Rick Steves' Portugal 2005 [Paperback]

Rick Steves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004 | Series: Rick Steves' Portugal

Who but Rick Steves can tell you the best way to visit Lisbon, The Algarve, Salema, Evora, Coimbra, Nazare, and Obidos? With Rick Steves' Portugal 2005, you can experience the best of everything Portugal has to offer-economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, Rick Steves' Portugal 2005 includes color maps and photographs, opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights; friendly places to eat and sleep; suggested day plans; walking tours and trip itineraries; clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot; and Rick's newest "back door" discoveries. In addition, valuable information on the Salema Beach Burns Quickie Tour is featured as well as an orientation to each region with suggestions on day trips and time management. America's number one authority on travel to Europe, Rick's time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Portugal have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique travel experience.

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.

About the Author

Rick Steves is on a mission: to help make European travel accessible and meaningful for Americans. Rick has spent 100 days every year since 1973 exploring Europe. He's researched and written 24 travel guidebooks and hosts the public television series Rick Steves' Europe, now in its seventh season. He also organizes and leads tours of Europe and offers an information-packed website (www.ricksteves.com). Rick lives in Edmonds, WA, just north of Seattle, with his family. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566918812
• ISBN-13: 978-1566918817
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,506,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rick Steves advocates smart, affordable, perspective-broadening travel. As host and writer of the popular public television series Rick Steves' Europe, and best-selling author of 40 European travel books, he encourages Americans to travel as "temporary locals." He helps American travelers connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe -- and Europeans -- for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.

Over the past 20 years, Rick has hosted over 100 travel shows for public television, and numerous pledge specials (raising millions of dollars for local stations). His Rick Steves' Europe TV series is carried by over 300 stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Rick has also created two award-winning specials for public television: Rick Steves' European Christmas and the ground-breaking Rick Steves' Iran. Rick writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions.

Rick Steves also hosts a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. With a broader approach to travel everywhere, in each hour-long program Rick interviews guest travel expert, followed by listener call-ins. Travel with Rick Steves airs across the country and has spawned a popular podcast. Rick has also created a series of audio walking tour podcasts for museums and neighborhoods in Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice (with more tours, including London, coming in 2010).

Rick self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door (now updated annually), in 1980. He has also written more than 40 other country, city and regional guidebooks, phrase books, and "snapshot" guides. For several years, Rick Steves' Italy has been the bestselling international guidebook sold in the U.S. In 2009, Rick tackled a new genre of travel writing with Travel as a Political Act, reflecting on how a life of travel has broadened his own perspectives, and travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world. Rick's books are published by Avalon Travel, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

In addition to his guidebooks, TV and radio work, Rick is a syndicated newspaper columnist with the Tribune Media Services. He appears frequently on television, radio, and online as the leading authority on European travel.

Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, Rick jokes, "I realized I didn't need my parents to travel!" He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a business which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a well-traveled staff of 70 full-time employees. ETBD offers free travel information through its travel center, website (www.ricksteves.com), European Railpass Guide, and free travel newsletters. ETBD also runs a successful European tour program with more than 300 departures -- attracting around 10,000 travelers -- annually.

Rick is outspoken on the need for Americans to fit better into our planet by broadening their perspectives through travel. He is also committed to his own neighborhood. He's an active member of the Lutheran church (and has hosted the ELCA's national video productions). He's a board member of NORML (working to reform marijuana laws in the USA). And Rick has provided his local YWCA with a 24-unit apartment building with which to house homeless mothers.

Rick Steves spends about a third of every year in Europe, researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and making new discoveries for travelers. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good at what it does, November 7, 2005

By 

deb (Lisbon, Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rick Steves' Portugal 2005 (Paperback)

Yes, as the prior review mentions, the road info may not be accurate... but there's a lot more to this book. I live in Lisbon and recommend it to all our visitors as it has excellent info on making your way through Sintra, Belém, Tavira, etc. If you're a first-time visitor looking for insider-type tips on the "highlights" of Portugal, this book is worth considering. (It is limited to a few key Portuguese cities/sites, so don't expect an overview of everything in this beautiful country.)

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different from other guide books, March 21, 2009

By 

K. Polzin (California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rick Steves' Portugal (Paperback)

We took the Rough Guide, The Eyewitness Guide, and the Rick Steves guide on our recent trip to Portugal. Rick Steves gives you a different perspective from the other books, one worth having.

Some of the differences:

1. He only includes the places and sights that he thinks are worth your time, so if you have a short trip, or you don't want to do a lot of research on the best sights, this is a great book.

2. Although he does recommend restaurants, he also gives more general info on finding good food, such as a street or area where there are a number of good restaurants. We found that restaurants that were mentioned by name in the guidebooks were often overrun with tourists, but those we found with Steves' tips were not.

On the other hand, we made a day trip to a wonderful town that was not mentioned in Steves' book. So it's always good to take more than one guidebook.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rick Steves: On Target for Adult Travelers, September 7, 2009

By 

M. Carpenter "mc review" (Sandy, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rick Steves' Portugal (Paperback)

Rick Steves gives a thorough and accurate picture of Portugal with great detail and accurate directions. He helped us make decisions on places to see and things to do in our 10-day trip this summer. I also appreciated the background he gave on several of the sites, making it easier to understand what we were seeing without paying for a guide.

The only knocks on Steves is that his approach is totally focused on a single adult or an adult couple traveling through the country. He doesn't take into account differences in tastes for teens or children. For example, some of his highest recommendations on sites to see are museums that my teens found boring. Maybe a tag on sites and activities to indicate which would be more youth oriented would be helpful. Also, although the book was copyrighted in 2009, the prices of many entry fees were off by as much as 20 percent.

Great guide book. Steves' knowledge of the country is evident. Pick carefully the elements that would be of most interest to you and give yourself LOTS of time to get around between sites. If driving, traffic and parking are always issues. If using public transportation, remember you'll have to walk a lot between locations. We rented a car and drove (which Steves recommends against) and had good luck getting around with a GPS and even found parking fairly easily everywhere we went. Also budget higher for activities than shown in the book. And if driving, add funds to your budget for toll roads, which are everywhere.

This book will definitely help you enjoy Portugal. Bon voyage!