Do I need the RS London 2009 also?

Char,

Whether you'll need the London Guidebook as well, depends to some extent on what sites you're planning to visit? The London book covers the city in much more detail than the England book.

I generally just use the England book as it provides enough detail on the places I want to see in London. Also, my visits usually include other places in England, so that book is really the most appropriate for the circumstances. I normally pack the England book with me, so that I can adjust touring if needed, but I really don't have the room to pack two Guidebooks.

Given the fact that you seem to be somewhat familiar with London, and that you'll be visiting a number of other places in the country, I would just go with the England book. However, I'm sure others on the HelpLine will have some comments on the subject.

Cheers!

I'd just take the RS England 2009 book. I took both on my last trip and it was nice to have but with only 4-5 nights the RS England book should keep you busy. A helpful supplement is a StreetWise map. Laminated and is the size of a legal envelope. Helps you to scope out how far a is from b and the nearest tube stop. www.streetwisemaps.com Much more helpful than flipping pages. o/a $8

Char, are you in Redmond WA? If so, why not drop by the Edmonds RS store and check out the book in the comfy reading-planning area? You can decide if there is enough additional information to warrant buying it, and you can copy out bits and pieces of information while you're there.

I agree...whether or not you are in WA you can stop by a book store and leaf through it to decide for yourself. For my money, when we went to the UK last summer, we only took the UK book (we were in Scotland and Wales too). From what I remember, the London book gives you a lot more detail (especially some "walking tours") but it wasn't enough to make it worth hauling around for the rest of the trek.

Hi Char,
I was in England last autumn for about 2 1/2 weeks, 4 days of which I spent in London. The RS England book was more than sufficient for what I needed. I did borrow a friends London book to see if it was worth taking, but the added info wasn't neccessary for the weight in my opinion, so I left it at home. After 4 days, I still had options left in the London section of the RS England book that I hadn't visited. You should be fine.

I asked this same question at the RS store in Edmonds (I was going to Rome for 3 days and Venice for 2) Their recommendation was it was worth having the City book if you were staying in the city for 4 days or more. Having said that, I did take the London book with me when I went in 2002 and used it again in 2003. As I recall, I liked some of the walking tours, so I would recommend looking it over and seeing what you might be missing by not having it. If you decide you need it, you could always just "rip" out the pages you want or photo copy them and take with you. (I never feel guilty photocopying pages for my own use if I own the book)

Thanks, everyone for confirming what I already had concluded. I think we'll have plenty to do from the London section in the England book. I may just peruse it in the bookstore or the Rick Steves Travel Center. :)

Admission prices go up usually, but, other then that , there is little wrong with using a guide book that is a year or two older. I get mine at second hand stores for 5 bucks instead of 20 or 30 bucks. I use them for background info, history, maps, and locations, not for prices , so really a book never gets outdated for that. I also do not use them much for restaurant or hotel recommendations, I do alot of that online.

I do buy a new book every few years though.

Since you have a general book I would never bring two books, in fact , for this last trip I ripped my books up into smaller chunks( why carry around the sections with hotels listed when I was already booked, right?) and bound them with elastic,, much lighter and smaller amounts to carry . I also make my own little note book, you learn so much online you have to write it down and take it with you.

It might be worth you buying a copy of Time Out magazine when you get to London (I think it comes out on Thursday) which will have listings for the coming week. It also includes some tourist-y information.

While you're at ETBD you can also watch the London Video. And if you're still undecided you can always as "us".

I second the advise to buy a copy of "Time Out" which a new one is on newsstands in London every Thursday. It has a very comprehensive listing of activities around the city. We had Rick's 2008 London book and found that it wasn't all that up to date in terms of admission prices, etc. There are better books out there in my opinion. What I love about Rick's books is that he cuts to the chase and just tells you what is worth it and what isn't. He didn't think Buckingham Palace was worth it (only one triangle) but we really enjoyed it! I was surprised how many RS books I could find at the library.

I also highly recommend visiting the RS travel store in Edmonds. I've been there many times and it's a great place to browse and find what you need. We used his backpacks and they worked great for us.

I like to combine the RS country edition with a city edition by Eywitness Travels. RS gives a lot of info, Eyewitness has great pictures that will help you understandng what you're actually seeing at the destination - or when looking at your photos back home. This worked really well when I visited places like Westminster Abbey with Eyewitness in my purse. RS was used mostly for the planning stages and stayed in the hotel to be checked out in the mornings and evenings.