Hi from Rick: The Best $30 Travel Tool
When I'm on the road and I run into someone using one of my guidebooks, I get a rush. Not only because I've just seen someone consulting something my team and I have put decades of hard work into…but because I've just met someone who's invested in not just seeing a new place — but really experiencing it.
If you're going to take the time off and spend the money to travel to Europe, you deserve to get the most out of every day and every dollar. To not just visit that sight "because you know you should" — but to really become a temporary local and live that sight. To know the joy of smartly navigating a foreign city's metro system and ordering an unfamiliar dish in a new language. To dine with confidence, appreciate local history, understand local customs, and meaningfully connect with the people and culture around you.
And the best way to do this is to spend $30 on the right guidebook and use it.
A Rick Steves guidebook isn't a dry bundle of data. It's a lovingly researched, designed, and updated travel buddy — a tour guide in your pocket that not only gives you tips and tricks, but also equips you with knowledge in a manner that's fun and engaging. We cut through the superlatives so you can spend your precious vacation time wisely. When you use one of our guidebooks, you'll find it smart and insightful — anticipating what you need to know, even before you realize it — while also having personality…and a sense of humor.
That's because our guidebooks are written by travelers — not influencers, and not AI. We don't accept kickbacks and freebies in exchange for listings, and we sure as heck aren't entrusting those listings to a robot that pretends it's been there. Instead, our books are lovingly updated by a team of researchers who (collectively) spend over 300 days a year in Europe visiting places in person, running down leads, scouring museums, and connecting with the wonderful Europeans who put the "mom" and "pop" in the mom-and-pop hotels and restaurants that epitomize our travel style. If we get confused or ripped off, we love it — because we've just learned a lesson, and now we get to pass that lesson along, so our readers don't make the same mistake. It's all part of the recipe that makes Rick Steves guidebooks outsell the competition combined — and why, year after year in the United States, 16 or 18 of the best-selling 20 guidebooks to Europe have "Rick Steves" on the cover.
Our library of city, country, and regional guidebooks numbers over 80 titles and covers Europe from Portugal to Poland and Iceland to Turkey. Researching, writing, and updating the best Europe guides in print is our passion, and we believe buying one is the best investment a traveler can make.
Want to go deeper? We also have phrase books that help you hurdle the language barrier — and plenty of "read-before-you-go" titles like Europe Through the Back Door (our flagship travel skills handbook), Europe's Top 100 Masterpieces (a vivid showcase of Europe's greatest works of art), For the Love of Europe (a collection of my hundred most important articles), Italy for Food Lovers (a "how-to" guide to getting the best out of Italy's culinary wonder), and Travel as a Political Act (celebrating the best souvenir from any trip: a broader perspective).
Browse the full list at our online Travel Store and you'll find plenty of inspiration — whether you're deep into travel planning, or still in the armchair dreaming phase.
In this month's Travel News, I'll demystify the life of a guidebook writer; give you a peek at my newest public television special, the Best of Rome; and share my tips for finding good food in Europe that won't break your budget. And Cameron Hewitt considers how travel is all the more valuable in uncertain times as he prepares for a late-season trip to Croatia.
I've been saying this for decades, and it's as true today as ever: A good guidebook is a $30 tool for a $3,000 experience. Getting one and using it is your ticket to…
…Happy travels!
Rick