Why the hate for Rick Steves?

Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:28 AM
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Why the hate for Rick Steves?

I've been posting for a few months and lurking for much longer - and certainly by now I've mastered the search function to avoid duplicate questions - but this one's got me stumped.

I find him a little bombastic, his books to be a little "flip" in tone, and if I knew him personally, I might find it annoying that he thinks my dream trip to Italy is somehow less authentic than his trips are. But I don't know him personally and thus cannot be offended.

But generally speaking, he encourages people to get out there, to trust their own abilities as travellers, and to get off the motor coach treadmill. Yet I see many comments about tourists with their Rick Steves guidebooks, and veiled horror that someone obviously listened to Rick Steves. Since I have exactly zero experience travelling in Europe until this fall, I have to ask - what is it about the "Rick Steves tourist" that makes some of you roll your eyes?

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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:32 AM
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The pot.

I've actually just got his Eastern Europe book, and it's been kind of helpful. For me, it's frustrating that he doesn't list all the sights like a normal guidebook ... I think he focuses too much on shopping and dining and not enough on museums, but that's where my interests lie. I think his self-guided tours and walks are pretty helpful.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:33 AM
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Will the answers in any way, shape, or form change YOUR mind about him?

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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:34 AM
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I don't really get it either. Sure, his itineraries are too rushed for my taste, and I don't always agree with everything he says, but he gives great, detailed information in a easy-to-read manner. I have enjoyed taking some of his self-guided walks, and he has given me some great advice (such as where to park or how to best get from point A to point B, etc.) that I wouldn't have otherwise known about.

Tracy

Tracy
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:34 AM
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I don't get it either. I buy his books for the walking tours of museums and churches. I find them amusing, and they go into the right degree of depth for our family of 5.

Some of his suggestions are right on. He said that at 6 pm there would be no line for the Campinele (sp) at St. Mark's in Venice. At 4:30 there was a long line. We went to do something else with an earlier closing time - came back at 6 pm - no line.

Maybe folks hate him because he purports to help people discover the undiscovered parts of Europe, but once he writes about them, they're mobbed.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:38 AM
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If i didn't know better I'd almost say this is someone from the RS PR department trying to conduct an on-line focus group or perhaps it is someone from Fodors tyring to figure out how to distance themselves from the competition.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:38 AM
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Here is my take on traveling Rick Steves style:
1) He brags about traveling with one small bag- he obviously does not shop or travel with his wife! If he did he would soon realize that one needs a lot more space!
2) He is fond of staying in quaint, smalll B&B places where you have to schlep your bags up the stairs- no elevator, maybe share the bathroom. Many of us prefer to stay in more upscale places- we like having an elevator and also someone to carry our bags--share a bathroom? Oh I think not- hey we are on vacation are we not?
3)His tips and suggestions on the venues- I think they are helpful so I always watch his shows. But after a while he gets repetitive- I thnk he needs to branch out to Asia maybe- he has done Europe over and over and over.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:39 AM
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Envy. Who wouldn't want to tour Europe six months a year, get your mug on TV, and make about $ 10,000,000 a year.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:40 AM
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http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...2&tid=34711318
You must have missed this thread while you were lurking. Hope this helps.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:45 AM
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I found his info on touring the Dingle Peninsula by car very helpful. I think his guidebook is user-friendly, and that may be where the appeal is. I think you need to pick and choose when it comes to RS. However, he is not the only source we've used to plan trips.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:46 AM
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I had never read a Rick Steve's guide book and only knew him from his TV shows, which I found mildly entertaining. I do not agree with some of his theories or practices, including the one I saw where he encouraged people in a small Italian pensione to stock up for the day with the food from the breakfast buffet. And another where he was wheeling and dealing for a better price for a bedroom in a private house. It just seemed so distasteful to me, but I guess I'm not a wheeling and dealing kind of guy, especially when it comes to someone's personal home.

But while staying in our last Paris apartment, there was a big shelf full of travel guides and I finally looked at one of his. It was OK, but seemed a little too "scrimp and save" for my style of travel.

The funniest thing though was that all these people rant and rave about things like how Rick Steve's has ruined certain places -- like the Cinque Terra. And the battle about how he claims Rue Cler is the be all, end all of places to stay in Paris. Ironically, I also looked at an old Insights guidebook for Paris -- at least 15 years old (isn't that pre-Rick-Steves?) extolling the virtues of Rue Cler as well. It claimed it was one of the most delightful market streets in Paris and certainly one of the most upscale. It went on to say the area was a good one to stay in as it was convenient to many attractions and had good transportation and seemed more a neighborhood than many other parts of Paris. So shouldn't those posters really be ranting and raving against Insights Guides instead of Rick Steves?
Meanwhile I did not see anything in Rick Steve's guide that even hinted that Rue Cler was THE place to stay. He mentioned three or four areas to focus on, gave reasons for his recommendations on each of them, and even made it clear that there were many other places to stay as well. Rue Cler was only one of his suggestions -- and was never referred to as the "be all, end all" of Paris.

