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The RS guide on Amsterdam had bad reviews unlike the others. Has anyone used the Lonely Planet guide instead?

Posted by
3150 posts

Which book and where can I read the review?

Posted by
15681 posts

Welcome to the forum, Canoop!
I guess I'd have the same questions as Philip? Which book (there are only two that I know of: Amsterdam and the Netherlands, and Pocket Amsterdam), and where are you reading the reviews? I just took a quick look around the web, such as at Amazon's reviews, and don't really see anything I'd call "bad" enough to be concerned about. LP also put their forum on pause over a year ago so that this one has remained open and active all the way through COVID shutdowns is an indication - to me, anyway - of who is making the greater effort to keep their communities connected and informed. :O)

Very few books are going to have 100% glowing reviews, and I'd be cautious about giving much weight to certain complaints, such as visiting hours and entry fees not being correct, and temporary or permanent closures. Stuff can - and does! - change after a guidebook goes to press. That's especially possible regarding visiting rules, such as mandatory advance ticketing, limiting crowd control and masking, during the ongoing pandemic. That goes for restaurants and hotels as well as some will have closed during lockdown. In short, NO guidebook is going 100% accurate.

The RS staff does a good job of noting updates to books here on the website when they've been told about a change. That said, travel has been shut down for a long time so it's not like their human guides or posters have been able to be abroad much to send in helpful reports!

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

The recommendation from the folks here on the forum is to use a book for background info, little history lessons, for directions, self-guided walks and some (not all) local how-to knowledge but to use the websites for attractions, restaurants and hotels themselves for the most current info. Make sense?