Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great resource, just don't expect perfection..., December 26, 2001
Let's Go is THE guidebook for cheap traveling, especially for students. It's secret? It's written by students, mainly for students...It's strength is that it has a lot of truly budget accomodations listed -- hostels, etc. -- in practically every city in Europe. The main weakness? Because it is put together by students, who by definition are amateurs, the writing can sometimes be weak, the info can be out of date or wrong, and the reviews of lodging and sights are incredibly uneven. (For example, when I used Let's Go almost exclusively for a 3-month Europe trip, some of their $10-25/night budget accomodations listed were fantastic -- but others were dumps unworthy of a listing in any guidebook). The problem is that, unlike a Lonely Planet or a Rick Steves guidebook, which are written by professionals, Let's Go has had hundreds of writers over the years, with students writing about one country but not all the others...If you are unlucky enough to go to a country reviewed by Mountain Man Jack, for example, and he doesn't care about a lack of air conditioning, lumpy beds and smelly rooms, and fails to mention these items, you are out of luck. All in all, though, a great resource for people who need truly budget accomodations, with lots of good maps and other tips... I've personally outgrown this guidebook, having moved on to Rick Steves, who focuses not on the cheapest possible budget but on getting the most possible out of your trip...($50-$100 day vs. the $25-$50 that Let's Go specializes in).
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good General Information, December 1, 2000
If you are going to Europe for a month or more and have a flexible travel plan (or no real plan at all) and an inflexible budget, this book is for you! Since it covers all of Europe, the information on any given country or city is somewhat limited - but the bottom line is that if you have this book (and a few bucks) in your rucksack, you probably won't have to worry about sleeping in the street or missing a European highlight - even if you decide to get off the train in a particular city on impulse with no reservations....and even less of a clue of what to see and do!Let's Go does a great job of giving you the best sites, several choices of decent hostels or budget hotels, a list of "hot spots" for meeting folks, and a selection of places to eat cheap - often conveniently broken down by area of the city! These guidebooks have an excellent, readable style, basic maps, and a frank, honest assesment of what you are in for at any given hostel or attraction - often with a little humor thrown in as a bonus (which is, by the way, an attribute which all indy travelers MUST have in abundance). That having been said, if you have your destination(s) selected in advance and your travel schedule all planned out in detail, you might consider purchasing an appropriate individual country or regional guidebook instead. This book is HEAVY and bulky in a rucksack, so if you know at the outset that you will not be going to most of the countries covered, consider the country guides instead.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Guide yourself through Europe, March 15, 2001
By A Customer
Went to Europe for 3 weeks a year ago January, and took the 2000 edition of Let's Go Europe with me, and what an invaluable guide! While we wound up in hostels recommended by the guide only about 1/2 the time (and didn't always love them - guess we weren't into the whole true backpacking experience), it was a great start to know where to look. It was also immensely useful for figuring out where to go, what to see, when we could see it and for how much. Found myself frequently walking around acting as tour guide to the rest of my group, reading descriptions from the book. The maps are also really useful for finding your way around the cities. Even though between the six of us, we had 3-4 different Europe guides, Let's Go Europe is the one that we came back to most frequently. After a while, I didn't even bother putting it in my daypack anymore, I just carried it around in my hands. On a side note, the second to last day I was in Europe, my daypack was stolen off of a train with the guide in it... good thing we were so close to the end of the trip...but definitely, heed all advice you get about protecting your stuff!If you're looking for a nice, preplanned vacation at nice hotels, then Let's Go Europe isn't the book for you. However, if you're travelling through Europe on a lower budget, and are kind of taking things as they come, I highly recommend this book.
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