Non Rick Steves Guidebook Assessment: 2008
There are a lot of guidebooks other than Rick's. What are some of your experiences using different guidebooks, positive and negative?
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Turkey
For those interested in architecture in Istanbul and surrounding environs look for "Sinan Diaryz: A Walking Tour of Mimar Sinan's Monuments" by Ann Pierpont. A well-researched guidebook detailing the life and times of the master Ottoman Empire architect Sinan and many of his commissioned monuments. An avid walker, Ann provides directions for walking and public transportation and for the Sinan enthusiast, she maps out 2 tours
focusing exclusively on his buildings. A very informative and beautiful book.
Poppy Wyatt
Sherwood, OR USA Thu 10/02/2008
Downloadable Paris Travel Guidebook
There is a free Paris travel guide with NO advertisements or promotions. It was written by a college professor. You can download it immediately at his website which is http://www.travelingprofessor.com
John Polli <email>
Garden City, NY USA Mon 08/18/2008
France - Quality accommodation
For travelling through France and for finding guaranteed GOOD QUALITY accommodation and Gites try
www.home-sweet-home-fr.com
L Fuselier <email>
London, UK Thu 07/17/2008
Non Rick Steeves Guidebook Assessments
I really like the Lonely Planet series. I am now using it along with Rick's to plan my trip to Ireland. Rick's is best by far for lodging, eating and suggestions of places to go. Lonely Planet goes into a little more detail and provides background information. they go well together.
Dale
USA Wed 07/16/2008
Rick Steves' Books are at the top of my list!
As a high school teacher who loves to research my trips, I am familiar with and have read many of the travel books and magazines, Frommer's, Dummies, Lonely Planet, Budget Travel and Conde' Nast Traveler. In my opinion, and for my budget and money, Rick Steves' travel books are the best, and are the only ones I purchase. I rent the others from the library and take notes. Dummies is a distant second because they recommended Heidelberg (ugh!) and Rick didn't!
Gwen Ashworth <email>
Lake Charles, LA USA Wed 07/09/2008
Perfect Guides
Difficult to beat Bradt Guides, I find. They are exceptionally well written. See www.bradtguides.com. Their US distribution is handled by Globe Pequot. For in depth articles on places I'm planning on visiting, I also really like hidden europe magazine. A work of art. See www.hiddeneurope.co.uk
Dorrie Healey
NYC, NY USA Tue 07/08/2008
Vatican Museum Tour
When traveling to Rome contact Jason Pitelli at Love 4 Adventure, www.love4adventure.com. His tour of the Vatican Museum & the Sistine Chapel is not to be missed.
Jody Schmoll <email>
Chandler, AZ USA Sun 06/22/2008
Maureen Fant - Rome
On our recent visit to Rome, Maureen Fant led us (my husband, our 15 yr. old daughter and myself) through a wonderful dining/culture adventure. First we toured the Testaccio quarter and then the market where we shopped for lunch ingredients - menu based on in-season produce and tailored to our tastes. We prepared our meal and feasted on some of the most delicious food I have ever tasted! The day was greatly enjoyed by all. It was a wonderful complement to other days spent soaking up the art and the history of the city. For more info, check out her website at www.maureenbfant.com
Ann Blalock <email>
Katy, Texas USA Sun 06/22/2008
Angelo's Boat Tours
My sister and I recently went on a two week adventure in Italy and France. (Rome,Venice, Cinque Terre, Chamonix, Mont-Blanc, Portofino, Amalfi Coast, Capri and Paris) One of the best times was in Monterosso, Cinque Terre with Angelo's Boat Tours. Angelo and his wife, Paula (she is American) were so nice. The boat trip was special and the lunch Paula prepared was delicious. They offer a great day on the water and wonderful conversation and food. Was one of the highlights of our trip. We just missed Rick, he had just been there. We actually found this tour on his website.
Teri Gordon <email>
Key West, FL USA Fri 06/20/2008
Pauline Frommer
I highly recommend Pauline Frommer's London guidebook as a wonderful supplement to the Rick Steve's book. It is written in a very witty manner, and includes honest restaurant and hotel recommendations which, included with Rick's book give you much more variety to choose from. There are also many suggestions for smaller, "hidden" sights that you'd never find on your own.
sue <email>
Boston, MA USA Fri 06/20/2008
Oceania Hotel
Just a short note on the wonderful Oceania hotel in Rome. We were there for 2 nights in early May and couldn't have been happier with the place.Location was great and the people running it could not have been nicer. Room was everything Rick said it was in his guidebook.Great breakfast served by the staff that was excellent.
Brian <email>
Arvada, co USA Mon 06/02/2008
Supplement Info for Barcelona & Catalonia
We planned our adventure on our own just reading books and websearching. As a supplement to Steve's Spain guide we recommend "Barcelona & Catalonia" (Eyewitness Travel Guides - Roger Williams), Frommer's Barcelona day by day: 19 smart ways to see the city, www.CatalunyaTourisme.com, or www.costabrava.org or www.castillos.net. Barcelona is a trip in of itself, if you have the time, do explore the towns of Girona,Figueres or Costa Brava (stay away fr touristy trappy beaches as Steves would say)or check out the route of the castles to see those medieval towns by the countryside. Even w/ gas at $7.10 gal, renting a mini Citroen could be inexpensive compared to the train.We rented 1 in Barcelona, drove up all over to Colliuoure FR and back only 2 tanks(under 100.US)for 2 people. All we needed was the Michelin Costa Brava foldout map and drive w/ 55-60mph, to appreciates the landscape better. The toll hwy AP-7 is not that expensive or you can take the N-11 state road instead. Good luck to fellow travelers.
