Please sign in to post.

Practicalities chapters in Rick Steve's guidebooks

Are those back-of-the-book chapters identical in all books about the same country (France, Provence, Paris books)? Looking to save space and weight. Thanks!

Posted by
7690 posts

I have no idea, but what I do is read guidebooks ahead of time and take notes, or save information that I find from each book. Then when I go on my trip, I just take one guidebook (in eBook format) with me for reference. There's no need to take a lot of books with you. And if you go the eBook route (I know, it's not for everyone), you have the added advantage of always having the info right there on your phone or other device. But even if you don't, usually one book is plenty. A lot depends on how long you will be there for, too.

You could try it ahead of time by checking out some travel eBooks at the library using the Libby app.

Posted by
1962 posts

Yes, I believe they are; if not they are very similar. (I haven't made a page to page comparison.) I try to take an e-copy, but make a photocopy or good photo of the maps I need as I find those hard to use on my Kindle. I also tear out sections of the book I know I will need, although that breaks my heart to do to a book.

Posted by
5260 posts

The book descriptions say:

"the Paris chapter of Rick Steves France has nearly all the hotels, restaurants, and nitty-gritty practical advice for Paris that you'll find in the Rick Steves Paris guidebook."
(Emphasis added.)

(About Provence book) "The France guidebook includes coverage of the most popular destinations in this region, and with nearly all of Rick's practical advice and hotel and restaurant listings for those cities and towns."
(Emphasis added. )

https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/france-guidebook

So nearly all the practical advice, but perhaps not entirely. Hard to say how nearly that is.

They're all 2024 publications.

Posted by
7945 posts

Once you have figured everything out, you might consider buying the Kindle versions of the guides. That way, you have them in your account and can access from your phone, tablet or laptop (or all three).

I maybe have a dozen guides in my Kindle Library for easy reference, have even bought a guide while traveling when the need arose.