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I read his book Europe through the back door before my second trip to Europe, around 1992. What a refreshing book, especially in a category that was (and is) d

I read his book Europe through the back door before my second trip to Europe, around 1992. What a refreshing book, especially in a category that was (and is) dominated by publications and institutions that are invested in making you want expensive and exclusive accommodations and attractions. He has kind of a upright earnestness, combined with a sort of Germanic devotion to efficiency ("save money by sleeping on the train"; "plan a day's activity city-hopping by integrating a few key visits with the train schedule", "roll your trousers when packing"), that some nerds would generally find appealing. I've returned to that book several times over the years when I feel like I need an attitude adjustment about how I travel, because it's easy to fall into the habit of just booking expensive accommodations. The result can be one-dimensional.

Mediterraneo10 8y ago
> What a refreshing book, especially in a category that was (and is) dominated by publications and institutions that are invested in making you want expensive and exclusive accommodations and attractions. That was mainly a problem of the US market, though. In the 1990s the American travel guide market, i.e. the sort of guides you would find in any mall bookshop, was completely dominated by Fodors and Frommers, which aimed at those with rather high budgets. So, Rick Steves could offer an alternative to that within North America. Meanwhile, however, in the UK and Australia Lonely Planet and Rough Guides were more widely available. (Not to mention some of the travel guide series in the German- and French-speaking world). Those guides opened up travel to even lower budgets than Rick Steves could.
- mturmon 8y ago
  I agree with this. I found the Rough Guides another good antidote to Froddors/Michelin - and in fact, a better guidebook than ETTBD. I don't think I remember LP guides for Europe being helpful - I thought their main forte was Asia. Maybe that impression is mistaken. For me, the thing was that ETTBD presented, explicitly, a whole travel philosophy/attitude that I found inspiring at the time.

Mediterraneo10 8y ago

> What a refreshing book, especially in a category that was (and is) dominated by publications and institutions that are invested in making you want expensive and exclusive accommodations and attractions. That was mainly a problem of the US market, though. In the 1990s the American travel guide market, i.e. the sort of guides you would find in any mall bookshop, was completely dominated by Fodors and Frommers, which aimed at those with rather high budgets. So, Rick Steves could offer an alternative to that within North America. Meanwhile, however, in the UK and Australia Lonely Planet and Rough Guides were more widely available. (Not to mention some of the travel guide series in the German- and French-speaking world). Those guides opened up travel to even lower budgets than Rick Steves could.

mturmon 8y ago
I agree with this. I found the Rough Guides another good antidote to Froddors/Michelin - and in fact, a better guidebook than ETTBD. I don't think I remember LP guides for Europe being helpful - I thought their main forte was Asia. Maybe that impression is mistaken. For me, the thing was that ETTBD presented, explicitly, a whole travel philosophy/attitude that I found inspiring at the time.