Quite Useful April 20, 2008 8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I found this book very useful, it offered many practical time and money saving tips. The accommodation and transportation strategies were particularly good. However, as an Aussie I found this book very US centric! While some advice was EXTREMELY obvious, I appreciated the opinionated style of writing. Please note that a lot of information covered in this book is also located in Rick's website.
Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door April 12, 2008 Very helpful. My wife was in England and Italy 8 years ago, but had forgotten many of the great tips in this book. Our upcoming trip will be more enjoyable because of it.
Excellent! April 5, 2008 This book is a fabulous piece of travel literature! I recommend this to any Europe Traveler that wants to travel off the beaten path and experience how everyday Europeans live their daily lives. Rick Steves' personal tone in his writing makes it feel like you're taking another friend along with you on your journey through Europe.
Excellent planner for the European traveler (novice or otherwise) March 11, 2008 23 out of 24 found this review helpful
Let me state upfront that I am European myself (from Belgium, actually), and that while I've lived in the US for many years, I have continued to spend a fair amount of time in Europe, including with my kids when they were younger. My youngest is now a HS senior, and she and several of her friends are planning to spend a month or so backpacking around Europe this coming summer, visiting my family along the way.
While looking around to get my daughter a planning guide, I stumbled upon this book and I immediately knew I had fallen on a gem. In "Europe Through the Back Door 2008" (690 pages), Rick Steves (of PBS fame) does not pretend to provide a full overview of Europe (there are other books on that), but instead focuses on some not so obvious places. When I turn to the section on Belgium (where I'm from) and the Netherlands (where I have family), I can instantly see that Steves actually knows what he is writing about, and it validates to me the other portions of the book, and I am fully confident that this book will help my daughter and her friends in their planning of the trip, and during the trip itself. Highly recommended!
Rick Steves has written many other travel books, and one other that I can easily recommend is "Europe 101: History & Art for the Traveler", which is an ideal book for anyone wanting to understand more about European culture and history, but written in a very user-friendly way. Also highly recommended!
Novice European Traveler January 28, 2008 10 out of 12 found this review helpful
My daughter will be graduating from high school in May 2008 and I wanted to explore a way to help her experience our larger world. I have never been outside of the USA (except a brief visit to Niagra Falls as a child), so I felt very anxious about how to plan a trip for two to Europe. I researched many tours and resources, from bare bones to pricey "deluxe" accomodations, yet I kept coming back to Rick Steves' books, website & resources. This specific book has been a wealth of information for a novice (plus I'm sure those who have traveled before will still get some great tips). Rick Steves' books, videos & other resources have given me the confidence to make reservations for that first trip to Europe. While I am choosing to utilize a tour group for our 1st European experience, Rick really gives anyone wanting to travel through Europe on their own, a concise, well researched (and well utilized) guide to how to do so on any budget. I highly recommend this guide!
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