Hi !
We will make a 2 weeks trip in July. Our trip Will be 5 nights in Rome, 4 in Florence (daytrip in Sienna) and 3 in Venice.
I very like Rick Steves walks. We are wondering what guide we should buy. Italy, or Rome + Florence + Venice (that would be costly and bulky). And what about Pocket guide ?
What are main differences between them ?
Thanks !
The difference is the amount of detail. Obviously the more specialized the guidebook is, the more detailed information is included. I always find it a little puzzling that you spend thousand of dollars on a trip but hesitate to spend $25 on guidebooks.
It's obvious that the amount of detail is not the same in each book. Since my main intreste ar the wals (our lodging is already reserved) which one would be the best ?
2 guidesbooks is more 75$ than 25 but I understand your point. 3 guidebooks is a bit bulky and I dont really like Kindle edition. The full guide would cover too much ground for my needs....
I love RS guide books and think they are a great bargain at any price. However with apologies to Rick, I buy old additions from Amazon, cheap, and use them for macro trip planning. I then buy the latest Kindle version for final planning and to have on my iPhone for museum/walking guides and reference when out and about. Kindle books are really handy and one big advantage over printed books are the hyperlinks.
I have Rick's full guide for Italy, but for a recent trip to Florence I bought his Florence city guide (which includes Sienna) mainly for the detailed museum tour information. I always follow Rick's advise and pull apart my guidebooks (even the Florence city one) and staple them together by sights, walks, museums, restaurants, etc. This way, when I go out for the day, I'm only carrying a very slim chapter of pages that fit easily in my pocket.
Have you considered using the RIck Steves phone app? He has a number of audio tours available for the places you are going:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours
You could get the full guide, rip out the parts you need and toss them when you're done with them. Reading the "Is this the right book for me" section of the Italy 2018 description should help you decide what's best for you.
You might also consider the free audio tours for Italy toward the bottom of this page. And I found this book (which I also ripped apart) useful for Italy.
One thing that people do to reduce the size is to have the spine cut off the book and add a spiral binding to just the portions they need. I have had this done at a local FedEx/Kinkos and the price was under $10 and it really reduces the size. I came prepared with tabs on the sections I wanted, so it did not take much time to pull out what I needed once the binding was cut off.
I think you would be fine with the Italy book, that is what we used and it has the walks in it. I have never used the pocket guides. As someone else mentioned, the audio tours are available in an app and that is nice too. Just remember to bring headphones!
The three individual, full-sized city guides definitely provide the maximum info and walking tours. The pocket versions have condensed info, including still some walking tours, but they weigh about the same (due to color images) and are harder to cut apart.
I would select this one: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/italy-guidebook
Consider a day-trip from Rome, also. Orvieto is a nice location (included in the RS book), and it's just an hour by train.
I know RS and others recommend cutting up the guides, but another idea (something I do) is to photocopy the sections of the guide you want to take along. Then, you write notes, highlight, tab and ultimately toss the photocopies along the way (as you finish seeing that particular location).
I suspect the sites listed in the RS books are still all in the same place as the were 2-3 years ago.
You could go to something like thriftbooks.com and buy a 1-3 year old edition if all you want is the walks. Books usually under $5 each
I always buy Rome 2018 as I spend most of my time there. I rip it apart.
Rick is always adding new stuff which I like to keep up on. Recent Tuscany info is a must. I have never been on a RS tour. But anything Rick is gospel to me.
Happy Travels!
I had never purchased a RS guide (used Eye Witness Travel guides in the past). But, after participating in this travel forum for a few weeks, I decided to buy his 2018 Italy guide for an upcoming trip. I am VERY impressed with the guide - easy to read and the tips are extremely useful (and practical).
Many libraries have the latest editions. Borrow them and xerox the pages you need. Pitch copies as you go. Simple
If this is your first trip - get the book with the main highlights. This will realistically be about all you can do in a 2 week trip. You can then supplement your planning by asking questions here, surfing the Internet, get free RS audio tours online here. Plus, there are a mountain of other books on Italy. There is the Pilgrim's guide to Rome's Churches.
Personally, I used the RS Italy book and did what was mentioned above - went to Office Depot and had the sections I needed removed and made into separate mini-guides. The Office Depot workers were a bit envious of my trip and joked with me. Have one mini-guide per city.
