Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' Spain 2006

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We have just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Spain and Portugal, using the Rick Steves 2006 guides to those two countries. We also carried the Michelin Green Guide, and this was a good complementary pair. We appreciated the fact that Rick tells the reader: this museum is boring, another museum is underrated and worth visiting, the Costa del Sol is gridlock, etc. - in other words, he makes judgments and offers frank advice where other guidebooks are politely descriptive. Michelin has more detail and lists more places but makes fewer judgments.
We booked all our hotels based on Rick's recommendations (after checking them out on the web sites he lists). We found all of them to be very much as represented in the book. Also helpful: his suggestions for off-the-beaten-track restaurants, his walking tours and do-it-yourself museum guides, and concise practical info on how to reach train stations, connect to other towns, etc.
Occasionally we found some towns to be absent from the book. In these cases, we turned to Michelin. It seems clear that Steves has made a decision not to publish an encyclopedia of a given country but to focus selectively on the destinations that visitors are most likely to choose and to propose itineraries that work. True, it is odd that a city as large as Valencia is not included at all, but look at the map - it's not on the Barcelona/Madrid/Seville pathway.
Interestingly, we saw a number of people carrying the Steves guidebook in Spain. In a few cases, we struck up conversations because of it!
We would use the Rick Steves guides again and are impressed enough with his commitment to "the real Europe" that we are considering signing up for a Steves tour group of Europe in 2007.

I bought this book because of its high Amazon rating. What a mistake!

I planned on visiting Barcelona, Valencia (Spain's third largest city), and Cadiz (the oldest city in Europe and place from which Columbus sailed). The book doesn't even mention Cadiz or Valencia!!

Go buy the Michelin Green Guide for Spain - far better - and covers Cadiz and Valencia in great detail - as well as the rest of Spain. A far better value.

I love Rick Steves' books. He makes planning a trip on your own entirely possible and gives all the important information you'll ever need. He has fun insights and finds the places not every tourist goes to. The best part is that he helps you orient yourself and get around, which is tough if you're on your own in a new place. The walking tours are great, and he makes it easy to do things your own way and save money in the process.

I just returned from a trip in Spain. This book was outstanding and really helped us on our trip. The advice in this book is very good. It will help you enjoy the main tourist sites as well as find some out of the way places you'd never find on your own.

Bought this book to prepare for 2 week trip to Portugal & Spain. Used book for Seville & Granada. The book was easily worth several times its price for the tips re: where to park in Seville (underground, safe parking lots). Thanks to Rick, able to make fast, drop-in trip to see cathedral in Seville & avoid hassles.

Love them alll, this one included. We travel with two guide books but always end up using Rick Steves over any others. Used his 2008 Best of Europe on our last trip.

What a great guide. Rick Steve's told me so many chill, off the beaten path things to do in Spain and then I picked up my Party Spain guidebook and had the most fun and social days and nights. What a great combination of books.

I can't wait to go back.

We like the personal and conversational approach that he takes to the work. The outlining of the tours and his notice of things that may be very helpful are very good. He comes across as having 'been there and done that' and enjoys sharing it with you.

We love all of Rick's books so far we have used. We started traveling in Europe 2 years ago. With Ricks advise we had a great time and was able to use most of his recommondations. What he says is true. If you want to save money, and time read his guidebooks for your desination. They are portable enough to take right along with you and tab the pages for quick reference. I still can't pack light like he sugguests...I am trying! Keep writing and traveling Rick...more, please....Tina in OH

We used this book to find hotels in 5 cities on our recent trip to Spain. We were very happy with all of them. His recommendations tend to be smaller, locally-owned, colorful, very well located and good values. Two of the hotels even gave us a 10% "Rick Steves" discount - easily paying for the guidebook.
My only criticism of the book is that Steves understates the difficulty of driving in Spain. We found it especially difficult to navigate in the inner cities (where all our hotels were). Some driving tips (e.g., where to look for street signs) would be a welcome addition to the book. My advice: take the train.