Dukey-
I'm so sorry you missed out on the pleasures of Dr Seuss in your younger youth, but it's never too late!

re Rick Steves; I have never bought any of his books/products and somehow I survive and am happy.

I think I will take 1 or two Dr. Seuss books on my September trip to Italy instead!

I think that those are minor considerations at best, Dukey (in fact, I don't really believe that they engage in e-mail address harvesting; I don't think I have ever received an unsolicited e-mail message from Fodors in 7 years).

The real "purpose" is the obvious one: they provide the internet's best travel question-and-answer service (thereby complementing, and continuously updating the info offered in the books they sell), to tens of thousands of would-be customers... all staffed by a few hundred volunteers.

I HOPE you know I was teasing you Dukey, and yes...you NEED to read at least ONE Dr. Suess book. Many layers there actually. I have never gotten any kind of solicition from Fodor's, ever.

Rex hit the nail on the head. This forum is a wealth of information 100% staffed by volunteers.

Mr. Steves is the equal of Rachel Ray & her cooking you dinner in 30 minutes or eating on $40 a day. It is a 'run before you walk', beginners guide, period. However, I am in agreement w/many on here. Dashing about & checking off all the things I've seen is hardly my style of travel, though I have gleaned a few tidbits of knowledge from his shows. Visiting Cesky Krumlov for example.

On the topic of Rick, my sister is in Europe for the summer and she was on a tour in Dublin with Rick and his family today. She said he seemed extremely down to earth (especially for a multi-millionaire) and was very polite to the many people approaching him for autographs even though he was obviously vacationing with his wife and children.
Personally while I can take or leave much of his advice, I cannot help but admire someone who has built such an enviable career doing something he loves to do.

He is really down to earth because he is a big pot smoker...no kidding...

Obscurely related, I'd like to see Rick Steves and Rudy Maxa as a team on Amazing Race. It would be fun to see them fight.

I lump Rick Steves in the same category as Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. If you like one, you'll probably like the other. If you don't, you won't.

Funny, I like Steves but Brown's Da Vinci Code's premise is silly. I think the Da Vinci Code appeals to people who take the Zodiac and Horoscopes seriously.

It seems like people are assuming the people who buy his books follow everything he says to the letter and stay and eat only in the places he recommends. It’s a GUIDE. No matter how much you spend for a book or how “sophisticated” you are you still need to research the area and make your own decisions. Any book is just a starting point.

I’m finding his Germany book helpful. That does not mean that his guide for every country I visit will suit my needs.

There is a piece in this book about cyclists and pedestrians in Munich. It say “pedestrians wandering onto the bicycle path will here the cheery ding ding of the cyclists bell before being knocked unconscious”. I trust his advice for Munich!

What I don't get is the whole superiority to Rick Steves thing on message boards.

We do tend to get people on these boards who have been to Europe a few times. If it was your first time going and you were, say, retired, you might find one of his books helpful or even take one of his tours. The first time to Europe many people are not comfortable traveling independently and everyone needs some help.

Heck, I occasionally take an organized package tour to some places outside Europe where I do not feel comfortable traveling solo and even consult guidebooks before going. As I said before, one of the guidebooks I use is not Steves' but there is nothing wrong with his books. They fill a niche and have made him very rich.

Now if we could all get paid for traveling!

Well, obviously he's doing something right.

Of course, Steves is doing something right. The only thing that burns some folks is that they didn't think of it first. There are plusses and minuses to all guidebooks and Steves has found his niche.

It is wise for all of us to remember--including those who have been to Europe 74 times--that they asked a lot of dumb questions the first few times they went. Perhaps they still have a few dumb questions after 74 trips even!

No, I haven't been 74 times. I just picked that number out of the air.

Europe thru the Backdoor is a fun book to read even for arm-chair travelers.

Well, maybe I will have to take a look at it sometime. I have seen some of the Steves TV programs and they are not bad.

George W - What a great idea, Rudy and Rick on The Amazing Race - but an unfair advantage to the rest of the teams. :)

I just returned from a trip that included two B&Bs that were listed in Rick Steves, and believe me, the owners were more than happy to have the listing!

Although I had heard of the B&Bs thanks to this website, the owners were unaware of the Fodors website, and were much more excited to have their listing with RS, which obviously provides a good deal of their bookings.

For the record, the B&Bs are the very-popular LA COUR SAINTE CATHERINE in Honfleur and the B&B Verhulst in Brugge. Both are excellent places, by the way. I just found it interesting how much the listing in Rick Steves meant to them.

