Rick Steves Scandinavia @ Amazon.com
Review
Today’s tourists are for the reason that potential to troth toting Rick Steves for the reason that Giorgio Armani, tasting the fine existence without burning completed the Kids’ college fund.
About the Author
Rick Steves is on a mission: to analysis product European tour within reach along with meaningful as Americans. Rick has dried-up 100 years every per annum for the reason that 1973 yearning Europe. He’s hunted also written 24 trip guidebooks also hosts the civic small screen television installments Rick Steves’ Europe, at this time its seventh season. He as well organizes furthermore leads tours of Europe plus throws up an information-packed online page (www.ricksteves.com). Rick lives inside Edmonds, WA, cleanly north of Seattle, also his family.
Who save for Rick Steves may perhaps notify travelers the paramount means to envision Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinski, Tallinn, as well as the Norwegian fjords? With Rick Steves’ Scandinavia, travelers may skill the most excellent of the whole thing Scandinavia has to offer—economically as well as hassle-free. Completely revised plus updated, this steer includes: political assurance of both well known plus lesser-known sights, really intimate locations to eat with sleep, suggested daylight plans, trudging tours furthermore jaunt itineraries, along with obvious commands as slick journey anyplace by car, train, or foot. America’s #1 expert on journey to Europe, Rick’s time-tested memorials given that secure in addition to enjoyment trip Europe undergo been cast off by millions of Americans inside rummage around of their own distinctive European tour experience.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #369461 Books
- Published on: 2008-03-28
- Format: Bargain Price
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
Indispensable in Scandinavia
By Erik Olson
I just returned from a two-week adventure in Scandinavia, where I hung out in Oslo, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. I had a great time seeing the places where my predecessors came from, and I can attribute much of my trip’s success to the “Rick Steves’ Scandinavia 2005″ guidebook. Mr. Steves has created an excellent and portable all-in-one travel resource for this region. It’s well organized, and compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket for consultation on the fly. But most importantly, his hotel, transportation, and attraction recommendations fit my traveling desires and saved me time and money.
For example, finding a decent place to stay in a strange country can be daunting, but Mr. Steves’ picks came through every time. His three-tiered rating system based on pricing helped me zero in on optimal accommodations: high (fancier hotels), moderate (nice, but no frills), and low priced (hostels and private homes). I stuck to the moderate level, and the book led me to a good night’s sleep in each city. The City Hotel and Rainbow Hotel Astoria in Oslo, Hotel Jorgensen in Copenhagen, and Queen’s Hotel in Stockholm were all great for a thirtysomething solo traveler on a budget. They had helpful staff, good breakfasts included with the room, and locations close to transportation centers and attractions.
Getting around Scandinavia was made easier by the hints in “Scandinavia 2005.” Taking the night cruise from Oslo to Copenhagen got me on a cruise ship for the first time, and watching the shore slip by while enjoying a nice wine and cigar was sweet. I also took Mr. Steves’ advice and reserved a couchette on a night train from Copenhagen to Stockholm (a bit crowded with five other people in the cabin, but efficient nontheless). Both methods enabled me to combine travel with sleep to maximize time and kroner savings. And his admonition to rely on walking and bicycling to intimately experience the cities was smart, especially since I lost seven pounds while seeing the sights!
Finally, Mr. Steves’ ratings on things to see and do helped me dive into my Nordic roots. He uses a zero to three triangle rating system (three triangles = don’t miss; two triangles = try hard to see; one triangle = worthwhile if you can make it; no triangle = worth knowing about). Based on his recommendations, I experienced cool sights like the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Christiania in Copenhagen, and the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. Simple hand-drawn maps helped me navigate the cities and easily find these attractions (along with the accommodations listed above). And the additional information he provided enabled me to prioritize my sightseeing based on distance, operating hours, and price.
Of course, no guidebook is perfect because the information is static and recommendations are based on opinion. Admission prices rise, museums change their exhibits, and a “don’t miss” attraction ends up being a bust (like the three-triangle Nordic Museum in Stockholm, mainly because Swedish fabrics and dinner settings aren’t my thing). But having the “Rick Steves’ Scandinavia 2005″ guidebook really helped me to achieve an outstanding travel experience I’ll never forget. For that, he gets my highest endorsement.
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
Not Rick’s Best
By Molly
While I usually love Rick Steves’ books, won’t leave home without one, and take nothing else, this book was a disappointment. The directions were very poor so we got lost even on his orientation walks (not generally a time you need a real city map). The accomodations listings were wanting. Though it said you could assume breakfast was included and credit cards were accepted unless otherwise mentioned, this never worked. We found no breakfasts at places that he didn’t specifically describe them, and the places in Denmark he listed as taking credit cards only accepted Danish cc’s. We found better meals for better prices than he recommended with very minimal effort. Scandanavia is so expensive that saving money (the primary RS claim) is critical, but not easy following this book’s suggestions. This guide was so far below the normal RS standard, we were left wondering if RS actually had anything to do with it or if he has bitten off more than he can chew during his success and passed it off to less consciencous minions. The book was helpful on narrowing down what to see, so I would recommend checking it out; just don’t rely on it exclusively.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
A Useful Guide To Scandinavia
By Robert I. Hedges
I am a fan of Rick Steves’ guidebooks (and television travelogues), and used this guide extensively on a recent Scandinavian vacation. During the course of the trip I visited Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, and loved them all for different reasons. Steves gives generally good overviews of all three countries (I didn’t visit Finland, so I can’t pass judgment on that), although I found the book not quite up to his normal standard.
The book has excellent ideas for walks and tours, and his proposed itineraries are fairly easy to adapt to individual interests. I didn’t use his hotel recommendations, and his restaurant recommendations were a bit hit and miss as well, although in the larger cities and towns there are quite a variety of eateries available, and I never had any difficulty finding decent food.
I know that no guidebook can be utterly complete, but there were several omissions I found peculiar. For instance, Malmo is a wonderful city in southern Sweden, and is an easy and quick train trip from Copenhagen now that the Oresund bridge is complete. Despite discussion of several even more off-the-beaten path destinations, Malmo is not discussed in the book (except for a three sentence acknowledgement of its existence on p.107), despite it’s convenience and charm. These things aren’t a huge deal separately, but there are several examples of oversights in this guide.
My biggest annoyance with this book concerned the maps: there are several maps in the guide, and while they are adequate for general itinerary planning, they are definitely not adequate for navigating on the ground. This is especially true of the maps of Copenhagen: it’s an old city, and you definitely need a better map than Steves’, or you positively will get lost.
On the positive side, the sights that Steves recommends are generally spot on. From a base near the Radhuspladsen (adjacent to Tivoli gardens and the central train station), exploring the city using the guide (and a better map) was a pleasure. I appreciated his commentary on Kongens Nytorv (although it was ghastly hot inside), the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and of course beautiful Nyhavn (watch out for pickpockets). His writeups of these and many other places made planning and touring much easier, and really helped me formulate the sights I truly wanted to see. I likewise found his details relevant and very helpful for Norway, where most of my time was spent in Bergen (bring a raincoat and don’t miss the floibanen to the top of Mount Floyen).
This is a good book, and I recommend it without reservation. While I don’t think it’s one of Steves’ best, it is extremely readable and excellent for designing your itinerary. If used in conjunction with better maps (especially in Copenhagen), it will get you where you want to go.
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