Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My sister and I have almost worn out our copy of Europe on a Shoestring over the past couple of years, and it has been invaluable. Lonely Planet only publishes travel-related books and this experience shows in the class, presentation and accuracy of their guides. If you are looking for a travel guide to Europe with a good balance of detail and portability, LP's Europe on a Shoestring will serve you well.

Positives: As well as a good, clear layout, good maps and an easy to use index, I like the fact that LP also gives you a lot of background information about each country or region. Whereas "Let's Go" will often just give you a line or two (or even worse, a joke) about each country, LP's summaries are accurate and of great interest (and invaluable for passing the time on those long train rides!). Also, if you are aiming to stick to a budget, the many tips for saving money scattered throughout the guide will definitely help you get there.

Negatives: Obviously, there are compromises in compiling such a broad volume: anyone looking for masses of detail about a certain country or planning to spend more than about a week in one region should check out LP's guidebooks to each country instead. Also, with the rapid pace of change in Europe, especially in the East, expect to find that some things have changed since this volume was published (something the editors anticipate in their introduction).

Anyone travelling for shorter periods in Europe will find this book a refreshing and valuable travel companion: it is almost certainly the best book of its size and one which will help you to get the maximum out of your travels in Europe.

I absolutely lived by this book as my travelmate and I backpacked across Europe during the summer of 1999. Lonely Planet did an excellent job of highlighting the best things to see and do throughout Europe, as well as giving good advice about things that are not worth seeing and doing. I found the information to be nearly 100% accurate including maps, directions, telephone numbers, addresses, and prices. In addition, the book gave useful travel tips including cultural practices, hazardous areas, directions on how to use the public phones, how to buy subway tickets, etc. Honestly, I don't know how I would have made it through Europe without this book - it is truly an essential for the backpacker!

I spent my junior year (1999-2000) in France, and did a fairly extensive amount of traveling in Europe. I would say about nine countries. This book was a GODSEND in each one. Not only is it incredibly accurate in telling you what to expect from each place, how much things cost, etc... it also includes lots of well done maps and an EXTREMELY helpeful language guide in the back. Also it helped me navigate things that would probably never occur to most of us, such as how to get to the airport in Venice (water taxi) or the "correct", local time to eat dinner in Spain (between 8-11pm). Also, this book was a great help with predicting what a lot of restaurants, tourist attractions and nightspots are worth hitting up and which ones are not worth the time/trouble/money involved in going to them. These kids staying across the hall from us at a hostel in Paris lent us "The Rough Guide" which unfortunately, gave a three year old description of a club and its now defunct address, which resulted in about 20 american kids wandering the streets of Paris at wee hours of the morning. Never again did I leave the comforts of Toulouse without my Lonely Planet guide. It also has pretty good descriptions of the attractions in each place, however, the eyewitness books are a little more detailed if you want much more specific information and lots of pictures. As much as it pained me, I left it in France for the next group of students to read since it helped me so much. If you are looking to travel around Europe, with some kind of financial restrictions, and want the best travel book for your money, this is DEFINITELY it.

I just returned from a three week European adventure accompanied with "Europe on a Shoestring." I can not think of a better publication that covers such an extensive region in such a no-nonsense, precise manner. I found that the recommendations for accomadations and food roughly 90% accurate. I would recommend this book to the cost-conscious traveler who plans on going to Europe and is unsure exactly where he/she is going to travel. It is exhaustive and even includes sections on St.Petersburg, Russia and Turkey. One caveat: the sheer size of Europe precludes Lonely Planet from getting too in depth on any one city or region. If you know FOR SURE that you're traveling to a few specific countries, I would recommend sticking to the country-specific Lonely Planet guides.

I traveled around Europe in the fall of 1999 and purchased this book for the trip. I found out much of the information to be outdated and vague. It would say things like "hostel is 1.5 miles southwest of the city" but wouldnt say how to get there! Many critical street names to finding important tourist sites and hotels were omitted on the maps also. There has to be a better guide book out there.

It was very useful of my trip. It's the best of guide-books. WONDERFUL~

"Europe On A Shoestring" is a witty, informative, and immensely-readable guide to making the most of your time and money in Europe.

The thousands of recommendations range from French hostels and Turkish pensions to Finnish campgrounds and budget Hungarian hotels.

Affortable activities and restaurants are covered also. We learn, for instance, that in Finland, "cheap eateries abound around the market square, especially in the Hansa Shopping Center and the Kauppahalli (covered market)." And that if you're in Galway, you should head to Monroe's Tavern for inexpensive drinks and traditional Irish music (with set dancing on Tuesdays).

Culture & Conduct, as well as Dangers & Annoyances, are two more of the many helpful features in this very fine guide.

It was very useful of my trip. It's the best of guide-books. WONDERFUL~

This deadweight trunk of uselessness is better a door stop than a guide. Dont be fooled. Buy each country if you are going to use Lonely Planet. It is not so much the size of the book, but the useless info they include. It did make me think about going to Morocco, though. Still wondering why they would include it in a European guide.

If you are going to travel to more than one or two European countries and therefore can't bring a specialized book for each one of them then believe me, you don't want to leave this book at home!