For Rick Steves fans

[explanade]

I haven't bought guide books in a long time but never bought one of his.

Have seen some of his shows, just to see the look of the place.

His website has forums and there's some good useful threads there.

My budget has grown over the years and I don't look for the rock bottom bargains any more.

But the article makes it clear that Rick targets people who've never traveled internationally, not so much the experienced travelers.

He's obviously inspired millions to get passports and travel and he's also put a lot of places on the map or as target destinations for a lot of Americans.

Article makes it sound like he still stays in the budget accommodations that he touts in his books and shows. I guess that is his upbringing, like the orange juice thing.

So instead of splurging, he's given a lot of money to causes that he believes in.


I don't know if the fact that he still goes to hotels and restaurants he recommends makes him more authentic than other tour guides. He walks the talk but I would imagine most people here are looking for something nicer than what he typically recommends for the more budget-minded.

 

[Chuckanut]

I don't know if the fact that he still goes to hotels and restaurants he recommends makes him more authentic than other tour guides. He walks the talk but I would imagine most people here are looking for something nicer than what he typically recommends for the more budget-minded.

I have to disagree with the last point. While they are not 5-Star luxury hotels, they tend to be very nice, well appointed, and have all the modern conveniences. IMHO, they are more like a Hampton Inn than a Motel 6. Of course, there was the time we stayed in the monk's lodging cells at a monastery in Bulgaria - no heat, shower in the bathroom that got everything wet, and a thin mat on a cot for sleeping on. But, we were warned.

 

[Nemo2]

Of course, there was the time we stayed in the monk's lodging cells at a monastery in Bulgaria - no heat, shower in the bathroom that got everything wet, and a thin mat on a cot for sleeping on.

Luxury!!

 

[explanade]

I have to disagree with the last point. While they are not 5-Star luxury hotels, they tend to be very nice, well appointed, and have all the modern conveniences. IMHO, they are more like a Hampton Inn than a Motel 6. Of course, there was the time we stayed in the monk's lodging cells at a monastery in Bulgaria - no heat, shower in the bathroom that got everything wet, and a thin mat on a cot for sleeping on. But, we were warned.

I don't know about 5 stars.

I haven't used his books but when there's talk about cheap backpacks and "Europe on a shoestring" it doesn't sound like it matches the budgets of many here, let alone what Rick can afford.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

We generally don't heavily use Rick Steves' books for hotel and restaurant recommendations. We might use his hotel recommendations as a starting point to get an idea of neighbourhoods to stay in, general pricing for comparables, etc. But there are so many accommodation tools and resources out there that we generally find something else that fits within our parameters better.

Similarly, we do a lot of research pre-trip on places to eat and the eateries end up being an activity/destination for us. And TBH, we've had mixed results with some of his restaurant recommendations though we'll reference his list for a neighbourhood in a pinch if at least for descriptions. Again, there's so many tools and resources for food options.

What I like about his books are: self guided city/neighbourhood walking itineraries, site/attraction walkthru's, quick access to info like good instructions on how to get somewhere, basic maps (some people hate them tho), etc. I can obviously utilize the cell phone but I'm also trying to maintain battery life for long days of sightseeing. I try to compile notes during pre-trip research too for easy reference during the trip but sometimes I run out of time.

 

[audreyh1]

I think Rick Steves’ hotel recommendations are more about good value as he tends to steer readers away from the more expensive tourist hotel areas into nearby safe neighborhoods that have good hotels that aren’t as expensive yet still have food access to popular areas. It’s certainly not Europe on a shoestring.

We personally don’t use his hotel recommendations as we do tend to go for the more expensive hotels that in the heart of popular areas.

Restaurants hit or miss. We usually find our own through other review sites and local or hotel recommendations.

His coverage of sites worth visiting, incredible details about sites, city walks, written guided tours of sites, local transportation, getting to various locations, suggestions of how to budget your time both at the micros and macro level, local guides, sites ranked by “must see”, are all extremely valuable and time saving, the main reason I buy his books.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

suggestions of how to budget your time both at the micros and macro level, local guides, sites ranked by “must see”, are all extremely valuable and time saving, the main reason I buy his books.

+1. I also find the time budgeting guidance handy, particularly in his cruising/ports of call series.

 

[explanade]

What does he say, spend x minutes at this attraction, y minutes at this other attraction, etc.?

 

[audreyh1]

What does he say, spend x minutes at this attraction, y minutes at this other attraction, etc.?

On the macro level he give several suggested itineraries for a given country and city area saying if you have X days do this, if you have two more days add this. He’ll mention how many days you need to explore a given city.

He does suggest how much time you need at a given attraction at a minimum. Usually in hours.

