Which guidebook? Great Britain? England/Scotland?

Look at what areas you are interested in visiting. There are certain areas of England that the Great Britain book does not cover or does not cover in much detail. There is no mention of Cornwall and a small section of Brighton in Great Britain. These two areas are covered in more detail in the England book. I used the Great Britain guidebook for my first trip since there were so many areas that I wanted to visit. For my second trip where I visited Cornwall and spent two days in Brighton, I bought the England book.

I am going to England and Wales next year and will be using the Great Britain and London guidebooks as I'll be in London for a whole week and want the extra info. How much of Scotland will you be seeing, and is it enough that you need the whole book?

If you go to this link and click "Is this the right guidebook for me?" you'll see a comparison of the books. Basically as said in the reply above, the England book includes some areas missing from the Great Britain book. https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/britain-guidebook.

Yes, the Great Britain book has a section on north Wales (Conwy, Caernarfon, Snowdonia National park, Blaenau, Ffestiniog, and Northeast Wales). It also includes Cardiff and the Wye Valley in the "near Bath" chapter.

I can say definitively (because I checked in the store) that the Glasgow chapter is the same in the Great Britain and the Scotland books, and the Liverpool chapter is the same in the Great Britain and the England books. However, those were the only two chapters I compared personally (since that's where I was going), so I can't speak to any other parts of the books directly.

I would get the Rough Guide to Great Britain. I always seem to get much more info from a Rough Guide than any other guidebook.

First, thanks for the info, keep adding to it please, the more the better because I just started planning my trip! I have looked at the 'pick the best guide book' I just still don't know yet! I will be going to both England and Scotland... though I don't know where yet... I have been to Edinburgh, Stirling and Loch Lomond in Scotland and London, Bath, stow-on-the-wold, Blackpool, Keswick, York and Stratford-upon-Avon in England, Conwy in Wales and on this trip I plan to go to different places... I know Loch Ness will be one of them (I can't help it! I have to!). I know I will be going for a minimum of two weeks probably closer to a month...(likely next year/the year after depends on $) When I went last time the book was helpful - but it has been 10 years... basically I want advice, ideas, thoughts, and when I know more specifics about my plans I will ask those questions :) Thanks!!!

It sounds to me as if this trip is of the "get-an-overview" kind rather than a "dig-deep-into-something-specific" kind :-)

So my recommendation would be to get an overview book to help you find out what you want to see. Then next time you can get yourself a more detailed book of a smaller area.

If you're still planning a trip, it's probably too soon to buy any book. Instead, go to the library and get out as many books on the region as you can, from as many different companies as you can. Cast a wide net and get different points of view. When you've decided better on the particulars of your trip, you can then actually decide which books to buy.

And even though I don't get a cut of his sales (I wish!), I do agree with Rick that it's a false economy to stint on buying guidebooks. So, when you do decide exactly where you're going, if the separate England and Scotland books are better for your trip than the single Great Britain book, get them.