Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door: The Travel Skills Handbook

by Rick Steves

Overview

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling through Europe. With Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door, you'll learn how to:

• Plan your itinerary and maximize your time
• Pack light and right
• Find good-value hotels and restaurants
• Travel smoothly by train, bus, car, and plane
• Avoid crowds and tourist scams
• Hurdle the language barrier
• Understand cultural differences and connect with locals
• Save money while enjoying the trip of a lifetime
• Travel safely and hygienically in the wake of Covid-19

After 40+ years of exploring Europe, Rick considers this travel skills handbook his life's work, and with his expert introductions to the top destinations in Europe, choosing your next trip will be easy and stress-free. Using the travel skills in this book, you'll experience the culture like a local, spend less money, and have more fun.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641714099
Publisher:	Avalon Publishing
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Series:	Rick Steves Travel Guide
Edition description:	39th ed.
Pages:	824
Sales rank:	488,043
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Since 1973, Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe. His mission: to empower Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a public television series, and a public radio show, and organizes small-group tours that take over 30,000 travelers to Europe annually. He does all of this with the help of more than 100 well-traveled staff members at Rick Steves' Europe in Edmonds, WA (near Seattle). When not on the road, Rick is active in his church and with advocacy groups focused on economic and social justice, drug policy reform, and ending hunger. To recharge, Rick plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade Mountains, and spends time with his son Andy, daughter Jackie, and his grandson...baby Atlas. Find out more about Rick at www.ricksteves.com and on Facebook.

Connect with Rick:
facebook.com/RickSteves
twitter: @RickSteves
instagram: ricksteveseurope

Table of Contents

Preface 10

Introduction 13

About This Book 14

Stoke Your Travel Dreams 15

Making the Most of Your Trip 18

Rick Steves' Back Door Travel Philosophy 23

Travel Skills 25

Budgeting & Planning 26

Planning Your Budget 26

Researching Your Trip 33

Designing an itinerary 41

Prioritizing Your Time 57

Paper Chase 64

Travel Documents 64

Travel Insurance 70

Before You Go 77

Pack Light 79

One Bag-That's It 79

Packing 101 83

Flying 98

Booking Your Flight 98

Flying to Europe 107

Flying Within Europe 112

Trains, Buses & Boats 116

Train Tickets and Passes 118

Train Stations 136

On the Train 144

Buses 150

Ferries 153

Driving & Navigating 157

Renting a Car 157

Behind the European Wheel 172

Money 185

Money Strategies 185

Before You Go 188

In Europe 191

Tipping 201

Sleeping 203

Finding and Reserving Rooms 205

Guesthouses and Hotels 219

Short-Term Rentals 235

Hostels 241

Crashing with Locals for Free 247

Camping European Style 251

Eating 255

Breakfast Basics 255

Restaurants 257

Dietary Restrictions 271

Europe's Café Scene 273

Budget and On-the-Go Options 277

Picnics, Markets, and Supermarkets 282

Food Experiences 288

Staying Connected 291

Using a Mobile Device in Europe 291

Internet Security on the Road 300

Getting Around in Cities 302

Maps and Navigation Tools 302

Public Transportation 304

Taxis and Ride-Booking Services 311

Sightseeing 315

Getting Oriented 315

Tours 316

Sightseeing Strategies 321

At the Sights 329

Becoming a Temporary European 338

Outdoor Adventure 344

Hiking and Walking 344

Biking 350

Water Fun 353

More Activities 356

Shopping 359

Where to Shop 359

Shopping Tips 363

VAT Refunds, Customs, and Shipping 368

Theft & Scams 375

Pickpocketing and Theft 375

Scams and Rip-Offs 381

Losing It All…and Bouncing Back 385

Hurdling the Language Barrier 391

Communicating with Locals 394

European Gestures 405

Health & Hygiene 407

Staying Healthy 407

Laundry 420

European Bathrooms 424

Photography & Sharing Your Trip 430

Travel Photography 430

Shading Your Trip 436

Let's Travel! 442

Solo Travelers 442

LGBTO Travelers 450

Travelers of Color 455

Traveling with Kids 457

Student Travelers 476

Senior Travelers 482

Travelers with Disabilities 487

Bus Tours & Cruises 495

Touring Europe by Bus 496

Cruising in Europe 501

Perspectives 510

Broadening Your Perspective Through Travel 510

Understanding the European Union 516

European Challenges (and Solutions) 522

Back Doors 537

Traveling Through the Back Door 538

Italy 541

France 567

Spain 586

Portugal 604

Great Britain 617

Ireland 638

Scandinavia 651

The Netherlands 668

Belgium 682

Germany 691

Switzerland 707

Austria 718

Czech Republic 729

Poland 740

Hungary 751

Slovenia 760

Croatia 770

Greece 780

Index 793

Editorial Reviews

"The country's foremost expert in European travel for Americans."—Forbes

"Steves is an absolute master at unlocking the hidden gems of the world's greatest cities, towns, and monuments."—USA Today

“Every country-specific travel guidebook from the Rick Steves publishing empire can be counted upon for clear organization, specificity and timeliness."—Society of American Travel Writers

"Pick the best accommodations and restaurants from Rick Steves…and a traveler searching for good values will seldom go wrong or be blindsided."—NBC News

"His guidebooks are approachable, silly, and even subtly provocative in their insistence that Americans show respect for the people and places they are visiting and not the other way around."—The New Yorker

"Travel, to Steves, is not some frivolous luxury—it is an engine for improving humankind, for connecting people and removing their prejudices, for knocking distant cultures together to make unlikely sparks of joy and insight. Given that millions of people have encountered the work of Steves over the last 40 years, on TV or online or in his guidebooks, and that they have carried those lessons to untold other millions of people, it is fair to say that his life’s work has had a real effect on the collective life of our planet."—The New York Times Magazine

"[Rick Steves] laces his guides with short and vivid histories and a scholar's appreciation for Renaissance art yet knows the best place to start an early tapas crawl in Madrid if you have kids. His clear, hand-drawn maps are Pentagon-worthy; his hints about how to go directly to the best stuff at the Uffizi, avoid the crowds at Versailles and save money everywhere are guilt-free."—TIME Magazine

"Steves is a walking, talking European encyclopedia who yearns to inspire Americans to venture 'beyond Orlando.'"—Forbes

“…he’s become the unofficial guide for entire generations of North American travelers, beloved for his earnest attitude and dad jeans."—Outside Magazine

"His books offer the equivalent of a bus tour without the bus, with boiled-down itineraries and step-by-step instructions on where to go and how to get there, but adding a dash of humor and an element of choice that his travelers find empowering."—The New York Times

"His penchant for creating meaningful experiences for travelers to Europe is as passionate as his inclination for making ethical choices his guiding light."—Forbes

"[Rick Steves'] neighborhood walks are always fun and informative. His museum guides, complete with commentary about historic sculpture and storied artworks are wonderful and add another dimension to sometimes stodgy, hard-to-comprehend museums."—NBC News

From the Publisher