Customer Reviews

Let's Go Europe 2002

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Let's Go is THE guidebook for cheap traveling, especially for students. It's secret? It's written by students, mainly for students...It's strength is that it has a lot of truly budget accomodations listed -- hostels, etc. -- in practically every city in Europe. The main weakness? Because it is put together by students, who by definition are amateurs, the writing can sometimes be weak, the info can be out of date or wrong, and the reviews of lodging and sights are incredibly uneven. (For example, when I used Let's Go almost exclusively for a 3-month Europe trip, some of their $10-25/night budget accomodations listed were fantastic -- but others were dumps unworthy of a listing in any guidebook). The problem is that, unlike a Lonely Planet or a Rick Steves guidebook, which are written by professionals, Let's Go has had hundreds of writers over the years, with students writing about one country but not all the others...If you are unlucky enough to go to a country reviewed by Mountain Man Jack, for example, and he doesn't care about a lack of air conditioning, lumpy beds and smelly rooms, and fails to mention these items, you are out of luck. All in all, though, a great resource for people who need truly budget accomodations, with lots of good maps and other tips... I've personally outgrown this guidebook, having moved on to Rick Steves, who focuses not on the cheapest possible budget but on getting the most possible out of your trip...($50-$100 day vs. the $25-$50 that Let's Go specializes in).

First of all...If you are going to any of the western European countries then narrow your research by buying Lets Go: WESTERN Europe, 2002. This review will be more specifically for that book.

This book is a necessity for any independent trip to Europe. It covers everything from lodging, restaurants, what to do, sample itineraries, language guide, city maps, culture and history. A very thick and well researched book...but to really nail down your trip before you go you must bite the bullet and couple this book with at least one other if not two other books. First is Rick Steves Best of Series. Either choose his best of europe or best of the individual country you plan to visit. Rick's book complements the let's go series by being picky...he covers only the places which he considers worthy; and while this may miss many worthy places you are assured of hitting the top spots. Use 'lets go' to find the other out of the way spots. The other book to pick up is the DK writers Eyewitness series, and once again you can choose either Eyewitness Europe or Eyewitness of the country you choose. These are great books because they show you so many pictures of the places to visit that you can see for yourself if it looks like the type of place you would like to go. All three books are worth their weight in gold when you arrive in Europe fully prepared with your itinery completely planned.

I know this combo is expensive (way cheaper here than in your local bookstore...saves 25 bucks) but when you are spending a fortune going to europe an extra 50 bucks in books will help make every minute count. Instead of wasting an hour every morning trying to decipher what to do you will be halfway through your tour of the local dungeon at a hidden castle you would never have known about without these books...Good luck and happy travels!

... [bad] maps and instructions. Stupid jokes in place of much-needed information. Lacking coverage on all too many places. And worst, advertisement for every other book in the series at the opening of the section on each country.

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Stick to Lonely Planet. Far, far better than this junk.