Traveling with older (2008) guidebooks

Dont waste your money. The only likely information that will change will be prices of admissions, but even the recent guidebooks are wrong about that too. Cross reference your older guide books with information you can find on the internet (ie. museum websites, lonely planet etc) and you will be fine. the sites dont change year to year and those are what you are going for!

I always buy a new one. If you're spending all of that money for a trip to Europe why not spend $15.00 to get the most up to date information? Often there are updates on some sites or museums being closed for a time for renovation.

We are traveled with editions as much as three years old. Things get out of date slowly but most attractions are the same year after year. Sometimes you will get a hotel discount if you have the current book but that will be noted in the book so you might check out a library copy prior to buying a new one.

The only time that a slightly older guidebook let me down was when a recommended restaurant in Amboise had permanently closed... rather than let it ruin my entire vacation, I just ate at the brasserie next door and had a delicious meal.

We took a 2008 book to France earlier this year and it worked out fine for the basics.

Do not waste money.. I always use old books, but I assue prices will have gone up,, and I also check online for closed days.. they almost always stay the same ..but still who wants to daytrip somewhere only to discover it is closed. Even a "new" book can be out of date anyways, small places( family run cafes or b@bs may close for holidays for example.

I primarily use guide books for addresses and history /description of sites, and that stuff doesn't really change.

I bought 2008 RS guide books of Paris and London.
When I really need updated information, I look things up on the internet like many other people here do. Also, when I spend very little money on guide books, I don't feel so guilty about tearing out the pages from my guide books that I'll know I need.I'm a real nut about traveling light.

I always get a new guidebook. I didn't ONCE. I realize the sights don't change, but I used an old book's hotel recommendation in London. It was an awful hotel. I just couldn't believe that RS would recommend it. I looked it up in the new guidebook, and it had been dropped.

But another awful hotel could be listed in the new book. I feel that finding a hotel you are staying in for the first time is always a gamble, if your looking for a hotel from any guide book or online. The hotels I booked for my next trip sound wonderful, but who knows really. It's tricky.

I think that you will be fine. Figure that the information with shelf life is the hotel and restaurant information, in addition to any prices. For hotels, I only use the guides as a reference, going to the hotel website to get current info, price and availability. Restaurants too are only a pointer, I assess the place when I can see it with my own eyes and can look at the menu. While Rick does a better job updating than most, many pages of the new book will be the same as the old.

I usually use Trip Advisor's most recent hotel reviews as one way determine if a hotel listed in a guidebook is still a good choice.

Hotels and restaurants are likely to be slightly different and prices to museums. Not much else. Besides, while Rick updates his books once a year for this reason, LP only updates about once every three years. They figure they can get away with this because most things don't change that fast.

However, I always buy the most up to date book. It'd be ok to go with a 2008 Rick Steves Book, but try to get the most up to date Lonely Planet because if you get an out of date LP book it could be 5 or 6 years out of date.

In my experience, guidebooks age quickly. I've learned to anticipate that - Lonely Planet is great for basic background on more cities than RS covers but don't count on restaurants still being open. RS and Let's Go information is a year old by the time you use it. Check this website for updates before you go.

In general, if you're just using guidebooks for site information and history, a slightly out of date one will be fine. Just don't be surprised by unexpected restorations. For on-the-fly hotels and restaurants, carry the most current guidebooks you can.

We always get the newest books because we tear apart our old ones, just bringing the chapters we need for that trip. We throw away them after use or leave them at places we stay.

New guidebooks are about 1% of the trip budget and we'd rather have the most up to date info.

We value our time on vacation, and wasting time with outdated guidebooks is unecessary to smart travel to our way of thinking.

Justin-
If you have most of the information you need from the 2008 book but you want to look at the the 2009 copy, why not go to your local bookseller's cafe with a 2009 copy and compare the two? I have spent hours (literally) at B&N researching trips - but the most up to date information is going to be from websites of attractions and hotels.
Good luck!

Sharon, rather then just using guidebooks for hotel recommendations, you really should look up tripadvisor hotel reviews. They can literally have reviews as up to date as last week. No guide book can beat that.

You do realize there is a section on this website called:

Guidebook Updates

Nobody needs a guidebook anymore, let alone a current one. Near your fingers now is this thing called the Web. You've also got a device near you with the ability to communicate in real-time with your own voice. Used in concert with that printing machine within thirty feet of you, you'll be able to travel and not line the pockets of Rick Almighty. But if you are hell bent on wasting money, PM me for my routing numbers.....

I've never felt that I have wasted money by purchasing a guidebook. They contain lots of info not found on the web.

Old Guidebooks are great for the descriptions of the sites you may wish to add to your travels. I never use Rick or anyone else for Hotels or Restaurants. Trip Advisor is the choice for Hotels and even it is suspect due to unscrupulous posters dismissing those that dont deserve it or recommending for a subtle fee....Restaurants are notorious for their unpredictability, both in service and quality no matter what Rick says.

My greatest grievance with Rick are his directions esp. when he publishes Highway numbers which are only recognizable to the very slow moving or those familiar with the area. Especially true in France! These things dont change with time nor does his poor narrative on car travel and road signs.

I don't use any guidebooks for eating. When a restaurant is listed in a guidebook, everything changes. The clientelle becomes a tourist crowd, the prices go up and often the menu changes to suit the whims of the new customers.

Locals can tell you good places to eat.

As far as lodging. I'll use listings in several guidebooks to get some ideas, then do a little research to decide if it's a place I want to stay or not. Tripadvisor is a good place to get information. It's probably not critical to have the latest guidebook for lodging.

The latest guidebook comes in handy for knowing up to date information on sites. Even that can information can be found online.

The last couple of posts on this thread have mentioned restaurants and how to find good ones. Especially in France, I've found Le Guide Michelin (Big Red) to be useful in selecting restaurants with good food on the plate. Michelin has been rating restaurants for its European readership in France for about a hundred years now, they must be doing something right, and their restaurant ratings are now available online.