Rick Steves' Great Britain

I really enjoy Rick Steves' Writing style. While his preference for smaller hotels and certain visit types doesnt always align with my personal preferences, his advice is always gold. He gives much more practical guidance than most other tour books. One book will say it's possible to take the train to this area and visit this site. Steves says when you leave the train station, the bus platform is 150 yards ahead. You need to buy a ticked tom a tobacco store( or whatever is regionally relevant), and the nearest store is past the bus stop to the left. The bus usually boards from the middle platform. this extra detail is enormously helpful when visiting other countries where the rules may be a bit different from home. He'll tell you when you need exact change and when you can buy from the driver, when you need to validate your ticket before riding and when you just need to have one, etc.

I am planning a first trip to the UK this summer with my daughter. We have been studying maps, brochures, bus and train schedules, etc. to get a sense of what we can accomplish during the brief time we will be there on a limited budget. I waited anxiously for the 2014 Rick Steves guide book to have the most current information to help finalize my plans. This book has filled in the gaps with details on attractions, lodging, places to eat, and how to get around (especially in London). Most useful are reviews of what is worth your time and what to skip. Having watched Rick Steves' programs on his web site, I have found that his approach to travel is compatible with our priorities. (Although we don't drink and will be able to skip the pub crawls.) My book is now dog-eared, underlined and tabbed with Post-It notes. I wonder what it will look like AFTER the trip?

RIck covers the most popular parts of Great Britain for tourists and does it well. You have very good explanations of history, transport, accommodation and food. I also visited a couple of areas that are very popular British destinations that were not covered in this book and felt one of them should have been, Cornwall. But, what he does cover, he covers very well.

I'll start by saying he does have some very useful information in his guides. I've used his Great Britain guide, his Scotland guide, and his Ireland guide during my trip to Europe this summer. They contained useful tips for transportation, local activities, etc.. With that being said, he occasionally comes off as a little pretentious, and I feel like his guides are geared for a specific audience, particularly the older crowd. I had the most problems with lodging and restaurants. He primarily prefers quaint and intimate little bed and breakfasts where the hosts are very interactive and involved in their guests, but if you're like myself and just want a place to lay your head and take a hot shower without having to make awkward small talk with your hosts, he doesn't provide many choices that lean towards privacy and anonymity. I ended up ditching his guides and grabbing a DK Eyewitness and a Lonely Planet. They seem more geared to the 20-30 something's.

This guide was extremely helpful in helping my friend and I plan and navigate our way through the UK. I don't know what I would have done with out it. Especially the map of London. My only complaint is that there should have been more maps of different areas, like a bigger one of Edinburgh and ones for Wales. But, all in all an excellent guide book!!

This is THE book I am using to plan my trip this summer. I like how it also recommends how much time to spend in each place, so it makes planning a lot easier. There are full walking guides and detailed directions. I took the Adriatic tour 1.5 years ago and had a great time! Due to my limited time on Britain, I will be spending: 4 nights in London, then train to Bath for 2 nights, then rental car to Lake District for 2 nights, then rental car to Edinburgh for 3 nights. From there I am flying to Belfast where I planned my trip using Rick Steve's Ireland.

In the areas covered by Rick's book, he is spot on. However, there are several areas of GB that he completely ignores for reasons of his own. The area in and around Aberdeen, Scotland is one key example. Aberdeen is a wonderful city, full of historic and cultural treasures, and voted one of the most liveable cities in the world. It is relatively cheap, clean, and easy to get to. He harps on Bath, which has created a touristy, expensive, crowded nightmare. Some of his recommended B&Bs had raised their prices substantially since they got a mention, so beware of the "Rick Steve's effect" before deciding to visit or book a reservation.

Generally good but it did not include Oxford! There are so many museums there,etc and it is such a popular destination now due to Harry Potter. I was disappointed that the book did not have a section on it. It was also organised in a confusing manner- I was never sure what chapter to start in. For claiming to cover all of Great Britain I was disappointed. It mostly covered only key areas without taking notice of interesting places not located in a big city.

So very informative. Don't leave home without it! It made my trip so fascinating and easy to get around Britiain. Rick really takes all the confusion out of your holiday while making sure you don't miss ANY of the sights. This was my fourth trip and loved taking the book this time on my iPad...much lighter in my carry on.

Great travel book of Great Britain. Thanks

Great book, very useful for finding off the beaten path destinations and excellent walking tours. Would highly recommend downloading the walking tours and other audio guides as well, they are very helpful. Only complaint is tit could use a bit more info on Scotland.

There was a lot of welcomed information in this book. It was a great guide for planning my trip!!!

Very good condition of product.