Spain 2010Best ways to improve this book: Don't change a thing! The writing style is fluid, fun, and accessible; the factual info is reliable; and your suggestions for establishing priorities are extremely helpful. I'll never plan a trip to Europe without you! Nancy Zeilig in Denver, CO USA 11/14/2009 Include a list of less popular museums/sites so that repeat visitors to a city have a resource when their "first time visiting Spain" travel companions go to the popular/famous places. Wendy in Washington , DC USA 11/04/2009 Please take out Casa del Sol y Luna as a recommendation in Sevilla. It was unacceptable in every way except for the very friendly and helpful staff. I am used to staying in 2 star places, and am not particular. If you look at reviews in Trip Advisor, you will see more of the same terrible reviews. Other wise, your book Spain 2009, was wonderful. We used it exclusively and did not need any thing else. I'll get another Rick Steves book as soon as I know where I am going! Marge Clark in Marion, Oh USA 11/02/2009 More mention of the Paradores (see above) Ron Hendrick in Boulder, CO USA 11/01/2009 I found this book to be invaluable while I was in Spain. I honestly don't have any suggestions on how to improve it. Jean Brubeck in Santa Cruz, CA USA 10/06/2009 Mallorca Kylie Peterson in Dallas, TX USA 10/05/2009 Take Museo de Jamon. As an avid reader of your books who has used them for 3 European vacations - I feel like you recommended that I walk right into a scam. Your hotels and restaurants up until this point have been VERY helpful - but I feel extremely strongly that you need to take this restaurant out of your book. Jenny in Jackson, WA USA 10/01/2009 Please include a full Valencia chapter! The online guide by Tooraj Fooladi was somewhat helpful, but we really missed the attention to detail--plus maps of sights, restaurants, etc.--that the full chapters give. Rick Steves' insider tips really help you feel not so lost, and we missed that. For example, here are some things we wished we had known beforehand: 1. Fooladi recommended seeing the Ciutat Vella and Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences in the same morning, making it sound like they are close to one another. In fact, the CAS is a 45-minute walk away from the city center in the opposite direction from the Ciutat Vella, making it rather difficult to see both in one morning. 2. Speaking of the Ciutat Vella, we found it rather hard to follow Fooladi's directions for exploring the old quarter. We would have loved a map! 3. On his recommendation, we planned to eat paella for lunch at the beach on our only full day in Valencia. We took the #32 bus as he recommended and got off when we reached the beach--and found no restaurants in sight. We walked around for awhile looking for them and finally gave up. When we got back on the bus after a couple hours on the beach, we were surprised to find the restaurants at the far end of the beach, several stops later. It would have been great to know which stop to use for the restaurants! 3. Paella is only served at lunchtime, because it is deemed too heavy for the evening meal. We were so sad to have missed the opportunity to eat paella in its birthplace! 4. If you are taking the buses in the evening, there is a special night bus schedule. The #32, for example, stops running after a certain point. We had taken the #32 to the Mestalla Stadium for a soccer match and planned to take it back to the hotel, but instead had to walk to our hotel afterwards, thankfully just missing a thunderstorm. We did enjoy our stay at one of the hotels he recommended--Hotel Reina Victoria. Clean, safe, centrally located, with friendly staff.
Ed in Chicago, IL USA 09/10/2009 Absolutedly loved the book! I was so sad to close it for the last time..... Thank you Rick! Steve Richards, M.D. in Spokane, WA USA 08/17/2009 Absolutedly loved the book! I was so sad to close it for the last time..... Thank you Rick! Steve Richards, M.D. in Spokane, WA USA 08/17/2009 Please add how to use a day pass or T10 card on the bus (put it in the machine behind the driver). From pp. 49-50: I tried and tried but couldn’t find the Deacon’s House in Barcelona. Please list its Spanish name! Overall, I found the Barri Gothic self-guided walk in Barcelona difficult to follow several times and had to back-track more than I ever have with any other Rick Steves self-guided walk. Maybe the walk needs to be revisited? I also wish a visit to the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona had been more encouraged on pp. 28-29 or mentioned in the Modernisme/Gaudi section on pp. 64-65 (I know it’s not in the Eixample, but it is Modernista); after seeing postcards of it, I would’ve much preferred a tour of it to that of Casa Mila. Finally, why didn’t the Basque section in the RS France 2009 have the cheap tricks section like the Spain book? Kyla Gurganus in Ypsilanti, MI USA 08/11/2009 Add a small section for hair, nails etc.sometimes the women just need a day of rest... Daphne Weaver in Bremerton, WA USA 08/03/2009 Print the chapter on Valencia. Bryan in Seattle, WA USA 08/01/2009 This restaurant is located in Granada its a great place to eats very reasonably