Rick Steves' Eastern Europe

I've traveled Europe with the advise of this man, and he's never let me down. Once again, a plethora of information. Can't travel without him!

This is the how-to guide for enjoying Eastern Europe written with a sense of humor. I don't think he missed anything.

Rick Steves has never failed me and I thoroughly enjoy his views and what he feels is not to be missed. You can never go wrong with a Rick Steves book. I do, however, always companion his books with a Frommers guide book and then I feel like I get the complete story of a city or country.

I recently went on a 3-week backpacking tour of Central and Eastern Europe, using Rick Steves' book as my primary guide. Although I did use a few country-specific books, I found that this one book had virtually all the information I needed. After reading through this book, I planned my itinerary based heavily on Steves' recommendations--Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Krakow, Eger, Budapest, Ljubljana, Bled, and Vienna. I've found that many travel guides cover the same places, but Steves suggested visits to places I would not have been able to find otherwise, such as the Roman Ruins in Obouda (near Budapest). The book is well organized--each country's section begins with basic information about that country, such as language, currency, entrance requirements, etc. Within the country section, Steves has selected the best places to visit and provides detailed information about each. He tells you how to use the public transportation systems, what to do when you arrive at the airport, trainstation, bus station, etc. I was very pleased with this book, and ran into several other travelers using the same guide. If you are interested in seeing Eastern Europe as more of a local than a tourist, this is the perfect guide. It's also updated every year, so almost all of the information was correct.

Get this, and you won't need to schlep around any other travel guides - it has everything you'll need. Very user friendly, and great suggestions (especially for someone's first trip to Eastern Europe).