Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to First-Time Europe 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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

 

 

If you have never been to Europe and are thinking of traveling there independently (or, perhaps even with a tour, although tour guides tend to dislike "educated" tourists...) you NEED this book! I only wish I had such a book to guide me when I began traveling many years ago.

As the book itself states, it is NOT a guidebook for sites to see, lodging, specific costs, etc. What it DOES do (and rather well...) is outline the skills and tools you need to travel successfully--and not just in Europe, as the skills Mr. Casablanca relates are applicable in any travel situation.

Being a well-traveled person myself, anytime someone asks me how I "do it", or if I hear of someone planning a trip to Europe for the first time, I ask them if they have read this book. If not, I tell them it is REQUIRED reading if you want your independent trip to go smoothly. Many of the tips and ideas laid-out in the book I had to learn by experience--not always a joyful thing when traveling. While I value experience in travel, if you can save yourself a few headaches, why not??

As I mentioned eariler, the skills outlined in this book are fully transferable across continents and local regions. The book gives you practical ways of dealing with almost any situation you will encounter--anywhere in the world. The information given is well-researched, easy to follow, and never goes out of style...it's always useful.

What I like best about the Rough Guides is that they give critical reviews. They will point out the tourist traps and will give negative reviews. I find that Frommer's and Fodor's rarely point out the negatives to a particular... The rough guide is very critical and is a great balance to these other guides.

If you aren't interested in "roughing" it and staying in lower priced hotels.. the guides are still very useful in rating attractions, and areas in which to stay... but you will need another book to look at more moderate and luxury hotels.

I would definitely read this book before going to Europe.

This book is great to help you plan your trip before you've even bought your tickets. It gives great tips and advise on packing and traveling. It doesn't discuss different countries...you'll need to get a "Let's Go" type of book for that. This book is strictly for preparation for people on a budget.

This doesn't have as much practical how-to info. as Rick Steves' Backdoor book. But it has tons of details about different countries & cities. I think those two books together will really help me on my first trip to Europe this fall.

I was extremly excited to get this book and read it from cover to cover fairly quickly. Louis gives quite a bit of great, practical information that the first time travel might not think about. The only place I found it lacking was for those of us who can't flit off to Europe for the summer. I would have enjoyed more information for the older working traveler on their first trip to Europe. All in all the book is still an excellent reference that I will be using to help me plan my 1 week trip to Paris (at least I think it will be Paris!) although the one page on a two week trip sounds so wonderful I'm trying to figure out a way to extend my trip!!

The best advice in this book was "Don't worry, just GO!"

This book covers everything, it is the kind of book you read before going to Europe for your 10th time. This book has so much information it helps every kind of traveler. It's just a great read. Buy this book before you leave, and treat it like your bible.

This book is great for First-Time visit to Europe, but you have to get a more updated version.. It keep quoting figures of how much things cost and how much money you need to fly there. Today all those figures are outdated. The rate of exchange is non existent.

This was a fantastic read. It's packed with practical advice, true, but the real strength of this book is the author's encouraging spirit. His love for Europe, his passion to share this love is infectious. He makes you feel like you can really do it!