priced. Albahaca Varela,17 Telf 958 224 923, 18009-Granada, cross steet S.Rafael. This is a wonderful place to eat near the PL. de la Mariana. Carmen in Los Angeles, CA USA 07/29/2009 Hi, My husband and I used your Spain 2009 book in late June to early July of this year, and your Italy 2008 book last summer, and found both incredibly helpful. Like another commenter I saw, we also took to saying "Rick says to do such-and-such" when we were walking around. We have two suggestions for the Spain 2009 book. First, a suggestion about buying train tickets. The book suggests that travelers reserve tickets through the Renfe website in advance, which is great advice. But I think it would be helpful to note, also, that the Renfe website, despite being somewhat difficult to use, is a better alternative than the much more user-friendly RailEurope site, because the Renfe website offers many more -- and MUCH cheaper! -- train options. I was initially quite tempted to use the RailEurope site because the Renfe website, even when one finds the English version, still has quite a few (maybe half) of the terms in Spanish. And, some of the English words do not mean what I would have taken them to mean in English (i.e., "cardholder" for credit cards does not mean, e.g., "John Smith," it means "MasterCard"). But, after I saw how high the prices were on RailEurope, I decided to try the Renfe site again, just in case it was cheaper, and I found a page on TripAdvisor that walked me through all of the steps to buying tickets on Renfe. Maybe you could include both the recommendation to definitely wade your way through the Renfe site, because it is so much better in the long run, and a link to that page, or similar advice? Here's the link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online..html (Incidentally, we ran into a couple who'd been traveling in both France and Spain, and they said they'd had the same experience with buying tickets for the France portion of their trip -- the French train website was much less expensive than Rail Europe's.) Second, a suggested modification to your Madrid section. In Madrid, we followed the walking tour to the Palace, which took us by the San Miguel Market, which the book reported would open some time in 2009, and speculated would be more of a tourist trap than a true market for locals. We found that prediction to be quite wrong. The market reminded us of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, only it was better, because of the option to get tapas (of varying prices, from cheap to midrange) from the local vendors and eat right there. And, while there were certainly some tourists like us there, there were also scores of locals both: 1) buying fresh produce, meats, fish, cheeses, etc.; and 2) having after-work happy hours. We actually went back to the market twice because we liked it so much, and a second visit is unusual for us, because we like to experience as much different stuff as possible. I'd say that, especially for foodies, a visit to the San Miguel Market in Madrid is a must. Also, by the way, the chocolatiers at the little shop in the far right corner (when you come in from the square in front of the market -- I wish I recalled the shop's name!) were incredibly friendly, giving us recommendations for restaurants in other cities and a couple of samples, too, when we bought a little box of chocolates. And the chocolates were terrific, too. Melinda in Chicago, IL USA 07/28/2009 The only thing I can think of is to try to consolidate some of the language references. I have the phrase book and am using that, but I´m also using verbal communication and customs info that is in the actual guidebook. There are pertinent bits scattered throughout the book, so I´m forever flipping pages to find where I read about ordering food customs or something else like that. Any way to feasibly combine things like that into a general "communication/cultural customs" section? My husband and I will be on the Villages and Vineyards of France tour at the end of August, and using the France guidebook on our own after that. Will see if the same situation applies there. Thanks for the handy resources that you already provide. I wasn´t the least bit intimidated to make this unexpected trip once I´d snagged a copy of your Spain book and the phrase book! Hasta luego... Ann Rupley in Woodinville, WA USA 07/23/2009 Keep the irrata travelers want to know the updates. Carmen in Los Angeles, CA USA 07/15/2009 Me and my family just came back from Madrid and Paris, we got the book from Paris and Spain and the information was very usefull and accurate. Next time we go to Europe will obtain pertinent books as well. J in Oakland, Fl USA 07/14/2009 Since so much of Spanish royal history is woven into all the cities, sights and museums it would be helpful to have a geneology chart of Spanish royalty somewhere in the book. We were always trying to keep all the kings and queens straight. William Campbell in Ottawa, ON Canada 07/10/2009 Include Valencia!!! My husband had a conference there, and I felt so lost without a ton of info from your book. I did print out the info from your website, but it would've been a godsend to have a