This trip has finally allowed me to answer the eternal question of which guide book is best. I have always been a Rick Steve’s traveler, and have used his books for every European trip I’ve taken. However, he only covers Europe, so whenever I’ve traveled in Asia or South America I’d used Lonely Planet. I never thought it was as good, but thought maybe that wasn’t a fair judgment since having only used LP to travel in the developing world and only having used RS in Europe I was comparing apples and oranges. There were other things that always made me suspicious of Lonely Planet, most notably the fact that they regularly include coverage of places which Rick Steves doesn’t even include in his book aside from saying “This place is a tourist trap and a headache, don’t go there”. I appreciate these little insights.
However, on this trip, I’m getting to places in Italy that aren’t covered by RS, so have used LP in those locations (Rick Steves only covers enough location for about 5 weeks in a country like Italy, which I’ve already shot over between my two trips). So we now have an apples to apples, Italy guide to Italy guide comparison between Rick Steves and Lonely Planet, and the verdict is in: Lonely Planet sucks balls. Use Rick Steves whenever you can.
However, on this trip, I’m getting to places in Italy that aren’t covered by RS, so have used LP in those locations (Rick Steves only covers enough location for about 5 weeks in a country like Italy, which I’ve already shot over between my two trips). So we now have an apples to apples, Italy guide to Italy guide comparison between Rick Steves and Lonely Planet, and the verdict is in: Lonely Planet sucks balls. Use Rick Steves whenever you can.
