Who uses Rick Steves?
 

It seems that Rick Steves is sort of "frowned upon" by Fodorites - why is that? Is his advice not accurate or is it b/c Fodor's "competes" w/ Rick Steves books? Just wondering.....

You can't make that assumption. Whenever there is a RS thread the posts runs about 50/50 pro-Rick/anti-Rick. Or maybe just slightly more pro-Rick.

He meets some folks needs - and doesn't meet others' . . . . .

I think it has more to do with him being a little goofy and sometimes a check list appraoch to travel. That being said, I think he offers some very good insights to some different ways to enjoy major sights (say, the organ at St. Sulpice) and he does a good job of providing some budget tips.

The fact of the matter is that no one guide can cover it all. I look at his, Fodor's, Frommers, etc. when planning a trip, but I really seem to rely more on this and other travel sights.

Guidebooks (like maps) are highly personal. One might fit your needs and personality, while another will not.

Steves focuses on places he has actually been to and routes he has actually taken. So he has detailed, personalized info on those places and routes.

Other guidebooks cover everything.

Some people like one format; some another.

Steves might tend to engender more passion among fans and detractors because of his financial success and TV exposure.

.....some folk dislike(!) his left-
leaning politics and espousal of
legalizing marijuana. And the fact
he has dared to criticize some US
policies regarding other countries.
Somehow, people have difficulty separating the persona from the
product. I'm Canadian so I don't
have the baggage, so to speak, so
I'm quite fond of his geeky, well-
intentioned Seattlite ways.....but
then his mother is a Canuck! LOL.

He certainly polarized fractious
Fodorites - but then so do clothing
lists and fanny packs.......

I think "Europe Thru the Backdoor" is an excellent book for first time travelers. Not so much to use specifically as a 'guidebook' on a trip, rather to wrap your mind about all kinds of things you need to think about traveling in Europe.

He has a very specific style that bugs some people & comes across goofy on his TV shows imo. His advice is pretty personalized to his own taste and level of standards... you might agree on his hotel and restaurant choices or they might not be your style at all.

Rick Steves' advice is accurate as much as any guidebook can be, and I'll speak for myself but it has absolutely nothing to do with Fodor's being in the same line of work.

I once met him & personally think he's a very nice person but often don't like his books because he doesn't even mention the places I'm interested in visiting.

Case in point, I'm going to Auxerre in June but there's nothing about it in his book on France. (Well, at least the 2006 version, I haven't seen a more recent edition.)

I've said this before on other threads.

I like RS's guidebooks for <b>planning</b>. They are full of practical information (such as where the ATM is located, or where a particular bus stop is, or how much is the fare etc).

But I don't use his guidebooks for actual sightseeing. I don't like his &quot;commentary style&quot; writing which I find way too subjective. I also don't like the fact that his guidebooks only cover the sights which HE thinks is worth seeing. There are plenty of other sights that aren't mentioned at all in his guidebooks.

I almost avoid the hotels and restaurants he recommends because majority of the time, those are packed with American tourists.

I downloaded a Steve Ricks podcast of a tour of the Louvre. It was useless, I lost track of where I was supposed to be within 2 minutes. And it was full of useless chatty filler. But meanwhile I had not brought another guide with me thinking the podcast would be enough.

Oh Shanti, Auxerre is lovely. We were there in the fall and they had half cleaned the Cathedral. The bottom half was pristine white and the top half a dingy grey. It was interesting to see.

You are lucky to be going.

I enjoy reading his books - I find his style of writing (or his staffs LOL) to be an easy enjoyable read. It helps to give me an overview. I doubt highly that I would use his hotel recommendations.

~Dawn

I avoid any hotels that Rick Steeves recommends. We stayed at one in Italy that was one of his choices and it was awful.

yk--it's not so much that he only covers only places that he thinks are worth seeing, but that he only covers places that he has actually visited.

Jake - I LIKE that... I would prefer someone not be writing about what they think of a place by reading what other people think of a place! ;-)

~Dawn

One more comment on Auxerre - be sure to visit the Abbaye St Germain which we found much more interesting than the cathedral. It has what are claimed to be the oldest frescoes in France, dating from the 9th century. I found them incredibly moving.

I agree with the people who have said &quot;different strokes for different folks&quot;.

I love the pictures in the DK books but don't find them very good for planning. I like the details of Lonely Plants but find them a little shallow for all the places I want to visit.

On TV Rick Steves is pretty goofey, Rudy Maxa is pretty stuffy, Samantha Brown is obsessed with expensive modern hotels. All of them have their shortcomings but I am such a travel-addict that I watch them all just like I read all the guide books.

On their politics. That's is not what I look to them for and they are welcome to their own opinions.

Lonely Plants.... Lonely Planet (pretty much the same thing).