California Traveler <email>
Walnut Creek, CA USA Wed 05/28/2008
Guide books
I really like Rick Steves and Frommer's. Although Frommer's sometimes tends to be on the pricier side with restaurants and hotels it still has really good information in them and maps. I do not like Fodor's they felt lacking in many areas.
Colleen
Sunny, FL USA Tue 05/27/2008
Travelling with Kids
"Take your kids to Europe" is a Fantastic resource for families travelling.I love all of Rick Steves books, and wouldn't travel without them, but TYKE is a great add-on. Great suggestions on eating, sleeping and keeping your sanity with kids from 6 months to the terrible teens.
Sylvia <email>
Toronto, Ont Canada Tue 05/27/2008
Open Road's Best of Paris
I love the walks found in Open Road's Best of Paris (by Andy Herbach). Great street-by-street directions and detailed color maps.
Lance
Chicago, IL USA Sun 05/18/2008
Open Road Guides
Another poster mentioned Open Road's Best of Paris. I print off the free walks found on the website of the the Open Road guides written by Andy Herbach (www.eatndrink.com). The walks pdfs are free and include walks for Paris, Provence, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam. Highly recommended.
Karl
Palm Springs, CA USA Sun 05/18/2008
ROUGH GUIDES!
I love my Rough Guide in addition to rick Steve's. Don't buy a Fodor's. I wish I could take mine back. They really aren't that helpful. Too basic with overly expensive listings for accomodations and eating out.
Amber
Houston, TX USA Tue 05/13/2008
Backpacking options
For those of us without much money, Let's Go is a must. I found the best solution for me was to use the Rick Steve's for the sightseeing info and the Let's Go for food and accomodations, as my budget didn't reach the recoomendations in Rick's books.
Sarah
Leonardtown, MD USA Wed 05/07/2008
Greece
For Greece : I think the best travel guide book is "GREECE" by Dana Facaros & Linda Theodorou, published by Cadogan Guides, at London in the U.K. Distributed in the U.S.A. by The Globe Pequot Press at Guilford, Connecticut, U.S.A. I have the 2003 edition. Enjoyable to read descriptions of places, and history. Good color maps at the back of the book. This book is a totally high quality book. The print is a larger size than the print in the other books on Greece. The pages in this book are
more visually pleasant to read than the pages in the book "Rough Guide to Greece". 844 pages, plus the Index.
In the Lonely Planet book "Greece" by David Willett, Carolyn Bain, Michael Clark, Des Hannigan, Paul Hellander, Jeanne Oliver (6th Edition. 2004), I like the chapters on the Cyclades islands (written by Des Hannigan). The Lonely Planet book on Greece is sufficient as the only book to read for planning a trip to Greece.
Ron
(southwest), Missou USA Thu 04/17/2008
Paris, literally speaking...
I visited Paris recently with a class of video production students & their professor & I had a mission: seeking locations where famous American authors hung out & lived. We used Bloom's Guide to Paris (Bloom's Literary Places series) & it worked out quite well! However, it is NOT organized like a standard travel book: you have to read a bit to find the addresses. So, if you want to hang out at the Cafe Deux Magots or the Brasserie Lipp on the Blvd St Germain like Hemingway did, or find the Beat Hotel, home of Kerouac & Burroughs, get this book! Also, I can recommend Jessica Powell's Literary Paris: A Guide BUT NOT for carrying around w/you all day - it's a hardcover. Instead, read it, make a small checklist of the locations & carry that with you. Both books make great reading on the plane, train, or in your hotel room after a long day of sightseeing.
Tom <email>
Poughkeepsie, NY USA Fri 04/11/2008
Guide books other that R. Steves
I always use Lonely Planet because of the vast number of countries covered, as well as regions within a country. And Rough Guides. For Italy, I have also used AA touring. One, 'On The Road Touring' gives drives of 3-5 days with all main sights on the way, plus information etc., and things which children might enjoy. The other AA book, currently loaned to a friend so I don't have the exact title, has walks, both city and country hikes. The AA books are British, and aimed at the independent traveller. I have also used the Italian Tourist Agency in my country (Australia), explaining where I was to go and within a few days a large package arrives with books, phamplets, maps and pages of websites. Fabulous. And most importantly, Google.
Pat Pooley <email>
Wodonga, Vic Australia Fri 04/11/2008
seeking Abruzzo, Italy guidebook advice
Can anyone recommend a guidebook with detail on the Abruzzo region of Italy? Want to make a pilgrimage to our family's hometowns, but only seem to find scattered sources of hotels and dining.
mattanz
Philadelphia, PA USA Fri 02/29/2008
In Your Pocket
The best city guides are the In Your Pocket series, which started in Lithuania shortly after the fall of Communism. For country guides, my favorite is Lonely Planet, followed by Rough Guides, and Lets Go.
Steve
USA Mon 02/04/2008
CADOGAN all the way!
The scrupulously British Cadogan guides are not found in every book store but are the best guides I have found other than Ricks.
My earlier trips to Prague, Manhattan and Paris were simply amazing, life-enriching experiences thanks to these entertainingly written and historically accurate guides. It's like living there locally. Don't worry about enjoying your time there if you can find a Cadogan for your trip. These and RS would be the only two I would always recommend!
JFK
Toronto, ON CAN Fri 01/25/2008
Travel Guides for Student Travelers
Rick Steves' guides are good, but for students I would recomend the Lonely Planet Guide Books. They were really helpful with lots of hostel information, cheap but good resturants and entertainment venues.
Jaime Williams <email>
Albertville, AL USA Thu 01/17/2008