post-it flags across the top with a city name written on them for all the restaurant sections.

There are lots of wonderful guide books you should check before you leave but carting them all along with only assure you an appointment at an orthopedic surgeon when you return.

Two posters have already recommended Europe Through the Back Door. So do I, especially if this is your first trip to Europe. However, much of what is in that book you can read verbatim in the Travel Tips section of the ETBD Web site. Visit the travel section of your local library. Like you, I'm a budget traveler. Along with Rick Steves, I personally like Lonely Planet. In general, LP provides broader coverage of a given area than does RS. Happy reading!

For a first timer, Europe through the back door is very valuable. But it's more a theory type book than a guide book. Easy reading with good ideas for travel around Europe in general. But you will also need some destination guides. His Best of Europe is also good, but even that is not comprehensive. He never claims it is - he picks the places HE thinks are most important/interesting. But he leave out ALOT. So I would also get one of the more comprehensive guides like Frommers or Fodors. If you are going to be gone six weeks it will probably be worth your while to carry two guide books. Because even the more comphrensive Frommers or Fodors Europe books leave out a lot that the specific city/country guides have. But you can't be carrying fifteen books around, so one of the those plus Rick's Best of would probably be enough. You can always tear out any areas you know you won't be visiting to lighten them up.

I'm glad this didn't turn into a bash-Rick-Steves thread. His books are well suited to some travellers.

I agree with previous posters who recommend you peruse the books at the library or book store. Have a sense of where you want to go and then decide which book(s) best cover your plans.

My nephews who did the junior-year-abroad thing during college or spent many weeks travelling after graduation also found Lonely Planet's Western Europe a very helpful take-along guide.

If you are narrowing it down to just one and you are indeed going all over Europe I would take best of Europe. I would also read other books (Ricks and others) on the areas I plan to visit before the trip.

I also agree with Europe Through the Back Door. I think it is great for an overall view of Europe with lots of basic information. However, I like to read more than one guidebook so I usually purchase a Rick Steves book and one or two others as each offer there own benefits.

I would also consider getting a few books that focus on the countries and/or cities that you will be visiting, as these will give you much more information.

Tracy

Rick Steves books are outstanding particularly for the first-timer. His Europe Through The Back Door book covers most of Western Europe and has some sections on Eastern European countries and Greece and Turkey as well. He has sample itineraries for each country based on how much time you have, and gives excellent travel tips for making your stay a safe and well-budgeted one.

I have bought many other books to supplement my travel planning, but that's the one I go back to for the basics when I'm learning the first of what I need to know to make my travel plans.

You can also go to the library and borrow travel videos if you live in a larger city that has a decent travel section.

Buying a couple of $20 books is a pittance of an investment to make in a $4000 or $5000 vacation. Your best best is to buy a few, study up and take only one or two with you. You'll save 10 times the money in wasted time and money than if you don't read them and wish you had.

Julie

One good tip regarding guidebooks is to get several and then rip out the pages from each that are likely to be of most use to you. Then take them to Kinko's to bind them together for $2 to make your own customized guidebook.

Also, note that there are specialized guidebooks for almost everything: art, wine, hiking, gays & lesbians, WW2 battlefields -- you name it. If you have such a specialized interest in mind for your trip, do some research on Amazon and you will almost certainly find what you're looking for.

Rick Steve's Europe Through the Back Door is a good suggestion. Yes, he suggests what HE likes and leaves out a lot - but that's what they all do, isn't it? No guide book will cover everything that everyone thinks worthy of exclusion - it all boils down to the writers' favourite places in the end. Haviing said that, however, Rick Steves' favourites are pretty good for a first-timer. (Or am I saying that because his Europe Through the Back Door just happened to coincide with my own picks - even down to specific B&Bs in several places!)?

I would use "Europe thru the Backdoor" as the first book to read to get a better handle on how to plan, how to travel, how to pack, how to handle reservations and finances, and some idea of where you want to go.

But it would not be a book I choose to take with me. For that, I'd move onto something more specific from the likes of Let's Go, Rough Guide, or Lonely Planet.

I agree with Suze. "Back Door" is not a tour book - it will not help you with restaurants, transportation, etc. Read it before you get ready for your trip though.

Rick Steves books are cheaper when you buy them through Amazon than on his own website, go figure.

For my past three Europe trips I bought Rick Steves books as well as Fodor's, Frommer and Cadogan.

We are not budget travelers but I found Rick Steves very useful for detailed instructions in finding certain places. He seems to summarize it fairly well. If I need to "flesh it out" I look in my other books.