map, restaurant info, etc. from you while we were there. We felt really lost. The people at our hotel were not the most helpful...perhaps the tourism trade there is just starting to take off and they are not sure how to be as helpful as they could be? We had to go next door to the Hilton for a map! Our room was nice, clean, breakfast good. But our hotel (Sorolla Palace next to the Congress, convention center) was so far from the old part of town, the beach, etc. we felt a bit isolated, especially on the weekend when everything was closed. We were surprised restaurants and stores were shut down on Sunday. And several of our friends had no luggage all weekend, had to wait til Monday to shop for some basic clothing. Husbands conference offered a day tour and glad I did it, but nothing compares to Rick's walking tours (I did them in Italy). Wish you'd include Valencia! Amy Teague in Fishers, IN USA 06/08/2009 See above on Prado, just a minor correction. Otherwise, prepared us very well for the trip. Russ Lorber in Westminster, MD USA 06/06/2009 Expand the feature on theft to include the accordian player on the Metro. I had read the theft warnings and knew to avoid anyone selling flowers... but wasn't prepared for the Metro player. He was part of a pickpocket gang and when we got off , our videocamera was gone. I had - naively - taken it out of a shoulder bag to get a coin for the player. My fault - totally. The Parc Guell musicians lulled my senses. There were police and dogs at the Paseig de Gracia Metro stop and that alone should have warned me. Stephanie in Brinkerhoff, MI USA 05/18/2009 Please add information on Valencia and Zaragoza. Both are very worthy to be included. Include info on toll highways - we were taken by surprise and the fees can really add up. Joan McKey in North Vancouver, BC Canada 05/14/2009 First off, we absolutely loved the guidebook (took a combined trip to Spain and Paris and used the great Rick Steves Paris guide too). The Spain Guidebook was incredible in the amount of information and allowed us to plan out our time to the fullest extent possible. One thing that we repeatedly wished the Spain guide had was maps of the subway systems for the major cities (like the city specific guides from Rick Steves). Although you can in theory get a subway map from information kiosks and/or in the subway, we found that they were always out of maps. A subway map actually in the book itself would have made planning before the trip easier because at times it was extremely difficult to orient your as to where a particular station is located. We used the subways a lot, and we figured it out, but I could have thrown away our other guidebooks if the Rick Steves' Spain book had its own subway maps for Madrid and Barcelona. Thanks Jarrad Wright in Washington, DC USA 05/04/2009 The book more than paid for itself in terms of making our trip a really good one. So these suggestions should be viewed merely as things to consider. At least minimal coverage of the SE corner of Spain, particularly around Cabo de Gata would have been nice to have for those traveling the southern coast. Do what Lonely Planet does and sell down-loadable sections on line for a fee. Users would (presumably) get the latest information and carry lighter loads when they visit only parts of a country. (And you might make more money in the bargain.) Also, if there is any way (e.g., an icon) to identify restaurants and bars that ban smoking they'd get my business. (I have places in Spain I want to visit but may not return until they adopt the same laws as Norway, Italy and other enlightened European countries.) Gerald L. Rose in Iowa City, IA USA 04/30/2009 Spain is still shockingly expensive to the American traveller. While I know you don't want to discourage guidebook sales, I'd be more frank about this problem. Until the Euro drops to parity with the dollar, American travellers should consider staying outside the "Euro zone." In the meantime, even more attention should be paid to money-saving tips. Like is it really necessary to go inside the Sagrada Familia if it's going to cost you $15? Just sit in the park outside and admire the facade. Dave in Philadelphia, PA USA 03/31/2009 Include tips for reducing energy and resource use. Most hotels have very wasteful shower heads. Hotel Las Conchas was way overheated during our visit in March, when the weather required no heating. Can you use your clout to get hotels listed in your book to adopt more sustainable practices? Steve in Princeton, NJ USA 03/24/2009 I'd love to see the Madrid self-guided walk extended past the Royal Palace to the Temple de Debod. We found the Madrid self-guided walk hard to follow from the market to the city hall (especially around the convent). Please add a self-guided walk in Toledo! The directions from the bus station in Toledo to Bisagra Gate were difficult to follow; we just walked up until we got to the main road and followed it towards the town above. Kyla Gurganus in Ypsilanti, MI USA 03/06/2009 I recently purchased your SPAIN 2009 guidebook, which I find quite helpful in general. In particular, I was drawn to it by the fact that you included a section on Gibraltar, which I intend to visit. (You