Kindle Editions-Guidebooks

Yes, for the last few years - maybe since Covid - I've been getting the e-books. If it's someplace new I also start with the paperback version for planning but then when I'm on the go the e-book is easier as I can access on the Kindle app on my phone.

Here's where it saved me, lol.....I was on the Best of Italy tour and we stopped in Verona for lunch and a walking tour. The guide did not know where the public restrooms were and suggested we all get a restaurant meal and use the bathroom there. I did not want a meal, I wanted a quick on the go sandwich and wanted to walk around on my own. I opened my Italy guide book on my phone and yes, Rick had my back and had a small map of the city center with the public restrooms noted. I headed there, then got my sandwich and walked around, then went back before we met for the walking tour. It was perfect!

I have a Kindle edition of the France guide, which I brought on a trip some years ago. It was much harder to use than the actual book because it took awhile to find specific items, even with bookmarking. And the maps and other graphics were harder to read. Since then, I've bought the actual books, often taking them apart to bring specific chapters with me based on my itinerary. That saves weight and makes it easy to bring along the individual chapters on particular days when exploring a city or a particular sight.

Our host recommends tearing his books apart this way, and (surprise!) sells little plastic binders that happen to fit perfectly and feature his logo. I have a couple of these but you could improvise your own, or do without. Using post-its as you describe is another way to get the most of the books. I use paper clips as bookmarks all the time.

EDIT -- Pam must be younger than me and more used to the electronic stuff. And the Kindle app on a smartphone or tablet may be easier to search than the Kindle itself.

I only take Kindle versions of guide books on trips now, but often use the paper copy (either an older edition or checked out from library) to do preliminary research and referencing upon my return. In Kindle the bookmarks and notes carry over from multiple devices as long as you sync them regularly. As Pam noted it is very handy to be able to pull up the guidebook on your phone while out and about. Dick is correct that the maps and graphics are harder to use in the e-book version. I use CityMapper or Google maps for my main navigation so I'm not relying on the guidebook for that. For me the main benefit of the e-books is significantly lightening my gear load. If you keep an eye out, sometimes just before a new guide edition comes out the Kindle version is marked down significantly in price. Tentative publication dates are listed in the details for individual guidebooks on the RS website online store under "product details."

I thought wow, less weight but then got frustrated trying to get to different sections of the book. It takes too much time even with bookmarks. Maybe I’m just old and not tech savvy but I prefer the book, filled with tabs and different colored post it’s that I can just flip to and being able to pull out a full map to see where places are.

I adopted Kindle the minute they came out and do not look back. I buy cookbooks in physical form and that is about it.

Heavy use of bookmarks and highlights have replaced margin notes. dogeared pages, and Post-Its. So nice to have recreational reading as well as travel books at my fingertips whether on phone or iPad without all the weight.

Kindle is all I buy. Kindle and paper both have their advantages, so it comes down to what works well for you. But with a kindle edition, all my books can go with me with no additional weight.

What Pam said, get the paper copy from RS for free, buy kindle to have on the trip. It has saved me more than once and it doesn’t weigh anything! As soon as I went to the larger iPhone it became easy to read on the screen.

I use the books at home but plan to get a kindle edition to take on our upcoming trip and see how it goes. I might tear up the book for the maps.

I often have both, the Kindle and the paper editions. I electronically copy snippets from the Kindle edition into my OneNote notebook for each trip. When I'm doing a Rick Steves walk, I remove those sections from the physical copy.

I like to buy the paper copy for my planning, I usually start a year+ ahead and read and reread them to death. I try to order the electronic copy from my library using the Libby app (used to be Overdrive) to take with me but it can be tricky depending on if there’s a wait list and timing the loan for the length of my trip. I like having the paper ones to keep, I have a section on my bookshelf for travel books, and do find myself referring back to them sometimes.

I love the Kindle editions of all guidebooks, including Rick Steves. I find them invaluable when researching, because you can immediately link to a sight, a map or a hotel you are interested in to get more details. You can also find the table of contents very quickly, making it easy to jump to a certain point, and the search feature is also very good. The biggest benefit, of course, is the fact that you can get so many more books on your Kindle app and don't have to worry about the heavy paperbacks.

Having said that, I use the Kindle for almost all my reading so I'm very used to it. And just an FYI, I bring a Kindle with me for reading fiction while flying, riding the train, and so on, but I use the Kindle app on my phone for reviewing guidebooks - it's in color and it's easier to use there.

Given the difference between the Processors in the hardware Kindles and a modern Smartphone I would expect a huge difference in searching speed and other operations favoring the Smartphone. Or ipad or...

Dick....are you trying to access it on a Kindle e-reader? I got one in 2013 and the first guide book I put on there drove me nuts trying to find things and I vowed never again. THEN, that pooped out and I got an iPad Mini and with the Kindle app on there the guidebook is a wonderful experience! Ditto with the iPhone. This is a much easier and more convenient than when trying to access on something that is just an e-reader.

Plus yes, I read, read, read on the iPad Mini. I had to go get an actual "book" book from the library this week (not available from my library in an e-format) and it's hard to pickup, lol.

I have both the paper and kindle versions of Secret Venice by Jonglez. I bought the kindle version after having the paper version for several years, thinking the kindle version would be more convenient.

The kindle version is hopeless, crap, rubbish. Don’t even think of buying it.