My own take is that no one guide book stands on its own, and RS is really good at certain things; he conveys a great deal of enthusiasm, provides an accessible approach to a place, and makes travelling very user-friendly for people who are scared to do it on their own. He's also changed over the years, getting slightly more upmarket in his restaurant choices. I know some of your are thinking "Are you crazy?", but he's getting older, too, and clearly has a little more money to burn! He also doesn't do the "22 days in...." anymore; the reader can pick and choose destinations, and RS doesn't provide a time frame for the recommended itineraries anymore.

Besides the jealousy thing that I believe many people do feel (especially if you are of an age close to Mr. Steves!), I think that it's easy to malign him because HE is the guidebook-- instead of a corporate entity like Fodors or Frommers, or even Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. That is, it's so much more personal, and we all have a feeling about HIM, good or bad. I still give him a lot of credit for doing what he's done. I sure wish I did it! Yeah, the "back door" thing is a little old by now, and maybe his accent is a little bit irksome, but he really isn't so bad. And, truthfully, don't you find some of his recommendations helpful?
Paule

My husband and I have both travelled a bit, not an expert by any stretch, but I still look at guidebooks to help plan trips.

It would be fun to have a travel expert team on The Amazing Race.

-George W - What a great idea, Rudy and Rick on The Amazing Race - but an unfair advantage to the rest of the teams.-

Not if they both thought they were right about everything!

I have always enjoyed the books. I also went on the ETBD Heart of France tour in 2003. I was traveling alone and thought the group sounded like the kind I would want to hang out with and I loved all the places on the itinerary.

I had a great time on the tour. For me, it was the right pace and I felt like we had a good mix of structured time and time on our own and stayed at hotels that I don't think I would have booked on my own. I feel much more confident about visiting France again - alone or with someone.

I just think it is funny that RS books and tours cause so much commotion and people don't spend a lot of time criticizing Frommers books or Globus tours. I can't imagine EVERYONE loves those either. I say, take Rick or leave him!

PS - I did get to meet Rick at Mont St Michel as he was working on some new shows. He was very nice. I always thought he was smug on the tv show so I wasn't surprised when he seemed a little smug the next night when we saw him at an internet cafe. Oh well - I've known much more smuggy people in my life. :)

The smugness is one reason why people may dislike him. Frommer's, Fodor's, Michelin, etc., are not identified with specific people and are simply seen as information sources. They don't try to tell you or give you the impression that they know best, nor do their books show the kind of bias or ignorance that one can see in RS guides.

I don't think it's a good idea to build travel advice around a personality cult. Look at what has happened to wine with Robert Parker.

BTilke -- interesting point about the DaVinci Code and RS...neither are great literature, but both have a decent tour of Paris & Le Louvre.

;)

Jules

No opinion, really about the guy himself. Our PBS station doesn't carry his show. A few general opinions about the product.

I personally wouldn't want to follow the guide on one of my own trips, as it's seems to have created a fairly heavily trafficked and narrow path, but that's only because I don't care much for crowds and non-self planned trips, or similar. I prefer having all the options possible in my book, and then choosing for myself. Not sure how to explain it the way I want, but might compare it to the difference between a prix fixe meal or ala carte menu. More power to him though for the success of his marketing skills. I saw him compared to Bill Gates, which seems very true. Both have been exceptional in the ability to piece together and sell the ideas of others, wrapped in easily understood containers. Lots of people want exactly that.

What I find sort of funny is that I'd never heard of him before I got on the Fodors forums. And I have no trouble avoiding the man or the product if I wished to - except for here on Fodors.

What an interesting thread! Having spent 6 months in Europe in my 20's ( 20 years ago....) I was very cynical about RS. My impression was confirmed when I saw him at a Writers Festival in Edmonds, WA a few years back. I had recently moved to the US, had heard only vaguely of this Steves fellow, and was looking forward to hearing his views on travel writing.
Well. The session had nothing to do with writing, and everything to do with RS Inc. Was I disappointed!
Recently, I've been preparing for a trip to Italy, and avoiding any RS books, buying instead a Frommer's guide to get up to speed. I found it bland and humorless. Then a friend at work loaned me the RS Italy book, and I found myself reading and re-reading it, enjoying the first-person perspective. Back in the 80's I used Let's Go guides (where are they now??), and they always had attitude. Unlike some others on this thread, I really appreciate a personal slant to travel recommendations. Heck, that's why I spend my evenings reading these postings!

The Let's Go series is still around. I just bought one for my trip to Chile. I gnerally pick up slightly out of date guidebooks at a discount on line on one of the remaindered book sites. The one I use most often is bookcloseouts.com

I don't know whether to feel happy or deprived that until I started haunting this forum I'd never heard of Rick Steves, to this day I've never seen any of his books on sale, and no TV channel carries his shows.