may ask why I want to go to Gibraltar; the answer is simply this. When I was a child, my family lived in Staten Island, NY, and our telephone exchange was GIbraltar xxxxx, ) I have just one suggestion to make. On page 16, you note that your choice of hotels favors those handy to sightseeing activities. Unfortunately, and as I am sure that you realize, one size rarely fits all, and in this particular instance, I would have been very happy to find at least one or two hotels located very close to major railway stations (such as Chamartin and Atocha in Madrid, Sants in Barcelona, etc). As I am sure you recognize, when one travels by train in places like Spain (which is a very good way to go), having a hotel within walking distance of the railroad station is a definite advantage, particularly for times when you are arriving relatively late in the evening, or even more so, when you are taking an early train in the morning. FYI, I have found hotels which suit my needs, but it entailed working through the long lists found on Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Morton L. Brown in Honolulu, HI USA 02/08/2009 You miss some really great hotels and restaurants that are not mentioned in your book. Check out, for example, Casa Morisca in Granada --WONDERFUL HOTEL! And the food at Albahaca in Granada was also fantastic. Our best meal in Spain was in Barcelona at Tapioles 53. Ava Nackman in Chapel Hill, NC USA 01/26/2009 Put a metro map of Barcelona & Madrid in the front cover. That would help a lot! Please update the prices. I planned my budget around what was written and much of it was off! Jennifer Chen in Fremont, CA USA 01/03/2009 Aside from Santiago, our favorite place in Spain is Burgos, an unappreciated gem offering great history, value, food, and sights. Especially cool is the city's main museum, with great exhibits and NO entrance fee! Jon Strebler in Chula Vista, CA USA 01/03/2009 I found Rick Steves' SPAIN 2008 very helpful in planning our October 2008 two-week trip to Spain. Here are a few comments: Hotels. We can recommend these hotels: • Hotel Eden Paraiso Neptuno, Montera, 6, Madrid; paid €74.90/night for a double room (2 persons) - very convenient location, clean, well maintained, quiet, staff helpful, English generally OK. • Hotel Sur, Trinidad Grund, 13, Malaga; paid €64.00/night for a double room (2 persons) - very convenient location, clean, well maintained, quiet, staff helpful, English generally OK. • Hotel Alcazar, Menéndez y Pelayo, 10, Sevilla; paid €72.76/night for a double room (2 persons) - very convenient location, clean, well maintained, some room-room noise, staff helpful, English generally OK. The web sites booking.com and lodging-world.com worked well for finding lodging, and for making the reservations. (We were interested in price and location.) Barcelona. There’s more than one way to get your pocket picked in Barcelona. On Las Ramblas, we sat down at an outdoor café and ordered drinks without looking at the menu. They charge more than €13 for sangria. Málaga . Málaga is a better tourist destination than the guide books indicate. The Alcazaba, Girofilo Fortress, and Roman Theater are interesting and well-explained. Centro is attractive and clean, and has good places to eat. The train station is modern. Granada. Would recommend that you add a brief discussion of how to get directly to the Alhambra if you take the bus to Granada; also recommend adding the bus station to the map on p. 327 – not just “this direction”. We took the ALSA bus from Malaga (about 1 hr 45 min), and then a taxi to the Alhambra (under €10; the return was under €8). On p. 355, you say the Albayzín is “Spain’s best old Moorish quarter” and then devote some discussion to seeing it. But on p. 332, all that is mentioned in “Granada at a Glance” is the San Nicolás Viewpoint. I’m getting mixed messages here. Madrid. You should add the Royal Pharmacy to your list of recommended sights at Palacio Real. It’s right out of Harry Potter! Sevilla. The desk clerk at Hotel Alcazar gave us a copy of the tourist magazine "Welcome & Olé". It has some interesting reading and a very useful two-page map. Toledo. The “cheesy” Tren Imperial Tourist Tram gets sold out, so make reservations at least two hours ahead. Churros con Chocolate. You seem to be looking down your collective noses at this treat on p. 97. For grease-free churros, let me recommend Café Central, on Plaza de la Constitucion, in Málaga. Go-Go Cards. We found something called "Go-Go Cards" (www.gogo-cards.com) on a rack in the hotel lobby in Málaga. You pick one off the rack; some offer directions to a business, while others offer directions and a discount. Laundry. We would suggest you add a short section on doing laundry. The desk clerk at our hotel in Madrid gave us a card for a nearby laundry (Laundry X-Press, Calle de Espoz y Mina, 22). We dropped off a bag of clothes, paid €7, and picked them up two hours later, washed dried, and folded. RENFE. RENFE train service was fantastic, and not badly priced. We rode the AVE from Barcelona to Madrid, from Madrid to Toledo and back, and from Madrid to Málaga. Then we rode a Regional train from Málaga to Sevilla (not so fast, but equally