Rick Steves guidebooks

My guess...and this is literally a guess...is that there are not enough long time guides to do the updates. As I understand it, the guides for the country do all the checks and updates for hotels, restaurants and activities. They used to not get paid for this effort (per a former RS guide) so perhaps there are fewer willing to help.

There is still a lot of catching up to do since the pandemic, when updating ground to a complete halt. I'm sure getting a new version out of the Italy guide was a priority and I would consider that one to be current. Both Rick and Cameron Hewitt have spoken recently about the huge undertaking involved in each updating--someone visits in person every single site, hotel and restaurant to determine if it should remain in the new version. They have also noted that there are massive changes happening in the travel industry, including, sadly, the closure of many B&B's and small, family-run hotels. Finally, publishing is expensive. They may be making a prudent business decision. I love the guides, but I would always advise checking everything online for the latest in availability, opening hours, and costs, no matter how recently the guide was published.

We learned that the guidebooks are to be used as a “reference” when we arrived in Italy for the BOI and found out that the train to Varenna did not leave every half hour from Milan Centrale. Even yearly published does not mean that the info is current. Being naive meant my first night in Italy was standing, eating a piece of pizza in the train station. :)

FWIW some of the pocket guides (Florence, Rome) have more recent publication dates, though they may be extracted from the Nov. 2022 guides.

As noted, Cameron Hewitt discussed guidebook updates on a recent Monday night travel episode. He talks about his guide book update work early in the episode, but also at the 1 hour 16 minute mark, he answers a question about how their guidebook process has changed. For example, they're shifting their focus to bigger picture things like how to plan your time in a place (travel savvy) rather than focusing on precise opening times for restaurants or attractions, which people can get off the internet. I suspect every travel guide company is reevaluating their philosophy and approach, and the "every year" RS guidebook is a thing of the past.

Not sure if this will be of interest to you, but the Best of Italy book was published a year later in November 2023.

https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/best-italy-guidebook

I’m also not sure if that would have more up to date info. than the 2022 Italy book.

Just browsed the Italy guidebooks for sale on the RS site and while some were published in 2022, other were released just last month (Nov. 2023) or earlier in 2023. Those are:
Best of Italy
Venice
Italy for Food Lovers
Pocket Rome
Pocket Florence
Pocket Venice
Pocket Cinque Terre
All of the "Snapshot" guides (material taken from the 27th Italy edition)

The next edition for Sicily is scheduled to release sometime this month.

The only ones which haven't been updated this year are the Italy Guide, Rome Guide, Florence and Tuscany Guide, Mediterranean Cruise Port Guide, and the Phrase Books. Not too shabby.

Important informational changes which occur after publication are usually noted, when reported, in the "Updates and Feedback" section of the website. Heck, stuff can change on a dime so I never consider any guidebook completely up to date anyway, and never use them for accommodations or restaurants, or attraction hours, closures, entry fees, etc. IMHO they are much better for things like historical background, suggested hikes and self-guided walks, and maybe some instructional material...although that can also change within days of publication! It's an uphill battle.

Even a 2025 release (which means they're working on now > 2024) won't necessarily be current on every detail. Some of us are waiting to see how the new ticketing company is going to work out for the Colosseum in 2024, and the same for the potential end of early access tours of the Vatican Museums early this year. The museum's hours are also changing on Jan. 1 as is the general-entry ticketing price. That stuff that is already out of date in the brand-new 2023 Pocket Rome book but, well, that's why the newest guidebook isn't necessarily better/more current than one a couple of years old?

The list of things to see and do isn't going to change, but the details will and that's why you have to confirm everything on the internets.

As for hotels and restaurants, you can probably handle that just fine without Rick's help.

Don't forget to look here for updates

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/guidebook-updates

Thanks, all.

Hi Janet,
We just returned from a 3 week trip using the latest edition of Rick Steves Italy, and it was fine. The new Sicily Rick Steves book just released today, and we received ours in the mail. Enjoy your trip!

My thoughts?

Just one more data point that indicates guide books are less and less a part of the business.

At one time, the guides were a major part of the business, what the company was known for. While tours have always been offered, the shift has been from guides and an independent travel message to a heavy emphasis on tours.

It has been years since they went from publishing the year of the guide in the title, to indicating the edition.

Even now, look to the menu in the upper left hand corner of this page. Of the headings, none specifically indicate where guides would be discussed, you might think "Watch, Read, Listen", No, maybe "Travel Tips", well no. Only under the online shop do you see the guides, sort of tucked away.

But I am not being critical, guides have become less and less important with being able to find nearly anything online. There is still good content in the guides, but most of that does not need to be updated frequently. The city walks, attraction guides, background info, and many of the top sights, really do not change much. Things like hotels and restaurants have become of little value in a guide, and those are the ones that have the most change.