But he also guides you through many attractions, suggesting which section you might want to spend more time in, and if there are sections you might want to skip. For the more significant sites he’ll narrate a detailed walk through. I often read or skim these ahead which helps me get oriented and keep an eye out for items of particular personal interest. He also describes the audio/visual guides available and whether essential or not worth it.

BTW we tend to take his timing suggestions and double them as we have learned from experience. It has to do with our attention spans which I suppose are longer than his typical reader? We tend to get engrossed in things and like to have plenty of time to indulge that. We took two full days to visit the Alhambra, for example. I remember one Trip Advisor “destination expert” telling me that was a ridiculous plan and no one needed more than a day there. Glad we ignored that. If Rick Steves says you need 2 days to explore a given destination, we’ll often budget 4. This lets us relax the pace, have more time to goof off as well as more time at sites.

 

[WestUniversity]

I have used his materials many times and have benefited greatly from them, particularly with respect to basic travel skills in Europe on our many trips across the pond. The only problem I have with his materials is when the ensuing uptick in travel ruins the quaint site that HE originally saw.

In many instances the rest of us don’t get that same experience. The Cinque Terre is probably the best example of that in my experience. What were once quiet villages, as you see in his original episodes about them, are now overrun with tourists as I saw on a recent visit there. Unless you go off season it’s not a pleasant experience IMHO.

As people are typically interested in different things, sites don’t always seem to have such a huge increase in tourists, but for those that do, wow. It’s amazing the number of times and places I’ve seen people walking through the streets or waiting in a line, carrying one of his guides in hand.

 

[explanade]

On the macro level he give several suggested itineraries for a given country and city area saying if you have X days do this, if you have two more days add this. He’ll mention how many days you need to explore a given city.

He does suggest how much time you need at a given attraction at a minimum. Usually in hours.

But he also guides you through many attractions, suggesting which section you might want to spend more time in, and if there are sections you might want to skip. For the more significant sites he’ll narrate a detailed walk through. I often read or skim these ahead which helps me get oriented and keep an eye out for items of particular personal interest. He also describes the audio/visual guides available and whether essential or not worth it.

BTW we tend to take his timing suggestions and double them as we have learned from experience. It has to do with our attention spans which I suppose are longer than his typical reader? We tend to get engrossed in things and like to have plenty of time to indulge that. We took two full days to visit the Alhambra, for example. I remember one Trip Advisor “destination expert” telling me that was a ridiculous plan and no one needed more than a day there. Glad we ignored that. If Rick Steves says you need 2 days to explore a given destination, we’ll often budget 4. This lets us relax the pace, have more time to goof off as well as more time at sites.

OK I could see how that would be useful. I do Google searches for x day itineraries for locations, to give an idea of what kind of ground could be covered in a certain time period as well as get an overview or map.

Frommers.com used to have such content, like 1 or 2 week itineraries or itineraries for families, etc. That content was taken directly from their guide books, so you really didn't need to buy their books, though the website wasn't always up to date.

But they've taken off a lot of that content.

I've never seen content from RS guide books so he probably never put that content online. But as I said, his forums are sometimes useful.

 

[audreyh1]

I buy the iBooks, so it’s handy up to pull up info on my iPhone or iPad.

Compared to Googling I’d say it’s 10x more time efficient. I find internet searches pretty inefficient as it takes a long time to get down to the nitty gritty. With the Steves books it’s very quick to figure things out. I’m not talking about one thing, more about making things fit together - the logistics, any gotchas, etc.

I just know this from going to places he doesn’t cover - I spend far more time online trying to figure it all out.

Also he has a nice set of free podcasts including some very well done guided walks with audio and maps. Rick Steves Audio Tours https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/podcasts.

 

[davebarnes]

I've never seen content from RS guide books so he probably never put that content online.

His books can be had for a low, low price if used is acceptable.
https://www.alibris.com/booksearch?author=rick+steves&mtype=B

 

[explanade]

His books can be had for a low, low price if used is acceptable.
https://www.alibris.com/booksearch?author=rick+steves&mtype=B

I don't buy guidebooks any more because there's plenty of information online, especially in forums where you can ask specific questions.

Also don't have to pack and carry around a thick, heavy book.

 

[urn2bfree]

He has an App (FREE) with maps and audio tours of several sites that we found a lot of fun and useful and informative.

In his books -which we downloaded to our devices from our local library via hoopla App - we discovered very helpful tour info and suggestions (eg The Mount Olivetto Abbey near Siena - complete with a panel by panel guide thru the many Frescoes making them much more accessible and entertaining.)

His hotel and restaurant recommendations are apparently deeply skewed by whomever his local guide is in an area. So he misses quite a bit by letting them push their favorites (who knows how they decide whom to promote).