comfortable, and we got a chance to do some real sightseeing on the way). I'd drop the "used to mean 'Really Exasperating, and Not For Everyone' " on p. 576. The reservation system is not so great. The RENFE web site will make reservations only with Windows and IE, so we waited in line (Sants Station, Barcelona) for nearly three hours to get tickets. (Could have tried phone reservations, I guess, but I like to see what I've reserved.) Theft alert. Despite studying what you (and others' guides) had to say about pickpockets, and despite wearing money belts, my front pants pocket was picked as I was getting on the Barcelona Metro. They only got my passport, and gave it back, but might have gotten my wallet if they had been more skillful. Then my wife's zip-up purse was picked as she was struggling to get a suitcase up stairs from the Madrid Metro. Our conclusions are that 1) it's human nature to be distracted by the commotions you mention and to some extent unavoidable; 2) money is not the only valuable (consider a driver's license or a mass transit pass); and 3) it's impractical to carry every valuable in a money belt (it's awkward to try to extract something from a money belt every time you have to pay -- whether by cash or by credit card). Police are plentiful, but more often than not, they stand in clusters talking to each other. What I started to do, and would advise others to do, is a) before each trip out, consider what cash and/or credit card needs will be and put the rest in your money belt. Then split the cash and/or credit card between people and perhaps between your own pockets. We're still pondering what type of handbag would be most theft-resistant, but a zipper is not enough. Still, it was a great trip. There is so much more we wish we could have seen and done.
Larry in Boulder, CO USA 11/09/2008 Spain 2008 book. We found it quite helpful overall, but didn't like flipping between the food vs. description sections of each district of a town (e.g., Barcelona Xiample restaurants are in one section while Xiample sights are in another) necessitating flipping to find a place to eat when sightseeing). Also, our flight left Barcelona early in the a.m. before the blue bus starts running, so it would have been helpful to have a list of phone numbers for "English speaking" taxis. Happily we thought to ask the Tourist info center for the list. And here's something you'll enjoy. My dad gave me a book on traveling that he had (probably handed down from his mother): John L. Stoddard's Lectures, Vol. V, 1898, London, which starts the Spain section with: "Not many years ago, a tour in Spain was regarded as a dangerous enterprise. Even the Spainards themselves, when about to travel in their own country first, by way of preparation, sent for a priest to absolve their sins, a doctor to give them medicine, and a lawyer to make their wills." Fortunately, we heeded your warnings (moneybelts, no rosemary from gypsies, avoid congregating crowds, etc.) and are happy to report we didn't have one speck of trouble with pickpockets, scammers, etc. C Rathfon in Oakland, CA USA 11/04/2008 I can't recall if your book does this or not, but I recommend you encourage the readers to patronize grocery stores/delis/butcher shops/bakeries to put together picnics of pan, queso, jamon, chorizo, vino, aceitunas, and a postre to take out on the roads and enjoy in some scenic spot. Spain excells in the quality and variety of all those things. We had several wonderful picnics on this last trip; one by a great little ermita along the Camino Santiago; another high in the Pyrenees in Navarre overlooking the Valle de Roncol. And, we were even able to use the leftovers for a quite adequate meal in our hotel room in a small Pyrenean village that had no open restuarants. Richard Rowe USA 10/20/2008 We have taken you with us on all our adventures the past five years and out usual comment is: "What does Rick say about..." You have not disappointed us. P. Moran in Marlton, NJ USA 10/15/2008 publish a Kindle version. I am headed to Spain and Portugal next fall. It would be great to have both guidebooks on my Kindle. I just returned from Scandinavia and it was great to have several books on my Kindle so I didn't have to haul extra books around. It would have been even better if Rick's Scandinavia guide book was there too. I know Rick was an early fan of the KIndle so I assumed he would be publishing all of his new guide books in a Kindle addition. Joe Martinec in Austin, TX USA 10/06/2008 My wife and I are on our 4th Rick Steves guidebook, and we've never found mention of Daylight Savings Time adjustments. We got burned missing a train on a lazy Sunday morning when the clocks were moved an hour ahead on us. Dave Matsumoto in Tacoma, WA USA 09/10/2008 Arriving at Barajas airport in Madrid: If taking the metro - definitely get off metro at Nuevos Ministerios and take a taxi to your hotel. The connections and crowd beyond that point are a bit stressful - even for we veteran travelors. Rick Steves room at Arcos (El Convento Hotel) was nice and staff were great, but in the end we wished we had just added an extra night to the Nerja portion of the trip. Tim English in Atlanta, GA USA 08/12/2008 1. Emphasize much more the use of ATMs. We still assumed we would be able to change money in banks. Most didn't even do it and we spent a long time in lines. The rates were ridiculous. The ATM however does give you the real exchange rate plus a lot of fees, but the ATMs are literally everywhere! 