I do! I've used Rick Steves' guidebooks (and ancillary website and of course his PBS shows) almost exclusively for my last two trips to Europe in 2001 and 2005. I find the information to be unequivocally down-to-Earth and opinionated, and his tips unceasingly useful when it's time for the 'rubber to hit the road' and I need to make valuable, culturally-expanding and enjoyable decisions.

Once in a great while I'll peruse the other two major guides, Frommers and Fodors -- LOTS of great info there too -- but overall I find them to be less user-friendly and not without their pretentiousness. I guess I'd rather brag about what I learned about others and myself as opposed to how well off I am.

I've now finished my itinerary for my Fall 2008 trip to Europe using Rick Steves' books and wouldn't have it any other way. That's about as sterling a testimonial as I can give.

I travel with teens/tweens and we love his walking tours of musuems, castles, etc. They offer just enough depth for the kids' level of interest and he always has a funny comment to throw in. So....if we found his tour of the Louvre perfect for our kids, passionate/serious adult art fans may NOT find his tour of the Louvre to be perfect for them.

Well for the most part I like his books - as another poster stated they are full of very practical info for the places he lists. Sometimes the hotels or restaurants can be so-so as far as my personal preference goes, but his listings are a good starting point. There is a bit of a &quot;swarm&quot; phenomena - you will see many americans walking the &quot;Rick Steves trail&quot; in a wide assortment of coutnries -one time in Cinque Terre I did an informal survey of how many of the visitors were there &quot;with&quot; Rick - it was almost everybody! When I was visiting Arles on my own journey along the &quot;Rick Steves trail&quot; lo and behold, there was Rick! I must say he was very pleasant and approachable - signed his book for me and then took our picture together with my camera.

We use RS books. We have not stayed at the hotels he recommends but we use the books for recommendations for site seeing etc for places we are interested in. Then we tear out the pages and take them with us for the places we want to go to.

I find his books to be as useful if not slightly more useful than most for determining which areas are worth visiting. For trip planning, I almost always use three books. Rick Steves, DK and Fodor’s, none of which sufficiently cover the less visited areas of a country. Not sure what book actually does or should. That would be like a book on the U.S. having a whole section on Wilmington, Delaware. Most will never care to read it. They are always going to cover the more frequented areas. I use the Rick Steves books to get &quot;The Lay of the Land&quot; by referring to his page with the top sites and must sees, DK for the pictures and &quot;survival guide&quot;, and Fodor’s and the forums for restaurants/hotels. I do find most hotels or restaurants recommended by Steves to be run into the ground or overly touristy by the time I make it there. I find the Internet to be the best resource overall, however. The only problem there is that I have to deal with everyone’s &quot;opinions&quot; which one should never be subject to... Especially someone like that sandal wearing, pot smoking Rick Steves, huh llamalady? But seriously, I don't mind reading opinions either from a guide or from this site. Rick should do as good a job keeping his opinions to himself as us Fodorites. For info gathering, I’ll take all of it. I think it all has value.

I have stayed in several hotels recommended by Rick Steves and have not been disappointed. Interesting experience in the Loire area of France. I stayed at a recommended B&amp;B (it was wonderful, by the way) and our host told us that he is listed in several travel guidebooks, but that the only guidebook that checks his B&amp;B out EVERY year is a staff person from Rick Steves. And - there is no warning that the person is coming, so that they see it &quot;as is.&quot; He told me that he was listed in some guidebooks where he had never been visited by anyone to confirm that what he was offering was a reality.

I found that very interesting. And - while you might not always agree with Rick's taste in hotels, restaurants, etc., I have found his descriptions to be very accurate, so I haven't been disappointed when I have selected a hotel or restaurant he has recommended.

We use Rick Steves quite a bit. I like the practical information his guidebooks contain, and find them especially helpful for a first time trip.

I like Rick and use his books as one of several when planning a trip. I also take his book(s) along.

I suspect that some people do not like him because they are simply jealous that he has been able to turn his passion into a way to make a very comfortable living.

dolciani,

You can't expect EVERYBODY to like EVERYBODY. Many people simply don't care for Rick Steves while others worship him. As to &quot;why?&quot;, it's not important (or even answerable, possibly). IT'S OK.

Save your time and energy for your trip planning.

Find an author/guidebook whose style fits your own and have a great trip.

I've used RS's books when going to places he discusses. I also use Frommers and this discussion board. I think RS is fine for those seeking less expensive hotels/restaurants and those who plan to visit the restricted set of places his books discuss.

I don't know about his politics, and could care less. I can't imagine how that would dissuade me from staying at a particular hotel.

Is he goofy on TV? Yes, but who cares. He has a passion for what he does, by all accounts is a down to earth, nice person, and his shows give good information. Like AisleSeat, I enjoy his shows, Maxa's and &quot;Samantha-Brown-stays-at-the-world's-most-expensive-hotels&quot; Passport to Europe program. I learn something new or good regardless of his dorkiness.

