Rick Steves' Spain 2009

Comment: Rick Steve's books are an excellent way to get acquainted with a country before you visit. I purchased his book on France this summer (2010) and it was extremely helpful. He gives you tips on everything from customs, tipping, and transportation. Even though it is not the most recent edition (the one on France wasn't either), I found it to be relevant.

Comment: Rick Steves' Spain 2009 book is very helpful and accuracy with great details. Hotel, landmark, visiting hour and price is very helpful. Rick Steves is one of the best in travel authors. Thanks!

Comment: I spent 4 months living in Barcelona and used this book at least every week to look up information about traveling and when/where/how to get to the important sights in Barcelona. I also used it to plan a 6-day backpacking trip through 5 cities in southern Spain; it was extremely helpful. Once you spend a little time reading the book and understanding its style (ex: Transportation Connections sections are at the end of the chapters, etc.), it is very easy to use and includes helpful reviews, maps, directions... the list goes on!

I also used Rick Steve's Italy to plan a trip to Venice, Florence, and Rome, and it worked perfectly. We loved every restaurant the book recommended and definitely avoided many of the tourist traps.

This is the most valuable investment you can make for your trip; we saved money even before we left the country and avoided horrible lines at almost all the major attractions.

Comment: Rick Steves guidebooks are the most thorough I have ever read. When I mean thorough, I mean getting to the nuts and bolts of what you need to know. No fluff, no wasted pages and no nonsense. Each section of each guidebook is written in such an easy to understand way, you feel you have already been there. In addition to the recommended sites, hotels and restaurants, there are recommended tours including the popular self walking tours. I cannot think of a better way to get acquainted with a city then to take a self walking tour without distractions. The stuff on Ricks walking tours do not appear in most other guidebooks. They include interesting points of view and facts that most tourists miss or deem unimportant.
The best example I can give is Seville, Spain. I just completed a cruise which only had a day stopover at a port a few hours from Seville. That left only a few hours to see the city of Seville. How do you prioritize? Rick does it for you. By using his self walking tour, I was able to cover as much of Seville in four hours what most other tourists cover in a full day or more. As for the B&B's and other hotels? I have never stayed at a Rick Steves recommended place that disappointed me. I knew what I was getting in advance. Most of the time they were even better than Rick described. Always clean, always quaint, always representative of the life in the area you're visiting. If you are lucky, even run by a local family that treats you as one of their own. I believe Rick is the reason many of these places are in business because you cannot help but notice many of the other guests holding Ricks books.
Ricks somewhat hidden although obvious hints and advice are invaluable. The best example is Spains AVE fast train. I took it from Barcelona to Madrid and an incredible web fare internet special reducing the cost by 60%. If it were not for Ricks somewhat hidden hint, I would have paid more. Read his books carefully. There are somewhat hidden gems around every corner, each of which will make your stay more enjoyable, more meaningful and more memorable.

Comment: These books make wonderful gifts for traveling friends and family, without going to a whole lot of expense.