2. Also emphasize the diet much more. Everything really is ham, and entrees do not come with sides. There are almost no fruits or fresh vegetables except in ice cream or juice form. Jennifer in Boston, MA USA 08/07/2008 You could include tabs to make finding stuff easier. We feel your book made our trip a success. Thank you. Patti Hine in Yucca Valley, CA USA 08/05/2008 Cannot think of any - - we found this and other Rick Steves guides to be excellent and reliable travel resources! Bob Lata in Paso Robles, CA USA 07/25/2008 you really need to explore Galacia. there is so much more to it than santiago, trust me. the countryside is BEAUTIFUL, green & lush - when they say that 'the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain' they are wrong - it falls in galicia. the food is different from the rest of spain, and so are the people and culture. santiago is so touristy; try La Corun~a, a smaller city with a GREAT aquarium (ok, not as nice as valencia, but), wonderful views, and interesting historical sites and 2 beaches in the city center. all along the coast you will find some of the most beautiful beaches imaginable, along with small towns full of character. try the bread in galacia - it's the best you'll ever find :) with a little work, you could find a lot to see and do there....for either a show OR a guide book. people who go to Spain and skip Galacia just don't know what they are missing... Lisa J. Rodriguez in New Kensington , PA USA 07/19/2008 Expand the section in the back on Transportation. We used the public transportation but spent a lot of time waiting around the train stations. You have to take a number ticket to purchase train tickets at the Barcelona Sants Station. Linda Cramb in Jaffrey, NH USA 07/08/2008 Emphasive even more how bad the gypsy problem is in Madrid. The two women in our group were attacked twice in two days! Once on the subway, where they grab and run out the subway doors as they are closing, and one in the Atocha train station. Women should not carry a purse of any kind - period. David Truman in Langley, BC Canada 06/21/2008 Try to stay more up to date with admission prices Sally Hirschheim in Baton Rouge, LA USA 06/13/2008 Your book is excellent. The descriptions are very well written, and the maps were very well designed. Our family of four just arrived from a two week vacation in Spain. Given the low value of the dollar, some of your recomendations were very helpful in saving us money. Thank you. Marcia, Jaime, and Two Children in Rochester, NY USA 06/07/2008 All your other recommendations are right-on!! Lynda Wiseman in Langhorne, PA USA 05/27/2008 Malaga is an important transportation hub in southern Spain. Rick's book needs to acknowledge this and cover this important city much more. Other than this omission, we found Rick's Spain tourbook extremely helpful. Dan NJ USA 05/18/2008 I agree that more driving info would be helpful - we would paranoid about break-ins after reading your book, but in the south of Spain where we were, everything seemed fine and just as safe as at home. Also please see my comments about more guidelines for hiring a Morocco guide above. Ellen Canada 05/09/2008 Keep up the good work. An absolutely invaluable source. Could not have enjoyed our stay in Spain without it! Was also able to take advantage of discounts with the book. Thank you!! F. & C. Weiss in Victoria, BC Canada 05/03/2008 My husband I want to go to Ibiza and/or Mallorca, but there is no information about neither on the Spain 2007 book!!!! Now I'm going mad looking for information on the web about these islands. I think this book has a little less information than the Italy 2007 book. We used your book for our trip to Italy in May 2007, and every information and/or recommendation was so right!!! We had two other books in our bag to compare information verywhere we went; and your book was the easiest to follow with the most valuable information so that we wouldn't miss any of the important details in each place we visited. With your Italy book we got exactly what we wanted from our trip, for it to be an unforgetable experience!!!!! We congratulate you, because in Italy we saw thousands, but thousands of people with your book!!! My husband and I would say to each other, "there's another Rick Steves". And also in The Iguasu Falls, Argentina, we saw a turist with one of your books [I don't know which of your books]. Gladys Paniagua in Managua, Nicaragua 04/18/2008 We stayed at the El Jardi on All Saints' weekend (last weekend in October 07) with everyone else in Europe in Barcelona! We should have checked (although we would still have gone.) The taxi didn't know how to find the location in spite of a GPS system and our having maps. After almost getting dropped off in the middle of the "ghetto" surrounded by really sketchy people (the book says NOT to go there), a police car pulled up and let us know that