 

[explanade]

Probably kickbacks but he probably has to outsource some of those because he's not going to be able to visit all of them personally.

Yeah I've listened to his podcasts, which are from his radio show. He always has on local tour guides, who presumably go on to promote their own businesses.

I guess compared to other travel writers, he may have accumulated the the most information on destinations.

 

[audreyh1]

I don't buy guidebooks any more because there's plenty of information online, especially in forums where you can ask specific questions.

Also don't have to pack and carry around a thick, heavy book.

Sort of Catch 22 isn’t it? You don’t buy guidebooks because there is plenty of information online, however the specific information you would like to have is not available online.

I don’t carry heavy books around - they are all on my iPad and phone.

A cheap used copy of a guidebook would be very helpful for pre-trip planning and you can leave it at home.

 

[explanade]

I think the information is available online.

Or there is "good enough" information available.

When I used to buy guide books, I tried to get the most recently published ones. So if a particular guide hadn't been published in a couple of years, I was disinclined to buy it because with the lead times for publishing these books, the prices they listed were often out of date and some of the places they listed were no longer in business.

So as a directory of businesses that you might patronize or attractions that you planned to visit, the information online could be a lot more current.

What I do is collect this info and distill it to an itinerary with the practical info -- address, hours, prices, etc.

It's basically a summary of tourism information for a given place as I absorbed it so it's a lot shorter than a guidebook and much easily navigated no need to go to the table of contents or index of a book.

And the exercise of compiling this information makes me digest some of this research. I still would need to check back on the info. during my trip but at least it's something I've absorbed.

I make a PDF out of it and email it to myself and can open it from my devices, import it into iBooks, etc.

 

[Bamaman]

I do read Rick Steves' online comments about specific countries and cities. Then I go to Wikipedia where I get all of the information about my itinerary in ultra-detail.

We travel to Europe most every year, and there are just few major cities and regions we've not covered. We now travel slowly, and try to take in two new cities and one old, familiar city on a two week trip. Recent years, our go to city is Budapest. Last of May, we're hitting Madrid, Barcelona and Paris--one last trip. Next year, we'll be visiting across the Adriatic from Venice--Serbia, Montenegro, etc.

As I said earlier, we're saving organized tours, like Rick Steves, when we get older and cannot navigate self guided touring on our own. It's not that many more years that I can even get a car rental--and I'm not that old @ 68.

 

[gattara]

I enjoyed learning more about Rick through the article. Like the writer of the piece, I took my first Rick Steves-inspired vacation 20 years ago, using his books and advice on packing light on a trip to England. My friend and I started our trip with a week-long guided walk in Cornwall, and I'll never forget our B&B's reaction when she looked at our travel bags: "you are traveling for 2 weeks with that little bag? Hiking boots, rain gear?" We were so proud.

All these years later, we still use his books for logistics info. As mentioned in prior posts, he provides concise details that I appreciate. My husband and I have taken 2 of his guided tours in Italy, and we are scheduled to do another next month, this time Belgium and the Netherlands. For us, his trips are occasional splurges, and a lot of fun. His guides are top-notch. One of our museum guides was in his tv program.

We plan our own trips sometimes too. But gosh, I get sick of the planning and time I have to put in - and it does mostly fall on me. So a guided trip is a welcome splurge every now and then. My favorite "blow that dough" category, for sure.

 

[truenorth418]

I’m a Rick Steves fan so thanks for posting this.

I have travelled to over 80 countries, including before and after I discovered Rick Steves, and there is one eternal, undeniable truth .....

From the article: “It was hard to imagine a bunch of cynical, worldly, urban, polyglot, multicultural East Coast sophisticates — people who probably vacationed at deconsecrated eco-hostels in Oman or Madagascar — getting excited about public television’s reigning expert on Europe.”

New Yorkers are among the most arrogant and groundlessly self centered people in the world. Yes, NYC is cosmopolitan in many ways, but as the writer of the article demonstrates in the most patronizing way, also sickening provincial and condescending. Get over yourselves - sheesh.

- signed, a former 20+ year resident of NYC

 

[explanade]

yeah but he had a huge turnout in NYC, according to that article.

So there are value travelers there too.

 

[audreyh1]

Right, that was really written as a contrast. He had a huge fan turnout in spite of New Yorkers being so “sophisticated”.

 

[Chuckanut]

Right, that was really written as a contrast. He had a huge fan turnout in spite of New Yorkers being so “sophisticated”.

The people who turned out are probably transplants from Minnesota, Michigan and other such mundane places. [emoji3]

 

[explanade]

They can still be sophisticates, regardless of where they grew up.

If they can afford to live in Manhattan, willing to pay to live there, they have expensive, not necessarily sophisticated, tastes.