Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' Eastern Europe

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the fourth Rick Steves' guidebook I've purchased for my summer trip to Europe (Europe Through the Back Door, Best of Europe, Italy, Eastern Europe). In general, his guidebooks are very easy to read, and he gives practical information. Specifically, the Best of Eastern Europe gives great information on touristy and non-touristy sites. I emailed a guide he recommended for my trip to Krakow (Andrew). Andrew was very helpful, and I've already booked him as my tour guide for my time there. Rick is right--Eastern Europe is a lot cheaper than Western Europe. Rick's suggestions on lodging and restaurants is really good. He focuses on areas in which you would normally want to visit.

I have never written a review for Amazon before but felt compelled to write this one after returning from my honeymoon in "mostly Eastern" Europe.

As another reviewer commented, this book is not so much about Eastern Europe as it focuses on areas mostly East of Vienna but doesn't cover much beyond Hungary. However, I purchased this book prior to my trip as I had seen many positive reviews of Rick Steves' guidebooks but had never used one by him before.

First, the biggest negative - I found Rick's writing to be patronizing and borderline obnoxious. I was almost put off this book because it was difficult to slog past his cynical humor and get to the meat of the matter.

However, this book still gets 4-stars because time and time again, my husband and I found valuable tips and information within this guidebook. We carried this one around with us and pored over it at cafes while the other books languished back in the hotel room. It is now dog-eared and travel-worn and will become a great addition to our honeymoon memorabilia.

Rick's book is full of highly accurate insider travel tips on everything from public transportation, to how to negotiate some tricky situations, to how to take advantage of great deals while avoiding the shady ones.

Bottom line is that if you can manage to get past the self-important tone of Rick's writing, you will find a treasure trove of information in this book.

I enjoyed this book even though it missed some coutries we wanted to travel to, such as Romania. It was perfect if you want to visit the major attractions and major cities. The walking tour of Auschwitz and Krakow were fantastic. The information was up-to-date and detailed (such as how to use the Hungarian baths in Budapest). We also found the restaurants to be good as well. I recommed the book if you are doing a "whirlwind" trip of Eastern Europe (ours lasted just one month and was 6 countries). For more in-depth country info, you might need a more detailed country guide.

Rick Steves' Eastern Europe


Rick Steves' books are always realiable. I had read the paper version of Eastern Europe and knew it had good information. I purchased the Kindle version for my trip and was very disappointed. The editing was very poor with misspellings and errors that made interpretation difficult. The maps on the kindle were very difficult to read even with zooming. The most disappointing was that the book was not indexed. To locate immediate information I had to do a search or go to the TOC everytime - Carrying a guide book is to make travel easier - I'd much rather have had the paperback. Kindle didn't win this one. Five stars for Rick; minus two for kindle.

I used the relevant sections of this guide in Prague and in Krakow. As with some previous trips, Rick Steves absolutely never lets me down. He gets me from the train (or plane) to the city, guides me through the subway/bus/tram (no small thing!!), gets me to my place to stay, finds food for me, takes me to spots I love, gives me interesting side notes. I've tried the "pretty" guidebooks; they're nice for armchair browsing, but give me Rick Steves when I'm arriving in a new city and want to find my way around!!

(Please note that I used a 4-star rating only because of my lack of expertise in two things: I booked my accommodations separately, not from the book's list, and I used it for only two cities, so I don't feel qualified to comment on the whole book. For what I DID use, it was a 5-star experience.)

I love this book! The style he has written the book in is so full of easy to understand information - written diary style I feel. I would choose Rick Steve's guide books over any of the other well known ones anytime in the future. Some books are full of lovely glossy colour photos and others with short pieces of information whereas this book is brim full of wonderful insights of the countries. Well worth it.

I've traveled Europe with the advise of this man, and he's never let me down. Once again, a plethora of information. Can't travel without him!

As always, this guide book of Rick Steves' was just what we needed during our recent trip to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest! Very easy to read, lighthearted, witty, funny, and yet very informative. Helped us decide where and when to see the sights in the cities. The book is a good buy!

This is the how-to guide for enjoying Eastern Europe written with a sense of humor. I don't think he missed anything.

We used the 2005 book last year (2006) and found it marvelous - showing you how to cut the corners. EG in Vienna we went to the Opera @ no cost (we tried to pay) and saw/heard all we wanted at the "Stehplats" - with an english interpretation on the screen in front of us. The how to travel easy-quick and see it all, was exceptionally useful. Traveling to Prague this year with the book in hand.