I do think Rick Steves has encouraged many, many people to travel on their own and not to be afraid to get away from the usual tried and true city centers. Why anyone faults him for that, I'll never understand.
 
Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:52 AM
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Scarlett - I read the thread you mentioned, but to me, it seemed less to do with Rick Steves himself and more to do with *any* guidebook-approved restaurant. Christina - see above; the other threads that I have seen could easily apply to any guidebooks.

Dukey - don't be cranky, dear, it's too hot. I was making conversation about something that I'd been wondering about. I have visions of plump Americans walking down famous European streets with their arms outstretched, wearing money belts and clutching guidebooks, chanting "Braaaaaaaaains for my masterrrrrrr," the way some people carry on.

Okay, seriously. The books of his that I have read are as I described them. I thought, perhaps older versions of the books suggested unseemly behavior, and if anyone would know, it would be this board.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 07:58 AM
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TuscanTweety, you really read that thread that Scarlett mentioned and that's what you got out of it? I think you need to read it again. Perhaps you've forgotten what it really was. Certainly unless you're a speed reader you couldn't have re-read it and absorbed it all in the brief 12 minutes between when Scarlett posted and you posted saying you read it.
 
Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:04 AM
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I use Rick Steves as my primary source of information when I travel -- partly because I'm a budget traveler, and because my experience in Europe is limited to two trips so far. So his style of making good time and giving me the basic information is all good for me. I did notice on my second trip to Paris last year though, that I could use additional information, so I bought a couple of other books. But for a first-timer, I think Rick is a godsend.

His videos and personality (and sometimes, therefore, his writing style) are a little reminiscent of a father who's been out of touch a bit...that is to say his jokes are kind of hokey. But his information is very good, and I find other books that will guide you to the same place, but fail to publish their hours, or the cost of admission, etc. Rick covers most everything without fail, and usually without error (unless something changed).

I do think some of the badmouthing of Rick is just plain jealousy -- and I suspect they're the same ones who hate Bill Gates for making his billions. But I've lived 15 years of my adult life in Seattle, where Bill & Rick are both from, so I don't see them as pirates trying to take the world over, but as local boys who "made good".

I really like his can-do attitude that encourages people to just GO. I can't count the number of my friends who think we're crazy for having gone some of the places we have -- like Turkey.
If they only knew how easy it was...

Have fun when you go. I think it gives one good perspective to see what it's like "over there" and that our way isn't necessarily the only way or the right way to do things, and that despite our cultural differences, we are all basically the same.

Happy travels,

Jules
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:07 AM
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Quote from the thread I included for your information:
If you go where Saint Steeves points you, don't set your expectations too high, and prepare to spend the evening listening to Americans talk.

Tweety, I think you should slow down and read that thread again..
I think I agree with Christina, if you have been lurking for any length of time, by now you would know the feelings on the boards for Rick Steves, but by the end of the day, your thread will join the many others just like it.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:10 AM
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Neo - Sigh.

I read part of the thread when I did a search for "rick steves" before posting this thread in the first place. Just now, in that twelve minutes, I clicked the link, thinking perhaps I had missed something, and read enough to verify that I had already looked at it. Admittedly, I did not read the entire thing, because it veered into a childish, mudflinging catfight, and that level of negativity before lunch is not something I really need.

I'm feeling a touch defensive at the moment. I asked an innocent, extremely lighthearted question from a group of people that have done a great deal of reading and traveling over the years and instead of reading and enjoying the responses I'm defending my ability to read.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:12 AM
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my opinion:

he opens up travel to europe...makes it more accessable to the american masses, including americans who may not have been comfortable travelling to europe....the average joe. he makes it easy...demystifies it. doesn't present an esoteric set of codes to learn. he just says, "aw shucks".

therein lies the problem for many. for many people here, the travel that they do and the way they do it is a badge of honour. when they talk to the average joe, and mention that they just returned from paris, the last thing they want to hear from the average joe is "oh my gawd...so did i!" the last thing they want is for it to look simple.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:12 AM
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Some more conservative people complain that he is too liberal. Case in point is some of the commentary on his travel blog on the Steves site. I actually interpret his occasional comments on America in the world context as a sensible view informed by world travel.

His commentary is fairly direct and to the point, IMHO, and it's that personal voice in the writing style of his books that I find welcome.

I've also observed that some people complain that he and his readers "ruin" various hidden treasures, but that claim could be made about many guidebooks.

I like having a range of books to help plan our trips, from Fodors to Steves; I wish more of the guidebooks would do videos for PBS like Steves does.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:19 AM
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Rick Steves might be a good choice to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary General. He geniunely wants to aid the poor. Witness his support for Feed the Hungry. He's cheerful with all he meets and is willing to submerge himself in other cultures. He's multicultural. He tries to pick up other languages. He's even vaguely anti-American.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2006, 08:22 AM
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Tweety, don't be defensive, you read all the previous threads on Rick Steves, you must have known that is what happens
Have some lunch and come back later , ready to see what posting Rick Steves questions get ya LOL

I actually have little opinion on the man, other than not appreciating his poor choices at times for places to stay, to eat and his bad French lol...
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