Dismantling RSteves booklet Italy 2009

As has been mentioned here before, if the books were also sold in electronic format (For the iPhone, or Kindle, or on a PC) it would help with that issue. Even a PDF version that you can print certain pages, and just take those would solve it. I wouldn't even mind if it only came with the paper version...

I buy those self-adhesive index tabs you can write on from the office supply store. Then I make my own tabs for certain pages or sections I know I'll need to find quickly on the trip. Can keep the book intact but find what you need quickly and easily.

I'm not sure if it's legal or not (with copyrights), but I double-side photocopied only the sections I needed then left them behind as I left the area. Worked great for me.

Appreciated all the suggestions - sincethere are 2 of us and we each have a book, I don't mind destroying one copy - but no ideas how to take it apart. Am a bit afraid of box cutters but i guess I can just whack away.

You need to break the spine by opening the book at one of your separation points then lie the book face down on a table and keep bending back until the spine is broken. Do the same at another point and then cut with a box cutter. I then bind the various sections together with duct tape I put a strip of duct take down on a table, adhesive side up and pressing the sections together tightly lower and press into the duct tape. It's just the same as binding tape only stronger.

I take them apart for every trip, taking the pages we need and re-binding them with a three-ring whole punch and small metal binder rings. The trick is to bend the book open repeatedly to loosen the binding, start at the front of the book, and then carefully pull about 20 pages at a time out, working from the top of the page to the bottom. This works for us, and after a few years of trips, we have pages that can be assembled/customized for various European trips we plan. Sort of like a RS library of flexible travel pages.

Tom and Gio the Blogger - perfecto -- thank you so much.

Go ahead and rip it up! Travel books are $20+ items, your trip is costing you at least $5000, probably more. Not all books are sacred; some really are intended to be consumables. These aren't first edition Ansel Adams coffee table books. I always rip out sections and put them in zip-lock bags. Usually, I return them to the travel book after the trip, but not always. It's a lot cheaper to use your exacto-knife then to head down to Kinko's and plop down ten cents per page. I don't see much difference between ripping up travel guides and ripping pages out of travel magazines.

I make my own personal travel guide by cutting out sections or bits of Frommers , Foders , Time Out or whatever and tapping them into sections of my Steves guide that are blank or that I will not be using [like traveling with kids ]and it works great. Try to keep them near the sections in Ricks' book [ like tapping restaurants in or near the eating section] for easy finding. I always buy 3 or 4 guide books but only travel with 1 to keep down the paper and weight.

I think making copies is heavier and bulkier than taking pieces of the book.

I usually just rip it apart.

The best way would probably be to set the book on a cutting board, open to the page you want and use a box cutter from inside to cut through the binding.

I use a slightly different approach. First, I clip together the pages I want to take on my trip and clearly mark the order I want them in. Then, I take the book(s), still intact, to Lazerquick. (It's tidier if they do the cutting.) They cut the book apart, punch the pages I want to use, and reassemble those sections with a spiral binding. On my upcoming trip, I'll be in Northern Spain and SW France, so I've made a small book containing just those areas from RS France and Spain books. I think I paid about $2 to have this done. Being somewhat cheap, I save the pages I'm not using so they'll be available for future travels. For this trip, I used pages from new books, pages I didn't use last year,and some from last year's spiral book - they can easily take the spiral binding off and reassemble any pages you want in the current book. The books are much easier to use with the spiral binding, especially when you're using a map or doing something like one of Rick's city walks. And, if you come across more pages you'd like in your book, they can add them at any time.

Jackie, I lived in Kailua before my last trip. The Kinkos in Kaneohe will cut the bindings off (very cheap) After I had the bindings cut I put together sections from several books and had them bound together. It was a real space / weight saver.

I've also gone to Kinkos to have them cut the original and put on a spiral binding, this was especially helpful for multi-country trip.Worked great, and added benefit was they are easier to read while out and about because of the spiral binding. (And the cover is typically not what is standing out to the crowds as sign of a wondering tourist and target for scam)

Too much work...I photocopy....throw them out as I go the book is not ruined.

I wish they woudl do pdf files

I agree with blue denim, I also photocopy what I want to bring and discard as I go along. You can also print some pp. of your own info; for instance information gathered from this site.

Yep...me too. Photocopy whatever I need (RS, Frommers etc etc) hilite, scribble, stick...then chuck em as I go....

I just crease where I want to separate the books and tear them. Works well.

I have gotten to this point in my life that if a book has a point where it is not going to be valid anymore (computer books, travel books, etc.) I will destroy them to better suite my needs. :)

Jackie: your question: why no mention of Ostia Antica outside Rome?

You might want to take another look at your book, I think you'll find it: I have Italy 2008, not 2009, and Ostia Antica is on pages 682-683, just before Sleeping in the Rome chapter.