we were in the wrong place (we'd figured that out). Upon arriving at El Jardi (the taxi had long turned off his meter), another person was still awaiting others of his party who couldn't find the hotel either. Had we known that it was located in the square next to a small bu pretty well-known church (Santa Maria del Pi), they would have been able to find it. It might be helpful for other travelers to have this information or indicate it on the map. Although it was very basic, the hotel grew on us (great location but pretty dormitory-feeling rooms). Karen Nagata in Redmond, WA USA 04/17/2008 I realize with publication dates it may be hard to keep up with increasing costs in these areas. Lodging and Eating may stay more consistent. Sommer in Santa Rosa, CA USA 03/26/2008 Rick's accomodation recommends are always great. Only way he can improve is just keep travelling around and adding places we can continue to visit and enjoy ! Pablito in Minneapolis, MN USA 03/26/2008 Mention frequently throughout the book that the Spanish still smoke. Heavily. It was nearly impossible to find a smoke free atmosphere. We gave up trying to do the bar hop/tapas thing because we couldn't stand the smoke. Make reference to the restaurants/bars that do not allow smoking. It would help us to choose. Gregg Maxwell in Grapevine, TX USA 03/21/2008 Talk a bit more about transportation. We were a little lost at first. Perhaps first day you can advise folks to pick activities with no time regulation and explore how to get around on the Metro and Renfe.Also, not many people speak English which could be a problem for non spanish speakers. By the third day we were getting good at it and helping others but we found a local friend to help us and we speak Spanish. ( And we were totally lost at first) I can see this being an issue for a newbie non Spanish language speaker!Also, the restaurant service is so different it might deserve extra mention that you order and pick up at the counter at most places, even ones with tables. Besides that we praised God we had your book and it was right on! Thank you for helping us have a glorious time in Madrid! Mary Spangenberg in PHOENIX, Ar USA 03/19/2008 Need location for a WC near the cathedral in Toledo. Matti in Chicago, IL USA 03/19/2008 Not many. This is the second time (Italy two years ago; Spain and Portugal this time) we have followed your books religiously while travelling. Greatly appreciate your info and advice! Lorne in Calgary, Al Canada 02/10/2008 I'm going to Mallorca in June and bought the Spain book sadly to find Mallorca is not in it. Why? Betsy Hicks in Delavan, WI USA 01/30/2008 Better maps by adding the highways by which you will be approaching the city. It would give a better frame of reference. The Michelin map did not have any city enlargements so unless we were able to reach a T1 prior to entering a city, we were lost. Marian Quirk in Chicago , IL USA 01/08/2008 We were travelling with the 2007 Spain, so I'm not sure if this has been added, but it'd be nice to have information about the Tauro Tour at Plaza de Toros listed for those traveling out of bullfighting season. The tour was less than stellar, however for 5 euros it allowed us the chance to see the bullring and the museum. Karis in Cross Plains, WI USA 01/04/2008 More detailed maps listing smaller streets, especially in places with tiny alleys like Barrio Santa Cruz. Uma Murthy in Blacksburg, VA USA 01/03/2008 Write more about driving in Spain. The section you have could have been in most any European country and seemed geared to talk people out of getting a car. It is not so dangerous that your car WILL be broken into as you imply. I showed that to Spanish friends and they laughed. Driving and safety is no different from any American big city. If you wouldn't drive in Boston or New York, then I agree, don't drive in Madrid or Barcelona, but otherwise, it is fine. You should describe the way motorway signs are laid out (once you figure it out, it is very logical) and mention the difference between A, R, E, M, B routes (A and B is logical, AP is pay autoroute, otherwise, I was a bit lost on that). Driving opens up a lot of territory and is cheaper if you have 4 to get around. Though I agree, once you get to Madrid or Barcelona, a car is more hassle than its worth, again like Boston or New York. Robert Perry in Hingham, MA USA 01/01/2008 Madrid "Metro" at major tourist stops had signs at the ticket counter that said, "No hay planos"- there was no interpretation in English at all to indicate it meant "There are no maps." If you don't speak or understand Spanish, you would not know what it meant. ex- The Metro ticket office operators are very unhelpful, unfriendly, and hard to approach even when I tried to use Spanish. I tried to ask them where I could get a map of the Metro system, but they couldn't tell me. They just pointed to the sign that said "No hay planos." Finally I went to a Metro station ouside the main tourist area, Principe Pio station and was able to locate a mini Metro map (very helpful to get around Madrid as you can anticipate which line to take or connect to). Instructions how to get to the Barajas-Madrid Airport is very confusing, not