Rick Steves' Spain and Portugal 2002 [Paperback]

Rick Steves (Author)

Book Description

Series: Rick Steves' Spain | Publication Date: January 9, 2002

Rick Steves doesn't just list where to travel in Europe, he leads travellers through the "back door", revealing how to give every journey an extra, more authentic dimension. He shows travellers how to delve into European culture, and experience each region's natural wonders - economically and hassle-free. Rick Steves' television series Travels in Europe with Rick Steves is seen on more than 200 public tv channels in the US and Canada

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; Revised edition (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566913586
• ISBN-13: 978-1566913584
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,079,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent well-organized over-all guide book, January 4, 2002

By 

Raymond D. Houlihan "new dad" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rick Steves' Spain and Portugal 2002 (Paperback)

The one thing I think I might enjoy more than traveling is planning a trip. The problem with most trips is that I never have enough time to see all of the things I'd like to see. Consequently, I generally end up buying or borrowing a bunch of books, then planing obsessively. I really like Steves' book because it gives a great overview of each region of the country and makes it easy to figure out how to get the most out of the limited time I have available to me. It is clear that Rick Steves knows a great deal about the country, and he is able to organize and present that information in an interesting and very understandable way. He also makes suggestions about where to go and what to do based on his experience. I found myself trusting in his opinions and making my plans without the normal qualms: "Do I really want to spend two days in Ronda and Arcos? Maybe it would make more sense to go to Gibraltar."
In addition, he provides a lot of great information on affordable places to stay. Most of the guides seem to focus on the expensive, world class hotels (DK guides) or the less expensive, student hostel type of places (Lonely Planet). This guide fills the gap. While it identifies expensive "splurges" that have something really unique to offer (beyond mere luxury accomodations) and also identifies some great bargain hotels and hostels, it also provides a wealth of information about those hotels that fall in the middle. Since I'm a public defender, I don't have the bucks to stay at the Ritz, but I'm too old to sleep in a bunk-bed (plus, I think my wife would object to staying in dormatories -- for some odd reason, she likes to be in the same room with me). This guide has given me the information I need to find a place with character that will not break the bank.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Guide, April 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Rick Steves' Spain and Portugal 2002 (Paperback)

This book is well organized and was very helpful in planning my trip to Spain. This guide book helped me prioritize my trip. I actually stayed at one of the recommended hotels,which I booked myself,with the help of books reservation worksheet. It worked out great, the hotel was cheap but room was fantastic-I could not believe it!!!It is a great guide.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book for seeing the best of the Iberian Penninsula, October 15, 2002

By 

JP (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rick Steves' Spain and Portugal 2002 (Paperback)

Here's my response to reviewers complaining about lack of detailed information ... well, DUH! It's the whole purpose of the book to be selective, instead of data-dumping 2000 pages of hotel listings for villages that 99% of the tourists never go to.

If you want that other kind of travel guidebook, or if you're traveling to the one-oxcart villages, then go buy one of those books. (We also bought a Lonely Planet book, esp. for the cultural and historical background info.) But you were fully informed and warned that this book is SELECTIVE.

From the back cover: "Most travel guidebooks try to impress you with massive amounts of data. My philosophy is...[to] present you with only the best" From the second paragraph of the introduction, page one: "This book breaks Spain and Portugal into their TOP big city, small town, and rural destinations. It then gives you all the information and opinions NECESSARY to wring the maximum value out of your limited time and money. If you plan A MONTH OR LESS in Iberia, this LEAN AND MEAN little book is all you need." [emphasis added by me]

Once again, you were fully informed that this book is selective, so why do you complain about that selectivity?

Personally, I found this book was absolutely indispensible in planning our trip to Spain. It solved our biggest problem with the trip: it was our first time there, we wanted to see the best that this amazing country has to offer, but we only had 2 weeks. We also did not want to buy a package tour for budget reasons and because you don't get to see as much of the "genuine" country.

Rick Steves' book saved the day. It helped us pick the top places to visit, and the top sights in each city. The recommended hotels were also real finds -- some of them were easily worth twice as much as they were charging, and the book lets you know which of the expensive hotels are really worth the splurge and which are just stuffy tourist traps. Phone numbers, email and web addresses, hours, and train/bus info was also very accurate (obviously some of the info is going to change, but it was maybe 95% correct), with new updates and helpful info available.