I can't recall anyone, here, who went to Ostia Antica and said they didn't like it.

Agreed - 2009 Italy book excellent. Really helped me lot for Lake Como portion. One thing tho, why no mention of Ostia Antica outside Rome? We are going July 10 and looking forward to it. Anyone agree?

Jackie,

Raela has the correct answer above, but incomplete. Here's what I do:

1. Take the book to Kinkos, and have them cut the binding off (they put it in a large machine that holds the book firmly, and they slice off the binding completely and about 1/8" of the inside margin). Have them give you the loose pages (neatly sliced, now loose in a stack) back.
2. Take the pages home. Carefully remove the sections you won't need.
3. Go back to Kinkos and have then put a plastic spiral binding on it.

The result is a book that's much lighter than the original, but won't come apart. As a bonus, the book now will fold flat back on itself, and lay perfectly flat when open - both big improvements over the original form factors (very handy for referring to while on the go). Once I did this, I loved the results so much I've done it on every trip since.

Last trip we ran into several other Rick-nics who asked us where they could get neat editions of the blue books like ours with the spiral bindings. It's the only way to go!

Brilliant advice David from Seattle! This fall I will take back-to-back RS Tours involving 5 weeks of travel - I was beginning to think I would need a carry-on just for my travel guides! Your idea is the perfect solution, and I am off to Kinkos!!!

I have 2009 Italy and Sicily isn't in there... so if you want Sicily you'd need to supplement. I hope Rick includes Sicily next time. Thanks for the ideas. I have a "pet peeve" about books being mint - but I can make an exception for annually updated travel guides I will buy again next time I go for the updated info and prices. $20 to pay for a trip that costs thousands is a small price to pay to minimize my stress and maximize my pleasure. I also like the idea of combining different books you are using. I won't be ripping up my DK Eyewitness books though - not annually updated and too beautiful to look it!

When taking your book apart, take the pages of cities/areas that you even THINK you might visit. I was way too frugal on our last trip and didn't take the "Siena" section. As it turns out, we had an afternoon to kill and someone in our party had never been, so we drove to Siena. Boy, I sure wished I had brought those pages along!

Just rip the page out and staple.

I scan in the pages I need at work (then they are in a pdf format) and email them to my kindle. The best! I bought Rick's Paris book for my kindle. I wish they would make more of their books available but until they do the scanning works great. My 10oz kindle holds all my distillations from this site as well as all my travel books & any other books I might want to read. Hooray for technology!

I guess I have strong hands but I'm just a lady, so anyone should be able to just grab the section they want and tear down away from the cover. The section comes out with it's glued backing on it and stays together. I didn't need to staple. I have done this on three trips and it works fine. I have also left copies all over Europe - usually at the front desk of my last hotel. I even left a signed copy of Scandinavia at the Cab Inn in Copenhagen, but it was was the first leg of the trip and I didn't want to carry it. I hope someone else will enjoy it.

I flattened the spine, put the book on a cutting board, & used a box cutter - very easy but slightly messy. I stapled each city section, highlighted & added notes, & put them in a 1/2-size manila envelope in the order I would be traveling. I also took the cover, to show for discounts. :) When done, I left them behind. I appreciated not having to carry the bigger & heavier book around!

Back from 3 weeks in Europe & thanks to all for your help. One tip can't resist: we stayed in Lake Como, Varenna & used Rick's pages on it - totally great help: tip: we stayed at the Hotel Alberto Beretta listed at the end of his suggested places to stay in Italy 2009. Marvelous, room 9, twp flights up, total view of entire lake, great breakfasts for early risers of pastries and cafe latte. Rick said "homey" me too - loved it and best of all only 60 euros per night, balcony 3 side wrap around. best we could imagine.

Back from 3 weeks in Europe & thanks to all for your help. One tip can't resist: we stayed in Lake Como, Varenna & used Rick's pages on it - totally great help: tip: we stayed at the Hotel Alberto Beretta listed at the end of his suggested places to stay in Italy 2009. Marvelous, room 9, twp flights up, total view of entire lake, great breakfasts for early risers of pastries and cafe latte. Rick said "homey" me too - loved it and best of all only 60 euros per night, balcony 3 side wrap around. best we could imagine.

I just took my Rick Steves Italy book apart and am so glad. To have it photocopied the paper was much, much heavier than RS's lightweight paper. Just stapled them together and will leave them with the hotels front desk people as we leave. Hopefully they will pass them onto someone else who can use them. For the +$20 I paid for his book is going to be well worth it not to lug the whole book around. I can fit it all into a baggie - thanks for the great ideas everyone.

If you are careful, you can make pretty clean tears by pulling multiple pages at one. Then I fold the section(s) I need for the day and stick in my pocket.

No offense, but I don't want to be one of those people you see carrying the RS book around.