[.ca] Rick Steves' Great Britain (ISBN 1566916763)

What Happened to The South of England?:
I received my 2004 guide to Great Britain today and excitedly leafed through the pages to start planning my trip-- I thoroughly enjoyed the pages about London (and booked my hotel based on Mr. Steves' advice) but then I continued planning the rest of my trip-- Has there been an earthquake in England and the whole southern part disappeared into the Channel? Where's Canterbury? Dover? Hastings? Chichester? Brighton--- I have wasted my money since 2/3 of my trip is planned for this area and there was NOTHING in the ads or in the title of the book that says "does not include information on the southern counties"... The book is a ripoff.

useless for the budget traveler:
I considered taking Rick Steves on my trip to Scotland, but I was totally put off by his advice to forget searching online for airfares and just fork over $500 to a travel agent. Let's Go Britain and Ireland recommended several places to search for tickets online and found me a flight on Icelandair that cost $250. I flew into Glasgow -- a city that Rick Steves doesn't even cover! If you're happy paying extra to go exactly where Rick Steves wants you to go, maybe you should buy this book. If you want any part in the planning of your trip, Let's Go is a much better choice.

Don't waste your money:
My boyfriend James and I just got back from Britain. We took this guide with us and were very disappointed with it. Mr. Steves claims that the information in his guide is updated yearly. Which information, I wonder? We initially used the guide to choose B & Bs, and the prices listed were consistently lower than the actual prices. One could assume that all the B & Bs coincidentally raised their prices after the 2005 edition went to press. Except that one of our hosts told me, "We haven't heard from Rick Steves or his representative in a few years." I can only assume that this statement in the introduction, "I guarantee you're using the most up-to-date information available in print," is nothing more than a marketing ploy. Supplementing the out-of-date information is information that is just plain wrong. James, who is from Britain, noticed that some of the road signs listed in the guide are not British at all, but are found in other European countries. Rather careless, what? If this was the only thing wrong with Rick Steves' Great Britain, I might suggest buying an older, used edition. But there are other problems. Rick Steves claims his guide helps the reader save money. Yet the book makes no distinction between expensive and inexpensive tourist attractions and restaurants. It lists the major attractions in London without prices, despite the fact that, for example, the National Gallery is free and the Tower of London costs a staggering £14.50. Wouldn't this be the sort of thing that readers on a budget would want to know? Given Rick Steves' touted "back door travel philosophy" (p. 39), one might reasonably expect this book to be loaded with little-known gems. In fact, all the obvious tourist traps are listed, and little else. By and large, this book will not take you off the beaten path. It makes me wonder about Mr. Steves' claim that he covers "only the best." How does he know that the best isn't something he overlooked entirely while tramping along with the flood of other tourists? My boyfriend James put it best. After we ate lunch in York for £6.50 each, at the cheapest restaurant listed as being close to York Minster, we walked a block and found an Indian restaurant offering multi-course lunches for £5. Once we had finished groaning, James commented, "I think he's just lazy." You know, I think he has the man pegged.

An OK book:
I think Rick Steves is a good travel guide but in a way, he is a snob. He is quick to dismiss some places as too touristy or not worthwhile. I like the EyeWitness Guides much better.

He tells you what's worth seeing:
He doesn't attempt to tell you everything that he can cram into x number of pages. He says what to see if you've got a week, 10 days, two weeks, etc. Extensive detalied coverage of B & B's everywhere, in London as well as in little villages. I'll tell more after I come back from England.