Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door [Paperback]

Rick Steves (Author)

Book Description

Series: Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door | Publication Date: September 2004

From train and rail pass skills to strategies for visiting open-air folk museums, who else but Rick Steves teaches you the skills you really need when traveling through Europe? Learn how to deal with all of the small details of planning a trip to Europe with Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2005. America's number one authority on travel to Europe, Rick Steves has done the legwork, discovered the secrets, and made the mistakes-so you don't have to. Completely revised and updated, Rick's time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience. Rick's travel tips include: sticking to a budget; smart packing; planning ahead for visiting major sites; personal safety; avoiding tourist traps; and finding Europe's "back door" attractions. Smart advice is also offered on everything from social etiquette to booking a hotel and ordering food. Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2005 is an essential item on any European traveler's checklist.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Steves preaches a low-cost, low-to-the-ground style that not only saves money, but gets you closer to the real Europe, the way Europeans experience it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 641 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; Revised edition (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566916186
• ISBN-13: 978-1566916189
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book makes you feel to go to places, March 17, 2005

By 

Sentekin Can (St.Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door (Paperback)

Most travel books in the market are too dry to read and are somewhat lists of cities, hotels, restaurants, etc. Mr. Steves reflects his impressions about people and their countries a down to earth fashion without boring you. He takes you from country to country giving you points for a pleasurable vacation down to estimate of the time is required. Yes, he candidly compares our life style in U.S. with European society. That makes his book more likeable and him more respectable. Because he can look at himself at a mirror and analyzes what he sees. He finally produced a travel book that you can read without being bored.
If he sounds like being negative about certain places he has right to express his true feelings. He was there, lived with locals closer than any of us dare for. He made me feel the warmness of Irish people and cannot wait for my next trip to Ireland with his excellent book in my pocket.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Standard for Europe travel books..., May 28, 2005

By 

Steven Dennis (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door (Paperback)

Europe Through the Back Door is an invaluable book for travelers who want to experience the real Europe with real Europeans, instead of the sanitized versions offered by tour companies and big hotels.
Rick shows you how to enjoy your trip more by spending less money, by getting closer to the locals. You won't be disappointed. In my trips to Europe, Rick's advice led to life-changing experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life.

This book is also economically packed full of the kind of useful, practical advice honed through decades of editions. (Trust me, the guy knows his stuff).

Thanks, Rick, and keep up the good work!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Caveat Empor!, March 31, 2005

By 

Matthew Tomich (Basel, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door (Paperback)

Warning: this book is NOT a country-by-country travel guide for Europe, filled with specific information on prices, buses, trains, and local site recommendations like "Let's Go Europe" or "Lonely Planet's Western Europe."

It is a general guide to European travel with a explanations of what to take, how to pack, and single paragraph descriptions of what to see in each city to help you decide on an intinerary. While this might be useful for those who this is their first trip to Europe, this is not for those who are looking to update their pre-Euro copies of local guidebooks.

Rick Steves' individual country/reigional guides are wonderful for specific country information and quickly getting you oriented in a location and to the places of interest. However, unlike the books that you would find this next to on the shelf, this is not a handy general compliation of the more specific guides.