suggestions on travel guide books

[coppadella]

Hi,
I've spent some time on these boards and have found some very useful info, so thanks first off.

I'm planning on a trip to western Europe in the fall, roughly between the end of September until the end of November. I've been searching for a really comprehensive guide book that not only points you in the right direction for the tourist attractions but the off-the-beaten-path sites as well. I was thinking Lonely Island (Western) Europe on a Shoestring or maybe the Let's Go Western Europe... Any suggestions?

[pointofnoreturn]

I prefer the Let's Go books over Lonely Planet. In my opinion, LG provides more information regarding to budget travel and gives more in-depth information.

It doesn't matter if you buy the comprehensive Let's Go Europe book or the Let's Go Western Europe book - pretty much the same information.

My advice would be to head to the biggest library in your area and find the travel books and see which styles you like before you can invest (buy) in one.

[Eagle]

coppadella, first of all, Welcome! As PONR mentioned, your best bet would be to check out various Guidebooks at your local Library or book store, to find which ones best fit your travel style. You might find that no one Guide book is perfect for every situation, so it helps to have two or three to refer to.

There have been lots of discussions here on the Boards regarding Guide books, and it's clear that everyone has their own preferences. The Lonely Planet books are certainly very good, however I tend to use the Rick Steves books quite extensively as they fit well with my travel style, and do cover some "back door" locations in Europe.

Good luck with finding "the right" Guide books for your upcoming trip!

[coppadella]

Cool, thanks. I've been to the bookstore several times and tried comparing the different versions, but it's hard to tell any core differences I guess without picking up a copy and diving into it. Anywho, it sounds safe to say that any of the popular versions are a good bet.

[googleygoo]

If you're backpacking, Let's Go is great for backpacker's budget. You might also want to check out Rick Steve's Best of Europe. Rick Steve has a different tone and style compared to other books, but what I like about his books is that a lot of times he has do-it-yourself walking tours. Also, for major museums, cathedrals, etc., he has enough information in the books to sometimes substitute for paying for a guide.

[Eagle]

googleygoo, you brought up a good point regarding the walking tours and other information presented in the Rick Steves Guide books.

RS also has free downloadable Audioguides available on his website or from I-Tunes, covering several major Museums in Europe. I've used the ones for the Louvre and they work quite well - these are a good substitute for a Guide! Those were the only ones available in late 2006 when I was last in Paris, but he has added several since then, covering other Museums.

Cheers!

[coppadella]

Thanks for the added info! Audioguides sounds like a excellent idea - I'd never heard of those.

I should've also pointed out that it is a backpacking trip on a light budget. I don't know, but I guess I've naively assumed that the Rick Steves guides were more for structured, comfortable travel.

[googleygoo]

It's actually pretty interesting to see what kind of guidebooks people carry around. In 2005 I went to Europe for two months by myself, and I brought both Let's Go Europe AND Rick Steve's Best of Europe. I know that sounds crazy to carry so much weight, but I really made use of both books. LG was great for its listings of fun hostels and cheap eats, and RS was fantastic for the DIY walking tours and the historical and cultural explanations. You can actually learn a lot from his books, which makes for a pretty enriching travel experience. And it's true, RS tends to list hotels instead of hostels, but his options that aren't that drastically different from Lonely Planet (in terms of quality and price). I think what you would call a "structured, comfortable" vacation guide would be Frommer's.

[pointofnoreturn]

Rick's guides, in my opinion, are kind of like a tour-group approach, per se. It's mostly mid-budget travel as many of his readers are well into their 30's and up. But his "Back Door" book is highly valuable and I like this book the best out of his guides.

Frommers and Fodor's guides are mid- to high-budget travel (well, in terms of hotels and eats)

Let's Go and Lonely Planet = definitely backpacking

Rough Guides = backpacking to mid-budget travel. I own three RG's and found them all to be disappointing. It's not structured in the way I like it to be and seems to be a jumble of topics.

[Eagle]

I certainly agree with the comments from googleygoo and PONR, regarding the RS Guidebooks. I'm a somewhat "older" traveller and I find that his books fit my travel style well. In addition to providing information on local walking tours and Guides, he provides sightseeing and some background and historical information of the locations listed in his books. I find this really useful, as it provides me with enough detail that I can make an informed decision on which sites are of most interest to me.

Regarding lodgings, the RS philosophy is to use small, local "back door" Hotels or B&B's, the kind that local people might stay in. His "$" ratings provide a good indication of the price range of each location, so again this is good information to have when planning a trip. He usually lists some Hostels for the "backpacking crowds". He also lists E-mail and phone information on each Hotel, and indicates which of these have a "cash only" policy (I find that really helpful!).

Rick's books provide a great deal of information on the places that he normally visits, but if travellers want to visit other locations then reference to other Guidebooks or the net will be required. When choosing Hostels, I normally check the HI website first, to find out if they have a property in whichever towns I'll be visiting (I like to mix Hostel stays with budget Hotels, as it's nice to have some privacy once in a while, and often the cost is not that much different).

I usually pack along one or two Guidebooks to cover the places I'll be spending the most time in, as they're a great reference source for things like Museum opening & closing times, admission costs, which days some Museums are closed, etc.

Cheers!

[jessus]

Well... I'm starting up my (first, also backpacking/low budget) trip soon (well.. not that soon; also in the fall) and somehow I've ended up with 3 guidebooks - my plan is to tear out the relevant sections and make my own book

BUT... I have pretty much read them all. Here's what I thought:

Let's Go Western Europe On a Budget 2007: This is a big guy, and only covers the Western countries! That's perfect for me. . . it had a huge amount of info, and very little opinions (other than the "thumbs up" picture beside some listings). Definitely geared toward the backpacker type, and I especially liked their "transportation links" sections for each town.

Rick Steves Best of Europe 2008: Well this is LOTS of opinion, and less "breadth" of info, but I appreciated that too! Rick chooses several cities to focus on, and has some personal opinions on all. I couldn't use this as my only book though, because it's missing a lot of places!

The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget: Well this has a short bit on ALL European countries, so it's quite brief and to the point! I think this is pretty great for a first-time traveller, since it lists the main sights of each city organized by where they are. Tons of maps too. The one thing is, there are only a few accomodation/food listings for each city, and I was wondering if there was some reason why they picked what they did! (Some popular places according to the internet were excluded - like JetPak & Wombat's in Berlin. . . )

[coppadella]

Ah, I appreciate all the additional feedback. Shortly after my last post I ended up choosing 'Let's Go Western Europe on a Budget '08' and 'Rick Steves Europe Through the Backdoor 'o8'. So far I'm getting a lot out of the lifestyles/attitude and common sense pointers throughout the RS book.

Now I'm just having trouble wrapping my mind around the loose itinerary, but I guess that's another post...

[stylescriber]

these books are good. but when i travel, i like to explore and get personal with the locals. i believe that reading too much would ruin that part of traveling. just a thought, though.

[pointofnoreturn]

In response to stylescriber's post... that's a good point. I use my guidebooks as a source of information AND research. I don't carry them with me while I am travelling (as in 'touring'). I carry them with me and leave them at the hotel and only use them for information.

Neverless, it's always good to have a book or a collection of photocopies from the book with you - so that way you have some kind of information available whenever you need it.