Thanks for the suggestions on Auxerre. At least I think I'm going to Auxerre. I just checked the e-mail about my reservation &amp; notice they had typed July, but I'm supposed to be there in June.

As far as Rick Steves is concerned, a lot of the posters make a valid point - it's best to use a variety of guide books. One that I like for some of it's info, though I'm certainly not in their target demographic, is the Let's Go Books.
I like the DK books for their graphics &amp; Fodors has good info,too. And RS has useful info - if he's writing about the place you want to go to.

&quot;our host told us that he is listed in several travel guidebooks, but that the only guidebook that checks his B&amp;B out EVERY year is a staff person from Rick Steves. And - there is no warning that the person is coming, so that they see it &quot;as is.&quot; He told me that he was listed in some guidebooks where he had never been visited by anyone to confirm that what he was offering was a reality.&quot;

If the checkers are anonymous, how on earth would he know? It almost sounds the other way round to me, if the Rick Steves writers identify themselves (even after booking), may they not be getting special treatment?

Fodors doesn't have any opinion on him, and has never tried to get people to say that.

A lot of people like the above insist it must be because people are &quot;jealous.&quot; No, that isn't the reason, I don't like him either and I'm not remotely jealous of him or any other author, I have my own life and career and comfortable income, and wouldn't even want to do what he does.

I don't like him because I don't like his books. I don't like a lot of his attitudes and opinions (and it has nothing to do with liberal or marijuana). I just don't share his assessments of things many times, he just has weird taste to me. I'm mainly thinking of attractions, cities, etc. He is very dismissive of some things I find interesting and enjoyable, and will tell people not to waste their time there, etc. His guidebooks do not have very good maps, and I expect that in a guidebook.

Now I do think his Paris guidebooks is pretty bad, but I found his book on Switzerland not that bad, and useful enough for someone who hadn't been there before. I used it a bit.

I was on a plane ride with him last month, he was with his son. He looks better in person, actually, not quite as dorky, I thought. It was funny as even though I don't watch him a lot, I recognized him immediately -- at least, though, gee that guy looks like Rick Steves. Then I realized the plane was going onward to Portland OR (I got off in Reno), and read that he had been in Wash DC for some business thing, and realized it was him. he doesn't look as geeky in person, actually -- at least that's what I thought.

When I first started travelling to Europe, I used Rick Steves's books almost exclusively. As I have grown older, I have branched out to use Fodor's, Frommers, Lonely Planet and many websites. I do like his practical tips on many of the sites. However, I now like to find my own &quot;back doors&quot;.

The checkers (from Rick Steves) are not anonymous - they are just unannounced.

I like his info and have several of his books, but like anything in life I do not get all my information and base my opinions on one source. He's a good mix to any travel plans with others as well.

I use a variety of guide books and resources when planning a trip - Frommers, Fodors, Trip Advisor, RS, etc. I find RS very helpful with practical information as other posters have said and that is an important part of the planning for me. That being said, I also don't necessarily care for the commentary or some of his recommended restaurants because they do seem to be highly populated with other tourists.

shanti, we loved Auxerre. We had a wonderful dinner at a little restaurant called something like, Le Petit Bourdain (that might not be exactly right -- I'll check my notes). We liked it so much, we went back to the same place the next night!

I use a combination of three books anytime we travel and Steves is one of them. We've used his recommendations for hotels a couple of times with great success. However,we have always used his higher priced locations. We've also stopped at a couple of the out of the way locations he recommends (especially in Spain) and used a local guide who was awesome that he also recommends. For more detailed info, we use the InSight Guide and for the broader, one size tries to fit all, we use Fodors (no offense meant here so don't take off on me, ok?)

I always get a Rick Steves guidebook when I'm going to Europe, but I also bring a Frommers, and I consult a Fodors before I go--especially when I'm not sure what I want to see in a speciific city or country.

Rick limits his books to specific places, so he doesn't have info on all the places I typically want to go. Just my opinion, of course, but his is the first book I buy when I'm planning a new trip.

I will never forget the first trip to Europe on our own. I remeber watching one of Rick's PBS shows and he showed how to read the train schedule. It was very basic and yet so helpful. Also I like that he oftens points out where public restrooms are located. Again very helpful. I actually haven't used any of his books for a long time, but wouldn't hesitate to do so.

We used to live close to the RS office and would go there and use the resources to plan trips. One thing that was especially nice is that there is a library of all sorts of travel guides, not just his, and you are free to browse near the firepit.

I do use his books on trips. I like how he makes suggestions of what to see if you have 3 day vs 5 days, etc.

As far as his hotel suggestions go, I too used to think that I would not go for them. But last summer we booked the Muguet in Paris and after I booked it I saw he recommended it in his book. It sure taught me to not just dismiss his ideas.

I'm surprised that no one in this thread has mentioned the excellent Michelin Green Guides, my all-time standbys. I loved the Fielding guides, but they are no longer being published.