straight foward A9, A9B, etc. Traffic is also very heavy- even at 9a.m. Lot of parking lots charge a set fee by day use, not by the hour- signs are not often posted in front for the fees, you have to hunt for them karen in san francisco, ca USA 12/28/2007 Include Planeta Vino in your Spain guide book! We offer a unique insight to Spanish wine and food culture that your readers would really enjoy. We welcome a visit to our wine classroom at your convenience. Mary O'Connor in Madrid, Spain 11/20/2007 Another suggestion is to add blank pages as for a journal either at the end of each book; after each chapter; after an important site - whatever you think would be most reasonable and serve the customer - but that would be such a help. I am always scribbling notes on the inside of the back cover. Thanks!! Another thought is to actually publish a Rick Steve's journal along with each book with identified headings etc. More costly I realize. Carol Cohen in Rockville, MD USA 10/16/2007 We would like better maps for drivers getting into and around the old historic areas of the cities. Rebecca W. Sheppard in Fort Worth, Tx USA 10/15/2007 Provide quick consistent reference facts on hotels, restaurants (more choises), museums, etc. We found the book a bit cumbersome to use. Jody Hunter USA 07/31/2007 Add the following restaurant: Bodeguita Antonio Romer B.A.R.- C/.Antonia Diaz, 19 Tel. 422 39 39 -Tel Part. 421 6277 r1001 Sevilla Recommended by a "local" who we encountered in one of the hotels in the old city--delicious tapas, but don't order a pitcher of Sangria---pricy & spiked---you'll leave a tad tipsy! bj Kukawka in Agoura Hills, Ca USA 07/26/2007 I don't know how you could do it, but if there's any way to improve directions to the hotels, that would help. We had no trouble driving from city to city, but finding our lodgingswas a constant challenge/headache. Maybe including more street names on the local maps? But finding street names on the buildings is a chore in itself. Eventually we learned to allow for an hour to find our way once we got to a city. A sense of humor and a calm driver are necessities!! Marcy Nicklas in Frederick, MD USA 07/23/2007 More suggestions for restauarants, I found alot of great restaurants by asking locals that were not listed in rick steves book. L. Chen in Pacific Palisades, CA USA 05/06/2007 We had some trouble with the maps. I think it's important to make it quite clear that it's critical to pick up detailed maps upon arrival--that the maps in the book are approximate, and don't always provide clear directions. Also, is there any way to demystify the trains at Madrid's Atocha station? They're so confusing! Melissa in Hart, OR USA 05/01/2007 We love the walking tours in all of RS's books, and would love to see more for Spain. Lonely Planet Andalucia (a good supplement to the Rick) has a great walking tour of the Albayzin neighborhood in Granada. Katie in Belmont, MA USA 04/24/2007 In Andalucia's hill towns and along its coast, transportation is primarily by bus. Unfortunately bahn.hafas.de doesn't have any of these bus lines, there is no central repository for the all the bus lines, and many of their schedules are not even on the web. Some better information on how to find these schedules would be nice. For those of us who would prefer to focus on one area of a country, rather than sample the best of all of the country, it would be nice to have a section (even if it ends up being short) recommending what to see if we plan to spend a bit more time in an area. For example, every other guidebook I've seen for Spain pushes Ubeda and Baeza north of Granada, and I've seen several recommend Mijas in the hills north of Fuengirola on the coast. Ethan in San Francisco, CA USA 04/17/2007 More bus information is needed. It seems to be the red-headed stepchild of the book, and since Arcos is so highly recommended and no train runs there, it would be nice to see some more detailed info so you don't get stuck waiting for a bus that never shows up. Like Arcos to Ronda for instance. CH in Tampa, FL USA 04/16/2007 Rented an apartment in Barcelona for a week this past October. I used your guide book and it was usually very helpful. The only comment I would like to make is La Boqueria on the Ramblas is a spectacular food market and can be a destination in itself. Your book only gives it a sentence mentioning hanging chickens. It was a wonderful market and shouldn't be missed. Karen in California Karen Queheillalt in Livermore, CA USA 04/07/2007 Maybe better maps, could be more detailed and foldout type page for each one LL in Levittown, pa USA 03/29/2007 list more bus information. o'brien in everett, USA 03/28/2007 The euro situation is fluctuating to our detriment. Many of the prices you quote are very subject to change at the time of press. Freddie J. Negron in Davie, FL USA 03/18/2007 Your books are simply outstanding. I only wish they fit into the pocket of my zippy pants, which would make it easier to walk around with each day... maybe make a smaller copy??? Erik R. in Seattle, WA USA 02/20/2007 The overview map of the Alhambra in the Spain guide could be a little clearer. Richard Lee-Berman in Portland, OR USA 02/16/2007 |
